WOOD RIVER, Neb.-- Clean-up crews are still at the scene of a violent explosion that destroyed a home, claimed a life and put a small Nebraska town on edge over the weekend. 

“I was just getting ready to enjoy a soda pop and let some light into the living room. I had no idea I would be spending the day cleaning up busted glass,” Debraal said.  

Like James DeBraal, many in Wood River could not have imagined what would unfold Saturday morning.  

Mayor Greg Cramer lives just a few blocks away. He heard the explosion and thought it was the ethanol plant. 

“I was watching TV, just putting on my shoes, about ready to go out of the house. It went off, it knocked some pictures off my walls at the house,” Cramer said. 

Cramer declared a local state of emergency for the city. Since then, he says the community has unified. 

“You know we had our flood in 2019, and some other floods events over the years, and everybody rallies together. I mean, people run to the scene and they want to help,” Cramer said. 

50-year-old Craig Zinsser Beaufait owned the house. Court documents in a pending domestic abuse protection order matter say the case is dismissed because Zinsser Beaufait has died. Investigators say they found a body in the house, but they haven't identified the person yet. They suspect the person who died of tampering with the natural gas system.

Very little remains of the two-story home near downtown. The house next door suffered fire damage. Several surrounding houses, businesses and structures suffered varying degrees of damage.

At the moment crews are still trying to gather the loose debris and waiting for the homeowner's insurance company. 

“If you have damage call the insurance company, call the city hall, or come to the city hall," said Cramer. "Make a list of what’s wrong with your house, I don’t care if it's a broken window or a crack in your wall, the more information we have, the better looks to get some type of assistance."

“I praise the Lord that I have good friends at the Presbyterian church," said DeBraal. "They got a crew together and boarded up the windows for me.”

Seven families were displaced due to the explosion. Donations are being accepted to the Wood River Ministerial Association at Heritage Bank.