Wood River community coming out to help clean up after explosion

WOOD RIVER, Neb. (KSNB) - In the midst of the chaos of Saturday’s explosion, the Wood River community has still found a way to show they are strong, and it all started with a simple request on social media from the fire department.

That clean-up started on Sunday, as Wood River Fire put out a signal for anyone able to help with the clean up, and the city’s Mayor Greg Cramer told Local4 News, the response was quick and brought several hands ready to help.

“Oh, it was amazing,” Cramer said. “I got there a little early with some other people, but by 12:30, there’s probably 100, 120 people here.”

Mayor Cramer said there was no shortage of jobs for those who came out to help.

“Raked yards moved, we had people bring equipment in, got everything loaded,” Cramer said. “We had dumpsters brought in, you know, on a Sunday. That’s amazing. You have dumpsters come in and it’s got a lot of stuff cleaned up yesterday.”

For Wood River Assistant Fire Chief, Todd King, Saturday’s explosion was the beginning of the end for a long week.

“I probably got about 50 hours in this last week with the fire department,” King said.

King said those 50 hours came from fighting the Betty’s Way out in western Nebraska, and fighting a fire in Wood River, then responding to the explosion on Saturday.

King told Local4 the response from the community was exactly what he would expect from Wood River.

“I was not surprised at all. I’ve been on the fire department for over 30 years, and it’s just the way the Wood River works,” King said. “I mean, when a major incident happens in Wood River, you’re almost, having to really manage your resources because you’ve got so many available. The community just comes together as a whole.”

King said he’s seen how the Wood River community responds to catastrophe over his three decades with the fire department.

“Any type of an event like this happens. It goes back, from flooding in 1996 that I was on the fire department, and that’s just the way Wood River responds,” King said.

Mayor Cramer said there was about a five to six block radius damage around the home that exploded, and it all ranged from major damage, to light window damage, and he said it could take some time to fully document it all.

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