Gladstone community details deadly home explosion: ‘Still in shock'
Authorities confirm that one person who lived there and a dog died. People who live nearby are still in a state of shock.
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'My husband and I just fell to the ground. The kids were downstairs. The dogs were terrified. It was just really scary,' next door neighbor Ashleigh Tomlin recalled.
'A little bit of PTSD, I think, just we're still in shock, the loss of our neighbor is just devastating. My husband's known him for 20-plus years.'
Tomlin's doorbell camera shows the moment her next-door neighbor's home exploded.
'Our cars are probably not totaled, but they're pretty close, so they're going to tow those off and get us rental cars tomorrow. Then the structural people and the engineers, and USAA, our homeowners insurance, will be out here tomorrow morning,' Tomlin said.
A spokesperson for the Red Cross told FOX4 on Sunday, they are working with two impacted neighbors and are in contact with the family of the person who passed.
The Red Cross offers assistance for those whose homes were affected in a fire or explosion, such as this, with replacement of medicine, food, clothing and a place to stay. The Red Cross also has disaster mental health workers to assist those affected.
Tomlin said a state representative also stopped by the neighborhood Sunday to offer support.
'He came to our door. He works out of Jeff City and represents us. He said if we had any problems, just to give him a call personally, and he would help take care of things. So I can't say enough for the integrity of a man like that to come to your door personally and offer his help,' Tomlin said.
She's also thankful for the response from law enforcement and first-responding agencies at the scene on Saturday.
'We just ran out. The police officers were wonderful. They helped me. They went through the house. They got the dogs in their kennels. They helped me carry them. I mean, it was really neat to see the community kind of come together and really help us out,' Tomlin explained.
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Gladstone Police did not have any updates to share on Sunday.
FOX4 reached out to Spire to inquire about the explosion. A spokesperson for Spire sent the following response:
'While we are cooperating with authorities on their investigation and defer to them on a cause, it is our understanding this was not a natural gas-related incident.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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