88-year-old Glendale homeowner dies after Saturday home explosion

GLENDALE -- North Shore Fire officials said Wednesday, May 30th that Marvin Engler, the 88-year-old Glendale homeowner injured after his home exploded Saturday, May 26th has died.

Engler and a woman described as a close friend who lived in the home with Engler were hospitalized following the explosion.

The state fire marshal as well as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms inspected the site of a home explosion in Glendale Tuesday. North Shore Fire officials also said they do not believe the house explosion was intentional or criminal, and are turning the investigation over to the insurance company.

Officials concluded their investigation into the incident and said they were unable to determine a specific cause.

"A lot of what they want to see is appliances, things that may be able to cause a fire or explosion, whatever could've happened here. They want to get down and look at a lot of things that are in what is now the basement, even though they could have been on the first floor of the home when it was fully standing," North Shore Fire Chief Robert Whitaker said.

In a statement Tuesday night, Whitaker said: "There is a fine line in fire investigations about where the public sector’s responsibility ends and the private sector’s begins,” said North Shore Fire/Rescue Chief Robert Whitaker. “In this case, investigators representing all of the public sector agencies felt that they had reached that line and it was time to allow the insurance company investigators to come in. The private sector investigators bring in the financial resources to retain mechanical engineers and other professionals that can look at appliances and other items in the home that public sector investigators don’t have access to. We understand that neighbors in the area want to know the cause of the fire as do we. We hope to maintain open lines of communication with the insurance company investigators in the hopes that if they find a cause it can be shared with the neighbors.”

The home near Hampton Ave. and Port Washington Rd. exploded Saturday afternoon, May 26th. The building was destroyed -- and the blast damaged two nearby homes.

On Tuesday, three of the 911 calls that were made moments after the explosion were released by authorities.

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