ROME — The person killed in the home explosion in Rome in Jefferson County Tuesday has been identified.
Family says the victim is Mike Revolinski. The Rome Fire Department said in a statement after the explosion Tuesday that they briefly shut down service "as we grieve the loss of a former chief of the department. Our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers go out to the family as they deal with the devastation that happened."
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday that crews were called to a home on West Water Street around 1:49 p.m. Tuesday for a home explosion.
Initial callers said the home had been completely destroyed in the explosion, that they could smell natural gas and that flames were coming from the home's field of debris.
Arriving on scene, crews evacuated nearby residents. No one else was injured in the explosion, crews discovered.
Deputies reported "a very large debris field" and that the home had been "leveled by the explosion."
Other nearby homes also received damage, including marks on the side of the structures and broken windows.
WE Energies shut off the natural gas to the home, allowing firefighters to extinguish remaining flames. Crews then found one deceased person where the house used to stand.
The State Fire Marshals were called into investigate the incident.
According to a GoFundMeset up by the family, Mike's wife Sharon was not home at the time of the explosion. The fundraiser has raised more than
