Related Articles
A woman is dead, and her family member is hospitalized, after a fire official said a tree “may have” collapsed on a propane tank, instigating a massive fire and home explosion during Thursday’s powerful nor’easter in New Hampshire.
Derry Fire Chief Shawn Haggart said in a press conference on Thursday afternoon that his department received reports of a home explosion in Derry.
Law enforcement arrived at the residence on Goodhue Road to find the home fully engulfed in flames at 11:40 a.m. Thursday.
Authorities said that an older woman was killed during the incident. Her cause of death and identity was not immediately available.
6-ALARM BOSTON FIRE LEAVES 1 DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED, NEIGHBORS FLEEING FOR THEIR LIVES
Police block a road as a firefighter works a water line after a home explosion on Thursday in Derry, N.H. Derry Fire Chief Shawn Haggart said his department received reports of an explosion and responded, finding a house fully engulfed in flames. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
A juvenile related to the woman was rescued from the fire and transported to a Massachusetts medical facility for burn treatment.
During the press conference, the fire chief thanked his partners for battling the blaze amid “extreme weather conditions.”
Winter storm warnings were in effect throughout New Hampshire and other New England states, as an early spring nor’easter brought heavy rain, sleet, snow and wind to the region.
A truck plows snow from a road in East Derry, N.H., on Thursday. (AP/Charles Krupa)
New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean P. Toomey said that authorities are “still determining the cause of the explosion.”
Toomey said that a tree falling onto the home’s propane gas tank “may have” caused the explosion and subsequent blaze.
An early spring nor’easter hammered the Northeast with heavy snow, rain and high winds on Thursday. (AP Photo/Kathy McCormack)
Toomey said that the home’s debris launched into the roadway following the explosion.
“The home suffered substantial damage. The walls are blown out,” Toomey said. “We’re still examining the full extent. The door was out in the roadway.”
MASSIVE 5-ALRM FIRE BREAKS OUT AT BROOKLYN CATHOLIC CHURCH DURING EASTER SUNDAY
There is no danger to other homes in the area.
“There is propane at that house, we’ve identified that as the only gas that’s there,” Toomey said.
Wires from a fallen utility pole block a snow-covered road in Bow, N.H., on Thursday. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
The cause of the blast is under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the state Fire Marshal’s Office at 603- 223-4289.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.
