Columbia fire investigators today continued to work to determine the cause of a deadly house explosion on Friday east of downtown by interviewing the children of the couple who lived in the home.

Battalion Chief Steve Sapp said investigators could determine the cause and origin of the explosion and subsequent fire as early as this afternoon or tomorrow. Natural gas is suspected in the blast that leveled the house at 308 McNab Drive, killing retired University of Missouri engineering professor Carl Sneed, 87, and leaving his wife, 84-year-old Merna Sneed, with burns over 40 percent of her body.

"It’s not that we’re trying to hold anything up," Sapp said of the length of the investigation. "We just want to make sure that when we put a cause out ... we’re putting out correct information."

Investigators were meeting with the couple’s three daughters today to generate a sketch of the house’s layout and where appliances were located, Sapp said. Family members also could explain problems with appliances or other possible concerns around the home, Sapp said.

Early witness statements indicated the fire started in the southwest corner of the basement after the explosion and spread quickly, Sapp said.

Along with statements from family members and neighbors, investigators also are reviewing video the fire department captured and from dashboard cameras on police cruisers that initially responded to the scene.

"The work of a fire investigator is always hard because there’s always destruction there," Sapp said. "Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You can’t put it back together."

Merna Sneed remained in critical condition today at the George David Peak Memorial Burn Care Center at University Hospital. Family members said Saturday that Merna Sneed could communicate by nodding yes or no. Sapp said investigators have not been able to interview her.

The couple’s eldest daughter, Linda Sneed, lives in Columbia and helped her father with maintenance around the house, Sapp said. Linda Sneed also lived in the house for some time during the ’90s while her parents traveled overseas, Sapp said.

"She should have quite a bit of information that’s useful to investigators," Sapp said.

Linda Sneed told the Tribune on Friday that she did not smell natural gas when she visited the home the day before the explosion, nor did she know of any recent inspections by AmerenUE. A neighbor across the street said she smelled natural gas about 15 minutes before the explosion when she returned home, and another neighbor said AmerenUE crews were working in the area earlier in the week.

AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary said today the utility’s involvement in the investigation is minimal. "The evidence would seem to indicate a gas leak, but as to what caused the explosion, that’s the fire department’s expertise," he said.

Cleary added that AmerenUE’s responsibility ends at the gas meter where the natural gas enters the home and the utility is not authorized to repair appliances, although the company will respond to reports of a gas odor inside a home. The last call to the Sneed residence was in 2002 for an issue with the gas meter, not a gas leak, Cleary said.

Columbia Water and Light spokeswoman Connie Kacprowicz said the electric service to the house has been disconnected but the city department has not been involved in the fire investigation.

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