Shelton, CT – Fire investigators worked well into the night, when a house on Wopowog trail was rocked off its foundation after a propane explosion in the basement.
Three men suffered severe burns.
My sister thinks he’s pretty stable at this point. She was down there to spend some time with him, said Mayor Mark Lauretti.
Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti’s brother, Luke, was one of the men inside the home.
He was coherent. He was badly burned. There are issues there he will have to deal with, said Mayor Lauretti.
Mayor Lauretti said his 48-year-old brother was visiting his friend at the home and was standing near the two man crew from pioneer gas and appliance.
They attempted to light the hot water heater and that’s when the explosion occurred, said Sgt. Kevin Ahern of Shelton Police.
The explosion rocked the entire neighborhood.
Glen spray/neighbor
I just heard people starting to yell and scream and I knew something was wrong, said neighbor Glen Spray.
Flames were shooting from the house. The explosion blew out the walls of the basement.
In fact one of the beams supporting the ceiling was shattered.
24-year-old Gary Henry of Waterbury, 59-year-old Randy Fera of Stratford along with Lauretti all ran out of the home before being rushed to Bridgeport Hospital’s burn unit.
He’s in a good place and the kind of place he should be in this situation, said Mayor Lauretti.
The mayor said his thoughts are with his brother and the two other men.
I hope that both individuals recuperate and survive and do okay in the end, said Mayor Lauretti.
The three men are in critical condition.