A preliminary investigation by St. Louis County firefighters points to natural gas as the likely cause of the explosion that ripped through a north St. Louis County neighborhood on Monday.
"There's no criminal offense that happened here," said St. Louis County Police Chief Col. Kenneth Gregory in a Tuesday evening press conference. "I know you probably heard on social media — meth labs, things of that sort, but there was nothing like that [investigators] determined."
Gregory said investigators are working with Spire to confirm the cause of the explosion, though the utility previously reported that none of its infrastructure was damaged in the incident.
Dozens of Spire trucks were dispatched to the community near Black Jack following the blast.
The police department's bomb and arson squad is conducting a longer-term investigation. It's likely authorities will take months to complete the job.
Gregory said investigators concluded gas was the likely source after ruling out criminal causes such as arson.
"Our investigators are trained to look for reasons as to why something like this may have happened, they're also trained to look for other reasons as to why it didn't happen," he said. "With all that was eliminated, they came up with the possibility of gas."
Monday's blast destroyed five homes, damaged more than two dozen others and injured five people. Eighteen-year-old Dontea Anthony Jr. remains hospitalized in critical condition. Two other residents who were injured have since been released.
Gregory said further investigations into the explosion are ongoing, but it is safe for residents to return to the area.
Assistant Black Jack Fire Chief Paul Peebles said the community has been donating tarps, nails and other supplies to help the residents of the neighborhood.
While the roads of the neighborhood had been cleared of debris by Tuesday, the explosion site – about half a football field wide – remained a mass of charred rubble. Cars in nearby driveways had shattered windows. Several of the low-slung ranch homes were boarded up and pieces of the exploded buildings still hung in the trees.
"This will be my fourth explosion that I've ever been on," Peebles said. "[But] this is very unique. I've never seen something quite like this…just the scale."
This story has been updated.
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