Family still searching for answers
It was nearly three weeks ago when two men were killed and a third was badly burned when a house exploded in north Omaha. The fire killed Merlin Gardner and Billy Boyer and left Joe Mangiamelli in a medically induced coma.
Mangiamelli's sisters say their brother has a 30 percent chance of living. Charlene Mangiamelli-Welch says their world has been turned upside down since that tragic day. The two men killed were her uncle and nephew.
"“Joe is very critical right now,” Mangiamelli-Welch says. She says they still have a lot of questions about what happened that day. Fire investigators believe Boyer was carrying a container of gas into the basement when he fell. The gas spilled and the fumes reached the furnace and sparked the explosion.
The sisters say medical bills continue to mount. They will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Sunday. “We are doing this because we have two burials and we have Joe’s bills as well.”
The fundraiser will be held from 1-6 p.m. at the Power Landing at 7230 Florence.
Joe Mangiamelli
