Barn explosion kills 2 owners, neighbor in northeast Texas

Updated: Nov 5, 2021 / 07:24 AM CDT

Bowie County officials investigate a barn/shop explosion in Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 in Simms, Texas. Investigators are seeking the cause of an explosion and fire that tore through a northeast Texas barn, killing three people. The blast happened Tuesday night in Simms, Texas, about 27 miles (44 kilometers) west of Texarkana. Killed in the explosion were the barn’s owners, Steven Granbery, 60, and Cynthia Granbery, 55, and neighbor William Barnes, 65. (Lori Dunn/The Texarkana Gazette via AP)

SIMMS, Texas (AP) — Investigators are seeking the cause of an explosion and fire that tore through a northeast Texas barn, killing three people.

The blast happened Tuesday night in Simms, about 27 miles west of Texarkana. Killed in the explosion were the barn’s owners, Steven Granbery, 60, and Cynthia Granbery, 55, and neighbor William Barnes, 65.

Bowie County Fire Marshal Scottie Taylor says evidence points toward the blast being an accident.

The Granberys had kept gasoline, propane and an all-terrain vehicle in the barn, the walls of which were blown out by the blast. The heat also melted a wall of the Granberys’ home.