Explosion levels Genoa-area home

GENOA, Wis. (AP) — An early-morning explosion has leveled a Genoa-area home, spraying debris onto a highway and damaging a former fish market.

A La Crosse Tribune report says the owner is a fisherman who was in the driveway when the house blew up Friday morning.

Roger Beck says he thought his vehicle battery had blown up. Then he looked up and saw it was his kitchen.

The 76-year-old says he tried to douse the flames with the bucket, and as he was walking away the rest of the two-story home exploded. Firefighters arrived to find the house flattened and on fire.

Beck says he lost everything he owns except his fishing boat.

He says he suspects a propane leak. Stoddard-Bergen Fire Chief Joe Pfaff says the cause is still under investigation.