LEONARD GRAY

NEW SARPY – An explosion of unknown origin rocked West East Street early Wednesday morning, killing a 36-year-old man and badly burning his 46-year-old girlfriend. The body of Jeb Stewart was brought out from the utility room of his mobile home residence at 517 W. Easy three and a half hours after a fire and explosion demolished the home. Celeste Sercovich, meanwhile, is recovering from her burns at East Jefferson General Hospital in Marrero. Capt. Patrick Yoes of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office reported that Sercovich had just returned home from work at 6:35 a.m. when she smelled a gas odor upon stepping inside. Seconds later, the gas ignited and flames burst from several windows. And moments after that an explosion tore apart the mobile home and flames shot up 30 feet into the air, scorching the pine trees. Rosie Lietz, across the street, recalled her husband, Clarence, had just gotten up, “then I heard him hollering.” Horrified, they looked outside to see flames out of the rear bedroom of Stewart’s trailer and Sercovich in the front yard, badly burned. Karen Hampshire on West Hoover, whose home backs up to the chain link fence separating her from the mobile home residence, said the entire area was “very, very hot.” Deputies arrived on the scene from the nearby Second District sub-office almost immediately, and firefighters, which eventually totaled 33 from East St. Charles, Norco, St. Rose and Luling volunteer fire departments, poured down the narrow street to the stricken neighborhood. A fire hydrant almost directly across the street was found to be vandalized, with the top cut off, delaying firefighters while another hydrant was located and connected to hoses. The efforts brought the blaze under control at 7:44 a.m. Meanwhile, before firefighters arrived, garden hoses were brought into use by neighbors in an attempt to keep the fire from spreading to nearby homes, according to Gail Caillouet. At 10:08 a.m., Stewart’s body was extracted from the ruins of his utility shed and removed from the scene. The investigation continues into the incident.