Good Samaritan helps after explosion injures 5 boys and father in NW Minnesota
An explosion last Monday injured five boys and their father at a storage unit in Bagley, in northwestern Minnesota.
The family was flown to HCMC’s Burn Unit in downtown Minneapolis.
“It’s a pretty chaotic situation,” said Dallas Lee, who told WDAY-TV that he saw the flames. “It was disbelief at first.”
Lee grabbed a fire extinguisher from his vehicle and jumped into action to help the father and boys, who ranged from ages 6-14 years old.
“I did the best I could to keep everybody calm and keep everybody moving away from the fire,” Lee said.
The boys had gone to the storage unit to pick up their toy Legos from inside with their father.
“Given everything that father was facing, he was doing his absolute best that those kids were taken care of,” Lee said. “Pretty impressive for him; in spite of all his injuries, he was taking care of his children.”
Investigators said it was a propane tank leaking inside a storage unit — when the dad lit a cigarette, it triggered an explosion.
“At this time, all of my sons are being treated for burns and are in critical condition, however, they have begun making strides in the healing process,” wrote JaCee Ritchie in a statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “We are 100% convinced God is the reason they survived the explosion, followed by the incredible response from so many in the medical field along with an army of prayer warriors.”
The family said the boys have a long road ahead with many surgeries and procedures at the hospital. There’s a fundraising page that has been created by loved ones to help the family with medical expenses.