MARCH 11, 2015
TAUNTON, MASS
Around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, Dutzman, his wife, son,
daughter-in-law and 8-year-old grandson narrowly escaped death when an
explosion led to an inferno that incinerated all but the stone portions of the
1908 cottage the family had occupied for 22 years. The cottage was located at 24 Laneway St.,
Taunton, Massachusetts.
The blast blew out the windows and doors of the Laneway
Street home, and set the house ablaze just before 2 a.m., said Deputy Fire
Chief Michael Sylvia.
Alexander Dutzmann, who lives at the home with his parents,
wife, and son, said they made it out after the “massive explosion,” just 15
minutes before the house went up in flames.
“At about 100-foot distance, we watched the house go down,”
Dutzmann said.
The family was in a section of the house on the opposite end
from the location of the explosion, Sylvia said. No one was injured.
The building was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters
arrived.
“The house is a total loss,” Sylvia said. “We weren’t able
to really save much.”
Dutzmann said the family owns some horses and cats, but they
were safe in a barn away from the main house.
While there are three propane tanks on the property that may
have led to the explosion, the cause is under investigation, the deputy chief
said.
The home is in a heavily wooded area, about 500 feet off an
unpaved road. Firefighters had difficulty getting trucks up the long and narrow
driveway, Sylvia said. They also had to shovel out one hydrant that was covered
in snow. Firefighters were still on the scene after 7 a.m.
LIKELY CAUSE: PROPANE TANK LEAK
Taunton Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw said an initial
investigation points to a pair of propane tanks that appear to have leaked into
the home. The barely affected tanks stood brazenly at the rear border of the
rectangular, foundation-shaped heap of ashes. Compared to the home, their
condition remained relatively untouched.
Bradshaw said there are “not a lot of plausible other
causes,” but Taunton fire investigators, Taunton police and the state Fire
Marshall’s Office will be conducting interviews with the home’s occupants
Thursday.
“Today, we’ll give them some time to get situated,” Bradshaw
said.
The family of five occupying the house made it out safely
before the explosion. They greeted arriving fire trucks shoeless at the end of
a long, frozen driveway just off a long, narrow dirt entry road off Burt
Street.
BATTLING THE ELEMENTS
Firefighters had trouble getting heavy, wide apparatus to
the scene. Bradshaw said a buried fire hydrant also hampered efforts to access
the scene and knock down the flames.
“At 1:57 a.m., we received a report that an explosion had
taken place,” Bradshaw said. “First, we had to ascertain if everybody was out.”
Taunton firefighters furiously went to work, digging out a
buried Burt Street hydrant.
“Our guys did a hell of a job shoveling out most of the
city’s 3,000 hydrants,” Bradshaw said. “But this is a big city. If your hydrant
is covered, we appreciate all the help we can get. It’s a Herculean task.”
Dutzman said the two 125-pound propane tanks were connected
to a “brand new generator.”
“There was a leak,” he said. “Propane is heavier than air.
It goes down.”
WHAT WAS LOST
A narrow brick chimney column still stands at 24 Laneway
St., all that remains vertical of the more than century-old structure.
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