5 brothers, their dad badly burned when propane in storage unit explodes in rural Minnesota

Five brothers and their father were badly burned in an explosion and fire Monday at a storage facility unit in northwestern Minnesota.

The blast and fire occurred about 12:30 pm. north of Bagley on 370th Street, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office said.

Emergency responders arrived to find the man and children ages 6 to 14 with burns, the Sheriff’s Office said. The boys’ sister said the brothers were with their father at the time of the incident.

The six victims were in critical condition in HCMC in Minneapolis, a hospital spokeswoman said late Tuesday afternoon.

“Preliminary indications are that a propane tank had been leaking inside the metal storage unit, and when the doors were opened, the adult male lit a cigarette and an explosion ensued,” a Sheriff’s Office statement read.

Kyra Frank identified the five children as her brothers, according to an online fundraising page she started to help the family with expenses related to the explosion.

Frank identified the boys to the Minnesota Star Tribune by their first names as Keegan, 6; Kaeto, 8; Braedynn, 10; Tannen, 12; and Zander, 14. She said their father, Randy Ritchie, was the man with them at the time.

Frank said in the posting Monday that “all five are in critical condition and have been life-flighted to Hennepin MN for further care. ... My mom is a single working parent and is now taking time off to be with her boys. She could use any and all the help given.”

Passersby helped the victims until the emergency responders took over and transferred the six to area hospitals, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In follow-up postings, Frank said her brothers were in a burn treatment center, but “there are still a lot of unknowns at this time but they are in stable condition. They have a long road ahead of them.”

She said their burns range from covering 5% to 55% of their bodies and that all will need surgery.