Wisconsin fire, explosion destroyed home in Town of Lafayette

TOWN OF LAFAYETTE, Wis. - A fire and explosion destroyed a home in the Town of Lafayette in Walworth County on Tuesday afternoon, July 2, officials said. 

Emergency crews were dispatched to the residence on Kulow Road around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday after the Walworth County Communications Center began to receive numerous calls.

When Walworth County sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they began to search for survivors and secured the area until Elkhorn firefighters arrived.

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Officials said when they arrived on the scene, there was a small fire in the basement of what was left of the structure. A man could be heard in the basement. Firefighters rescued that person from the rubble – and he was taken by Flight For Life to a hospital for treatment. His condition is unknown at this time.

Officials said he was home alone.

"Once they did start tunneling they did hear a voice," Elkhorn Fire Chief Trent Eichmann said. "They established contact with the patient and probably took 30 to 45 minutes to tunnel and extricate him out of the basement."

Investigators say they do not know the cause of the explosion at this time. However, they are leaning towards propane as a possibility.

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No other homes were impacted by the explosion.

"Heard it and felt it," neighbor Diane Riese said. "Very loud, shook the whole house."

Lafayette is between East Troy and Elkhorn in Walworth County.

"The house was gone and I couldn’t believe it," Riese said.

The State Fire Marshal's Office is assisting with the investigation.