House Explosion, Fire Kills Elderly Couple In Hopkins

HOPKINS, Minn. (AP) — Authorities are working to learn what caused a deadly house explosion and fire in Hopkins.

Family members have identified the two people killed in Wednesday’s explosion and fire as an elderly married couple, 85-year-old Hubert Vassar and his 83-year-old wife Sharon Vassar.

The explosion and fire destroyed the house they built in the 1950s and in which they raised their children. About a dozen family members gathered at the scene as emergency workers combed through the debris.

Sharon Vassar’s sister, Kathleen Kautz, says the family was able to retrieve a few wedding photos of the couple and some jewelry and coins.