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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A Spiritwood homeowner is in critical condition and remains hospitalized recovering from burns resulting from a furnace explosion and subsequent fire, which took place on Tuesday.

A split-level farm house near Eckelson, N.D., about 18 miles west of Valley City, was totaled following the explosion and subsequent fire Tuesday afternoon, according to Tim Lyter, chief of the Sanborn Fire Department, which responded to the scene.

Homeowner Paul Komrosky and his father, Eugene, were found outside the dwelling by first responder and SFD Training Officer Dana Didier with severe burns to their faces, hands and legs.

Didier said that when he arrived on the scene, almost the entire home was engulfed in a combination of smoke and flames, at which point the two men were then transported to Mercy Hospital in Valley City.

Susan Thompson, a friend of the family, said Paul and Eugene were still being treated for their burns at the hospital as of Thursday, with Paul listed in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon.

Lyter said that by the time the first trucks arrived on scene, the entire split-level dwelling was engulfed in flames and the house was beginning to collapse.

“We called on an assist from the Valley City Fire Department about an hour and a half in,” Lyter said, adding that the VCFD spent about three and a half hours on the scene to assist.

Lyter said they used at least a combined 10,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames and the Sanborn Fire Department did not clear the scene until approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday.

According to Lyter, the garage and its contents were the only things salvaged from the fire without any damage.

Lyter said the Sanborn Fire Department has closed its investigation into the matter and it will now be turned over to the homeowner’s insurance company for damage estimates.

A donation foundation has been set up in the family’s name at Dakota Bank of Valley City. For more information, contact Susan Thompson at 701-652-3239.