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Neighbors Band Together To Help Princeton Family After Home Explosion

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A community is coming together to help a family who lost everything in a deadly house explosion in Princeton. The blast killed Eugene Meyer, 85, after his family says he'd just flipped on the stove Thursday afternoon.

His son and grandaughter also suffered severe burns.

Fire and gas crews left the scene nearly 24 hours after surrounding a pile of blackened belongings on Princeton's 8th Avenue. Down the street were some small reminders of the real loss to this block.

"We just wanted to help get some money for them. Just have them have a home again," Brooklyn Anderson told WCCO from her lemonade stand.

Brooklyn and Kaylee weren't home when the house was leveled.

"I was really shocked. I was thinking we should donate or help these people because they lost everything," Kaylee said.

They knew in their hearts to help the grandfather's family who will never be the same. They raised over $100.

Eugene Meyer had just lost his wife this summer after they'd lived in the home for decades, as the attention now shifts to how this happened.

A GoFundMe says Meyer had just turned on the stove and that there was a gas leak in the kitchen. His granddaughter, in her 30s, was blown out a front window and Meyer's son rescued from the basement.

Eric Hageman is an attorney with Pritzker Hageman who has handled dozens of gas explosion cases across the country.

"Equally important would be to figure out why the occupants of the home didn't have any warning in advance of that," Hageman said of this case.

"Given the level of destruction in this case it may take a while. It may take a while to get to the bottom of what caused this explosion," he added.

Hagemen says pieces can sometimes take months to put together with the that hope answers protect others moving forward.

"Let's hope they can get to the bottom of this," he said.

Princeton's Police and Fire Departments, the Minnesota State Fire Marshall, and Center Point Energy are all involved with the investigation.

They provided no new updates Friday.

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