HARVARD – A propane gas explosion from a water heater destroyed a house Wednesday afternoon and sent an occupant to the hospital with second-degree burns.

Firefighters responded to the three-bedroom home at 17615 Altenberg Road in rural Harvard shortly before 5 p.m., Harvard Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Bryan Pierce said. The fire is under investigation, but Pierce said the cause appears to be an explosion of leaking propane gas to a water heater.

“We believe there was a propane explosion from the way the structure looked,” Pierce said.