Eight people were taken to the hospital early Wednesday after an apparent house explosion on Bloomington’s far western edge.
It happened just before midnight at a home along Old Peoria Court, just east of Rivian Motorway and near an OSF PromptCare. The house was burned to the ground in the explosion and resulting fire, according to a WGLT reporter at the scene. Danvers Fire Chief Glenn Rosecrans said they worked for hours to prevent the fire from fully spreading to two neighboring homes.
“We’re trying to save that [neighboring] house [to the west] and limit the damage. Fortunately, we were able to keep most of the damage to the garage for that house,” Rosecrans said. (Updated on Sept. 11, 2026: The home located to the west of the Hoefers was subsequently determined to be a total loss, the homeowner told WGLT.)
The extent of the eight people’s injuries was not immediately known, Rosecrans said. There were no deceased victims at the scene, he said.
The leveled home was owned by the Hoefer family, property records show. The Hoefers are active members of the East White Oak Bible Church family, and they were a special part of the church's Wednesday night's prayer meeting, church leaders said.
"They are beloved. We stand ready to support them in whatever ways may be necessary as they recover from their physical injuries and their loss of property," said East White Oak senior associate pastor Traig Whittaker. "Until it is clear what exactly their needs are we are committed to praying for them."
'Very unusual' flame
The State Fire Marshal was on scene to investigate. Nicor crews were also on scene Wednesday morning.
“It’s real early yet,” Rosecrans said.
At around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, a “very unusual” burning flame was still peeking out from the rubble of the destroyed home, Rosecrans said. It’s not being fueled by Nicor gas, which has been shut off, so it’s possibly some type of methane that’s being piped into the house, he said. Crews were still trying to figure out what it was.
Danvers Fire was the lead agency in response, with assistance from crews from Carlock, Dale Township, Stanford, Bloomington Fire, Bloomington Township Fire, and McLean.
The explosion was unrelated to the smell of gas in northern parts of McLean County on Tuesday.
