Pastor released from hospital after New York church explosion

Pastor Brandon Pitts was released from the hospital after receiving treatment for second-degree burns, he said on Friday. He was injured Feb. 17 when an explosion and ensuing fire destroyed his church building, Abundant Life Fellowship in Boonville, N.Y. A propane fuel line damaged by a building shift caused by heavy snow was likely responsible for the blast, police said, according to local news. Pitts said he expected his recovery to take another one to two months. He will not be able to attend church gatherings for a few more weeks, he said.

Pitts was treated in the trauma burn unit at the Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., along with four other people, according to a post from the church. Doctors released the Boonville assistant fire chief, who was among the injured, around the same time as Pitts, according to the local fire department. Three other injured first responders were still in the hospital, with two in critical condition, according to the fire department.

Where is the church meeting now? Abundant Life resumed services on Sunday at a local high school auditorium. Pitts in a social media post thanked the school for its generosity and said the church was more than a building. He urged church members to focus on Jesus, not the loss of their facility.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s initial report on the explosion.