Nation IN BRIEF / IOWA : Propane Linked to Deadly House Fire

Propane gas may have fueled the explosion that killed seven people and destroyed the dream house, with a gas grill, that a man built in Richland, Iowa, authorities said. Jerry Usovsky, the owner, survived the blast, as did his 8-year-old daughter. The injured Usovsky kept saying: “The grill. The grill,” a source said. Fire Chief Mike Hadley said tests detected a break in the line from a 500-gallon tank of liquid propane that fed the grill. The seven victims included Usovsky’s wife, Juanita, and daughter, Ashley, and other family members.