Randolph, MA – A propane gas explosion triggered a three-alarm fire that seriously burned a man and destroyed his Randolph home, officials said.
The explosion was reported at 11:54 p.m. Tuesday at the two-story home on Tiffany Drive, said Fire Operations Chief Daniel Kreckler.
The explosion blew the patio door off the back of the house and displaced the garage doors, he said.
A mother and her adult son were home at the time. While they were able to make it out of the house on their own, the son suffered burns, Kreckler said.
The son was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton and later transferred to a Boston hospital. His injuries are not considered life-threatening, but his condition is still serious, the chief said.
The mother was not injured.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Several appliances in the home use propane gas that comes from an underground tank in the front yard, Kreckler said.
Kreckler said the house was a total loss and would be demolished.
Firefighters spent three hours battling the blaze, hindered by a weak water supply.
The water mains leading into the neighborhood were over 100 years old, Kreckler said. The rust formed on the inside of the pipes made the opening much smaller, so they couldn’t provide the high flow of water we needed.
Kreckler said the 4-inch-diameter water main pipes might have been reduced to about 2 inches due to the rust buildup.
One firefighter suffered a minor shoulder injury and went to a local hospital after completing his shift, the chief said.
Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office were on scene Wednesday morning.