MORAN ? Max Houk, injured when his house exploded and collapsed around him Saturday, remains hospitalized in a Kansas City hospital.
Houk, 62, suffered injuries to his back and legs in the explosion. He?s a patient at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the hospital?s burn unit.
Those at the scene described Houk?s survival as ?remarkable,? considering the ferocity of the explosion, and the intense fire, smoke and heat that followed.
The explosion, shortly after noon Saturday, blew out the front and side walls of Houk?s house, six miles north and one mile west of Moran, or two miles south and one mile west of Mildred.
Metal lawn furniture sits among the charred remains of the Houk home. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
The cause of the explosion has not been announced. Deputies at the scene said the cause may have been a propane heater.
Houk?s wife, Beth, was not at home at the time of the explosion.
A work crew at the Prairie Queen Wind Farm, which features a turbine about a mile from Houk?s home, saw the plume of smoke and notified authorities.
A family ? a woman, her husband and daughter ? was driving in the area and also saw the smoke, and drove to the house for a closer look.
?At first we thought Max was tearing down the house, but when we got there, our daughter heard him yelling for help,? said the woman, who asked not to be identified. ?That?s when we realized he was still inside.?
The woman?s husband worked his way through the front door, despite the acrid smoke, intermittent flames and intense heat, to find Houk pinned beneath a large cabinet.
Twisted metal and wood are all that remain of the Houk home after an explosion Saturday afternoon.
The man lifted the cabinet so Houk could pull himself free.
