Debris Scatters In Chouteau Shop Explosion

The owner of a shop in Chouteau says she was in disbelief when she heard an explosion and fire destroyed the building. Debris was scattered everywhere from the blast but no one was hurt.

A man and two dogs were in the house when all of a sudden he heard a loud boom - that boom was the large shop building exploding. 

Sandy Vaughn couldn't believe what she saw when she got home, walked around her house and saw her shop destroyed and debris littering her yard.

"I was afraid maybe the house and everything was gone too when I got here," said property owner Sandy Vaughn.

The large shop was in flames when Chouteau firefighters arrived. The explosion threw pieces of the shop across the property and up into the trees.

11/14/2018 Related Story: Explosion Destroys Large Garage In Chouteau

Vaughn rushed home after her neighbor called - worried about her.

"She said 'are you OK,' and I said 'yes' and I said 'why?' Well, she said your house just blew up. And she didn't realize it was my house I guess, it was the building. I'm pretty shaken up over it."
 
Stephanie Keeling lives next door and says she's never seen anything like it.

"The whole house started shaking, and it felt like the ground was coming out from underneath me. Then I saw everything fly," said neighbor Stephanie Keeling.

"Everything exploded, and fire was everywhere and it was horrible."
 
Vaughn said her family used the shop for storage. It was filled with tools, three golf carts, an ATV and more. Now she's just thankful no one was hurt. 

"Well, at least the house, I still have things in the house. And I'm sure it can be repaired fairly easy and just one step at a time I guess," Vaughn said.

Crews tell me they are still investigating what caused the explosion, but they are thankful they were able to put the fire out quickly.