Marathon County Sheriff Scott Parks says “suspicious devices” were found at the scene of a house explosion in the Town of Wausau Thursday. Sparks said emergency personnel were on the scene shortly after a 911 call from neighbors who heard an explosion at about 7:00 a.m.
“We had a squad relatively close, could see that there was a fireball,” the sheriff said. “They arrived on scene and could see there was substantial fire coming out of the residence.” Neighbors reported that the blast rattled their windows and shook their homes.
“In the process of the fire and first responding deputies, they noticed devices that were suspicious in nature, so they contacted the Bomb Squad to make sure that everything was safe,” Sparks said, although he could not say what the devices are. “They used some techniques to disrupt the devices they thought were suspicious, so until we can actually put everything back together, that’s when we’ll first make determinations.”
The home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The house is said to be a total loss. It’s unclear whether anyone was inside at the time of the explosion.
The State Fire Marshal is on the scene to help in the investigation.
WSAU