Jan 24, 2008 5:18 pm US/Eastern
Propane Tank Focus Of Deadly Rockland Fire Probe
ROCKLAND, Mass. (WBZ) ―
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Courtesy: Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com
Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com/WBZ
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Courtesy: Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com
Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com/WBZ
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Courtesy: Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com
Pat Travers/NEFirephoto.com/WBZ
Investigators in Rockland are looking into the possibility that a woman who was killed in a fire at her home Wednesday may have intentionally put a propane tank in her oven.
Kerrin Nelson, 42, died several hours after the fire that happened on Centre Avenue.
Three firefighters were injured trying to escape the blaze.
Authorities said when crews were called to Nelson's home around 4:30 p.m., the fire was not very large. However, as firefighters moved into the home, a 20-pound propane tank inside the kitchen exploded, creating a fireball.
"In seconds it changed, and three firefighters were at great risk of getting very seriously injured, " said firefighter Tom Henderson.
"It was a propane tank in the kitchen area that did ignite when our firefighters were trying to put the fire out, which caused a massive ball of fire," said Rockland fire Chief Mike Sammon. "These men had to actually leap for their lives."
"One went out the window, and one went out the back," he added. "They're very lucky their injuries were not life-threatening."
However, that didn't stop the three firefighters, who turned right around and went back inside the burning home.
"I was taught years ago to expect the unexpected," said Lt. Don Hussey with the Rockland Fire Department. "That's basically what we had to do."
They found Nelson unconscious in a second-floor bedroom. She was rushed to Brockton Hospital where she later died.
Two of the injured firefighters remained in the hospital after the fire as a precaution.
Nelson was a 911 operator in Weymouth. Her colleagues there called her a "wonderful lady".
Her husband was at work at the time of the fire. The cause of Nelson's death is pending an autopsy report.
Storing propane tanks in an enclosed area, like a kitchen or a basement, is against the law.
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