BUFORD - The names of the victims of Friday morning's house explosion in South Hall - one of whom was flown to a burn center in Augusta - have been released.
It happened in the 6000 block of Blackberry Lane about 5:45.
Hall County Fire Chief David Kimbrell said the explosion was likely sparked by a gas leak and that he heard the explosion from his home, 10 miles away. He said the occupants were lucky to escape with their lives, though all three were injured.
"They were extremely lucky, they were all upstairs," Kimbrell said. "If they had been in the basement or the ground level, we would still be trying to find them. They were lucky to be upstairs."
The Chief said there was no fire, adding that the first thing to look for as a cause is gas.
"They did have an LP tank that drove an auxiliary generator and we're looking for that."
Two of the victims were trapped in the rubble for a time. Neighbors were up and came down to see what happened shortly after they heard the blast. Carol Lynn Upshaw said it interrupted her morning.
"I thought it was thunder," she said. "It's completely demolished, like an implosion."
Julia Klass lives just up the street and was awakened from a sound sleep.
"The whole house shook, the bed shook," she said. "I immediately thought it was an earth quake."
Hall County Fire Marshall Scott Cagle says the son, Michael Allen Clack and the father, Dan Johnson were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Clack was later flown to the Augusta Burn Center. The mother, Susan Johnson, was flown directly to the Atlanta Medical Center.
Cagle says the 6,000-square-foot house, valued at around $600,000, was destroyed.
Since the incident appears to be accidental, Cagle said, we will take a "back seat" and will assist the insurance company in it's investigation which could take weeks.
Cagle adds the whole scene has been roped off and warns the courious not to enter the area to view the destruction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thursday
March 13th, 2025
8:48PM
