Colquitt County, GA – Colquitt County investigators say a propane leak is most likely the cause of an explosion that injured a family in Colquitt County on Tuesday, although the state fire marshal’s office is still investigating.
Deputies say propane leaked all over a camper while the family was preparing dinner.
Joann Elrod was inside her home watching TV when she heard a strange noise Tuesday afternoon.
“A large boom. And my dogs went wild and that little short dog was trying to tear the door down so I thought maybe I need to get up and see what that was,” says resident Joann Elrod.
And what she saw was scary. Flames were shooting up behind her neighbor’s house where this camper is parked. A couple and their two young children living in the camper were hurt.
“The man had two propane tanks in his hands bringing them over here close to the fence and the children was running around and the mama was running and the man who lives in the house starting putting water on there and I called 911, ” says Elrod.
According to deputies the propane tanks leaked while the family was preparing dinner.
“This residence that the family was at, was a camper, and campers are traditionally equipped with items like propane for cooking and cooling and refrigerators and so fourth,” says Colquitt County investigator Shawn Bostick.
Two propane tanks are still sitting by the fence of the house.
The family had just moved to town, and were temporarily living in the camper.We know the mother, Maria Lopez, was treated a Colquitt Regional Medical Center.
We believe her husband and two children were taken to the burn center in Augusta.
We’re still working to find out the conditions of the family members.
Investigators say propane can be very dangerous, and the camper the family was staying in was older and probably didn’t have a gas detector.
The report also showed that the family had just moved to the area.