Madison County Sheriff continues investigation into Troy house explosions, fire 

By Randy Pierce • An investigation concerning an early April series of explosions at a home in rural Troy that resulted in three fatalities is continuing and not expected to conclude “for quite some time,“ according to Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor.

Addressing the Madison County Board Public Safety Committee on Monday, May 4, Connor, in providing some insight into this matter as part of his report concerning one of his department’s busiest months in recent memory, said the explosions involved what he described as “one of the largest multi-agency responses that we’ve had in a long time.”

Along with the sheriff’s department, Connor said the various entities answering calls to the scene of the explosion also included multiple emergency medical services, the county coroner’s office, Office of the State Fire Marshal, the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, the Illinois Secretary of State’s bomb squad, Madison County’s Emergency Management Agency’s United Command Post, six local fire departments and the Troy Police Department.

“We were out there with all these agencies for days,” Connor continued, “and it just really showed the ability to coordinate with everyone including the EMA and coroner’s office.”

“It was just a chaotic scene,” Connor added, offering “kudos to everybody who was involved.” 

On April 9, authorities from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department identified the three victims of the house fire following the multiple explosions on West Kirsch Road as Madeleine I. Maxeiner, 18, Ayden R. Hendrickson, 19, and Paisley Nishwitz, 12, an autopsy examination by the office of Coroner Nick Novacich determining the preliminary cause of the deaths as smoke inhalation with toxicology tests forthcoming to provide a more definitive conclusion.