TAUNTON, Mass. — A home in a Massachusetts city exploded and burst into flames earlier this week, leaving the structure fully engulfed by the time first responders arrived.
Emergency crews were called to the scene on Plain Street in Taunton around 10 a.m. Wednesday. Police and firefighters arrived within minutes, but the force of the explosion had already caused significant damage to the two neighboring homes as well.
The response was complicated by the more than two feet of snow that fell during Monday’s blizzard.
The Taunton Police Department released new bodycam video on Thursday showing the moment when officers realized hydrants on the street were buried, slowing efforts to get water on the flames.
“Where are the hydrants? They’re all buried...Do you know where the hydrants are? ... We’re f*****!” one officer is heard saying in the video as the flames raged.
Neighbors rushed outside as soon as they heard the blast—some running toward the danger to help. Among them was William Shivers, who made sure residents had safely escaped before assisting police and firefighters in digging out and locating the nearest hydrants.
“I just started banging into the snowbanks,” he told Boston 25 Thursday night as he watched the footage for the first time with reporter Daniel Coates. “I wanted to hear a ‘thunk.’ If I hear a ‘thunk’, that means there is one.”
Officers can be seen thanking Shivers as fire crews arrived on scene to extinguish the blaze.
Fire departments across the region are urging residents to clear snow from hydrants in their neighborhoods, stressing that in emergencies like this, every second counts.
Boston 25 News learned that preliminary evidence suggests the explosion was due to a natural gas leak.
Lucitha Blanc, 25, suddenly realized her two‑year‑old daughter, Janelle, was still inside. Both mother and daughter were rushed to a Rhode Island hospital. Family members say they each require surgery but are expected to recover.
Shnider Germilus, the boyfriend of Lucitha Blanc and father to Jenelle, told Boston 25 Thursday night that both are responsive and stable in Rhode Island hospitals. A GoFundMe for the family has been started.
An investigation is ongoing.
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