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GIBBON A rural Gibbon woman was in critical condition Monday morning after being burned when a furnace exploded at her home Friday night.
Sue Tillemans suffered severe burns to her face, arms and legs and was thrown against a wall when she tried to light her basement furnace, said Steve Rasmussen, assistant chief of the Gibbon Fire Department.
Firefighters were called at about 8:45 p.m. Friday to the home, which Sue and her husband, Cliff, rented about four miles southeast of Gibbon.
The couple had been away from home, during which time a propane leak from the furnace is believed to have spread throughout the house, Rasmussen said.
Cliff was upstairs with two young grandchildren when the blast knocked them out of the house, Rasmussen said.
All four were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, where only Sue was treated. She was transferred to the St. Elizabeth's Regional Burn and Wound Care Center in Lincoln, where she was in critical condition Monday morning, according to a hospital spokes- woman.
The two-story house was destroyed in the fire. It had been engulfed in flames by the time firefighters from Gibbon and Shelton arrived, and Rasmussen said more than two hours passed before the fire was under control. Firefighters remained on the scene until about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
The fire also destroyed an attached garage, an outbuilding and three vehicles.
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