Propane tank explodes, flames destroy Quincy house

QUINCY, Mass. — “Terrible day, terrible day,” said Gayle McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, who lives across from a home destroyed by a Monday afternoon fire describes the immense loss.

She saw her neighbor’s house erupt in flames and it brought back horrible memories of her own house burning.

“It’s shocking because it’s [been] literally almost seven years to the day that my house burned down,” said McLaughlin.

Quincy firefighters rushed to Hanna Street in Quincy on one of the hottest days of the year. Deputy Chief Tim Burchill says the weather was extreme.

“Too hot,” said Burchill. “Very, very hot. It went to a four alarm basically for manpower.”

Sky 25 flew over the scene where flames could be seen engulfing the back of the house. Firefighters believe a faulty propane tank is the likely cause.

“The whole rear of the house went up and we did have an explosion so we believe the propane tank exploded in the process,” said Burchill.

The explosion shocked McLaughlin’s daughter Gianna Parsons who remembers her family’s loss seven years ago.

She ran to find her neighbors dogs saying, “I actually ran into the house to look for the dogs but the whole downstairs was already filled with smoke. I couldn’t see and it was really hard to breathe.”

The dogs got out safely but a family cat was still missing.

Neighbors in this tightly knit community vow to help this family through this devastating loss. McLaughlin says they’ll need it.

“You got no shoes on your feet, no clothes, nothing,” said McLaughlin.

Cox Media Group