Explosion, fire kill 2 in Genoa

GENOA -- A man and a boy were killed Saturday evening when a motorcycle they working on in the basement of their Genoa home backfired and caused an explosion.

Tracy Homstedt, 49, and Ricardo Osantowski, 14, died in the 8:22 p.m. explosion and fire that destroyed their two-story, wood-frame farmhouse about one-half mile southwest of the Nance County community.

Two other people in the basement at the time of the explosion, one man and one woman, survived the blast and ensuing fire, Chief Deputy Mark Monroe of the Nance County Sheriff’s Department said this morning. The extent of the survivors’ injuries was not available this morning.

The two survivors were near the basement door and were blown outside of the house in the explosion, Monroe said. The two victims were trapped in the fire, he said.

Genoa firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire and had to knock down flames before beginning rescue operations, the chief deputy said. “Firefighters got there really quickly, but it took about 10 minutes to knock down the flames.”

Monroe said the fire rekindled twice overnight Saturday, with firefighters from Genoa, Fullerton, Monroe and Silver Creek responding.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Ken Alderman of the Columbus-based Prairie Valley Red Cross said four other children lived in the home, with at least some of them not at home at the time of the blast.

Red Cross volunteers helped the family with donations of food and clothing on Sunday. The family was staying with friends as of today.

No other information on the survivors was available this morning.

Memorial services are pending for the victims at Patrick Funeral Chapel in Genoa.