BRENTWOOD, N.H. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Officials released more information today on the shooting that took the life of police officer Steve Arkell and subsequent home fire and explosion that killed the suspected shooter, Michael Nolan.
Last Monday afternoon, Officer Arkell, who had been with the Brentwood Police Department for 15 years, responded to a 911 call for a domestic dispute at 46 Mill Pond Rd. The caller, a neighbor, claimed that 47-year-old Michael Nolan was screaming at his father, 86-year-old Walter Nolan.
When Arkell arrived and entered the home, he was shot and killed. The New Hampshire Attorney General says Michael Nolan shot Arkell from a second-floor vantage point inside the home.
After the shooting, a fire later broke out in the home on Mill Pond Road and then the home exploded, with flames engulfing it and the unit next door.
Though Michael Nolan's remains were found in the garage area of the home, and is believed to have died in the fire, it could take months for a full autopsy to be completed.
Officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stated Monday that 19 officers from across the country came to the scene in Brentwood, N.H. to investigate the fire and explosion.
The fire was classified as "incendiary" and ATF officials believe that multiple fires were intentionally set throughout the home on the first and second floor. Though the home had a sprinkler system, it was overwhelmed by the number of fires set.
ATF officials concluded that the explosion came when gas released from pipes in the basement combined with the fires set on the first and second floors.
While Nolan was shooting inside the home, officials said, he hit the pipes that released propane gas.
Six guns, six rifles and a large amount of ammunition was found inside the home.