E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAn effort to fix a propane leak ends in tragedy when the house exploded, killing one man and injuring two others. WVIT's Ilana Gold reports from Connecticut.
One man was killed and two others were critically injured after an apparent propane explosion at a home in Connecticut Wednesday.
Police said the homeowner, John Wilkinson, 46, called his friend, Anthony Fratino, 47, to help fix a propane leak in the water heater in the basement of his home in New Milford, Conn.
The explosion happened around 6:40 p.m., according to reports.
Fratino was killed instantly, officials said. Wilkinson and Fratino's 9-year-old son, Nicholas, who was at the home at the time, were rushed to Danbury Hospital in Danbury Conn., with severe lacerations and burns.
Nicholas, police said, will soon be transported to a hospital in Boston, more than 150 miles away.
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
Wilkinson is being treated at the burn unit of Bridgeport Hospital, in Bridgeport, Conn.
Wilkinson’s wife, Alice, and their two kids reportedly left the home shortly before the explosion and were at a neighbor’s house. Police investigators said Wilkinson had told his family to leave the house when he smelled propane. It was not clear where the family is staying now.
Bits of rubble were scattered over a wide area where the two-story farmhouse had stood. All that is left of the Wilkinson family home now is the chimney, NBCConnecticut.com reported.
“It’s just an incredible site; there’s nothing left of the house,” New Milford Police Department Spokesperson Lt. Lawrence Ash told The News-Times in Danbury. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
After the blast, police and fire crews searched the rubble for any remaining victims. While they determined no one else was at the house at the time it was leveled, Ash said police still plan to use a cadaver dog to make sure there were no human remains at the site.
Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com
Police ordered onlookers away from the scene because they feared asbestos particles from the house may be in the air, Ash said.
Some New Milford residents say they heard the explosion from miles away.
“It shook my entire house,” another neighbor, Patricia Bailey told NBCConnecticut.com. “I had no idea what that was.”
“I thought a plane or car ran into our house,” Eric Bailey, who lives near the ruined house, told The News-Times. “The entire house just – boom, shook.”
Officials advise anyone who smells a gas leak in their house, workplace, or around any gas equipment or appliance to leave the area immediately and call a trained propane service person and the fire department.
New Milford is in western Connecticut close to the New York state border.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Drifter who skinned cat, wore its tail sentenced to two years in prison
- Isaac's storm surge floods parts of Louisiana, Mississippi
- From darkness to gold: Blinded Navy swimmer set to race at Paralympics
- New York man sentenced to 40 years to life for grisly murder of boy
- California moves closer to banning 'gay cure' therapy for teens
- Baby bobcat injured by California fire recuperating at wildlife shelter
- Two men reunite with wayward boat Queen Bee that washed up in Spain
- Veterans rely on patchwork safety net during hard financial times
Leave a Comment:
"Gimme the flashlight."
More likely, "Got a light?"
cheetah & denver
Have a heart as 1 person dead and 2 seriously injured with burns etc, especially if they had to be taken to a burn unit in Boston. I know come comedic relief is what you were hoping for but morbid humor is not warranted. Think if it was you that was a casualty please.
No where in the story was it stated either was smoking, as in cigarettes. Please have some respect.
jack,
I'm with you on that. For propane to completely level a house and leave only the chimney standing, the house must have been absolutely full of it. I figure it had to make it's way up the the kitchen stove pilots. That or when they were complete, they went to re-light the water heater.
I don't know about you guys but if I smell propane in my house, I'd high tail it outta there asap! You can "always" re-build but can "never" replace a life.
R.I.P. to Fratino and best of luck and hope for a full recovery for his friend and Fratino's 9 yr old son.
You can laugh or you can cry; it changes nothing. Personally, I prefer laughter. My opinion would not change if I were the victim.
"Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel." ---Horace Walpole
Roger that Creek Dog!
Denver Bill 2
I guess to each his/her own. Enjoy Life to the Best of your Ability.
Thank you. You do the same, with my best wishes.
"No where in the story was it stated either was smoking..."
The uncertainty being whether before or after.
Smokin?
Yep. Both of them.
So the home owner is smart enough to get his wife and kids out of the house. But his buddy brings his 9 yr old to the house what an Idiot I am sorry for the kid and I hope he gets well but his father is a product of natural selection
Maybe the inquisitive, "helpful" son wanted to assist his dad and followed him to the neighbor's house without dad's knowledge or consent? If he was hanging on dad's coat tails, wouldn't he also have been killed instantly?
Regardless of the fact that the neighbor should have opted out of helping in this particular situation, his son must live the rest of his life with permanement scars, both physical and mental, because his dad was being neighboorly.
Think before you speak, danimyl.
Inquisitive or not I don't think that bomb disposal personnel bring their 9 yr old son do work with them any one that works with gas or at least a half a brain knows that so apparently he was not qualified with either and should not have even been there himself
My statement mite be a bit harsh but if it makes one person here think twice about taking their children to a gas leak then I have no regrets
I agree totally with you, danimyl, and don't think you're being harsh at all. In fact thought the exact same thing when I read the story. "Honey, you and the kids go next door, it's too dangerous to be here." Some time later: "Come on in, friend and his 9-year-old, the leak's down here."
I am so offended by these comments. This is my community and while we may never know one's actions or why this happened..how dare any of you make fun of this situation. These two families will be forever changed. One lost a husband and a father as their son is fighting for his life and under going one of many suregeries today..and the other lost their whole house. How do you people sleep at night?? Does it really make you feel better to put others down? I didn't realize you were so much better than everyone else.
Fenway11,
I understand where you're coming from. Theres not one but a "bunch" in every crowd these days. Please ignore the rude comments. It's so easy for them to sit behind a computer and do these stupid things thinking it's so funny.
It's pure immaturity and they're obviously the kind of people who think it "ALWAYS" happens to somebody else and never them, "until it happens to them".
Sorry for your loss in your neighborhood I hope they both make a full recovery.
CD
My condelences to the families.
@Fenway11: Spot on. It's unbelieveable how some people will mock a tragedy.
Your community? Stop being so indignant and learn something from the woman who lost her family to a fire last year. If you don't know enough to put hot ashes outside, perhaps a gas line is completely out of your orbit. I feel badly for the survivors and owe it to them to learn something and not repeat a devastating show of ignorance.
@cheetah: Stamford and New Milford are about 45 miles apart. That's the same as Baltimore and DC.
When you smell a gas leak you call the emergency number for the gas company immediately. You do not do the dumb thing that this jerk did and call your friend to help so that he gets killled and you get burned. You also evacuate all people in the house. Get them away from the house. This guy was totally brain dead.
Unbelievable how some of you people can be so callous. Cowardly, insensitive remarks from the cozy, anonymous confines of your mom's PC down in her basement.
I'll never understand why a man would bring his adolescent son within ten miles of a house with a natural gas leak. God bless him.
In this case it was a Propane leak which is some number% much higher a danger than a natural gas leak...still, agree on keeping anyone, child or untrained adult, away from the site given Propane's penchant to blow.
I have never liked using natural gas in my house..just paranoid that way and the only propane I have is on the grill, in the yard, on a patio, well away from the house.
i agree, however i have an 8 year old boy and a 3 year old boy and they never leave their dad alone and try to follow him everywhere... even when he tells them to stay put one of them eventually tries to find him... that could be the case here...
Years ago a house we were remodeling had temprary heaters working over the weekend and somehow one went out but the gas valve did not shut off. The fire department determined The walk in freezer in the basement must have kicked on and the largest piece of the house we found was a 4'x4' piece of plywood found in a tree 1/4 mile away.
Thankfully no one was in the house. If you ever smell gas open the windows and doors and get out and call the fire department from your neighbors house, do not touch any light switches or other possibe spark inducing items, if possible shut off the tanks but do not linger around the house if it blows anyone nearby is all done.
Deepest sympathies for the Fratino family in the loss of your beloved Anthony. Sending prayers for Nicholas and all the doctors and staff performing his surgeries and for him to have a full recovery. Also, praying for the Wilkinson family and for recovery for John.
We are all human and none of us know what the outcome of every situation might be. They definitely did not expect this to happen, otherwise they would have not attempted to repair the problem. Everyone who is posting negative comments, please stop. These families are in enough pain.
Don't ever mess with gas. Some people just don't know enough.
Why would someone try to fix this themself? Because many American's still have an I can do it attitude. Most of the time this brings us success but occasionally something can go wrong. We can a gas leak when our kids were little and my husband took it upon himself to turn off the gas and tear open the wall with plastic and rubber tools to find the leak. He has done the same thing with water leaks, electrical problems and anything else that has come along. Why would anyone try this? Sometimes it is because one cannot afford a repairman and one has to figure it out to keep heat, water, or power flowing for one's family. Yankee ingenuity built this country and hopefully American generosity can rebuild the loses these two families have suffered.
Or maybe he didn't have the money to spend $500 for someone to come out and say "I can have someone out here next week and it will be $2500". That "can do" attitude is all some people have. Hindsight is 20/20. This man has lost a neighbor who was probably a good friend and a child has to suffer burns and the trauma of losing his father.
"Because many American's still have an I can do it attitude. Most of the time this brings us success but occasionally something can go wrong."
I must admit that I am one of those who try to fix things myself. However, when dealing with propane or gas that attitude would fade into the background. I would immediately get my family out of the house, and if I feel that it is safe, I would shut the main off outside the house. If the smell is very light, I may open as many doors and windows as possible to minimize the risk for the professionals. However, I would keep in mind the level of risk in my every action and deal with it accordingly.
Creek Dog ;
Agreed. That life will never be relived. But that house will be re built in the next year.
I think the people should of got out when they smelled the gas.
People, Stop making jokes and have a heart . Imagine if you were in that house with kid.
Shame on you.
That's hard to imagine because I would not have been there with my kid. But yes this is a tragedy and I do have condolences for Mrs Fratino and hope the boy pulls through
I worked for a propane company for 11 years. We tell the customers and give them a pamphlet that if they smell gas they are to leave the house immediately, call us from outside the house and also call 911.
So many times we have customers that have switched out a gas appliance themselves failing to properly shut of the gas supply to the area. They try to fix their appliances and furnaces with themselves or an untrained friend or neighbor. I certainly understand that people can not afford the price of someone coming in and doing it right. It sure isn't worth losing your life and home over.
We had one customer that switched out a propane cook stove and put in an electric themselves. They did not tell us so we could see that it was done properly. When we hook up a propane supply to them all appliances serial numbers are listed. Pieces of their home blew 1/4 mile down the road. A person died there as well. The family sued the company I worked for. The company spent thousands defending themselves. The serial numbers were matched with what was blown all over the place. The propane stove wasn't there, an electric one was. People just are not capable to do what they are told to anymore.
We tried to make it a policy that our company would come into their home annually to check appliance serial numbers. We were denied access, or no response to request. Again I do understand that they feel were are infringing on their privacy's. Believe me the companies employees do not want to go into some of these flea,insect and rodent infested, filthy disgusting places. Our state backs us up with getting initial appliance serial numbers, that is it.
Combustible gases will kill you. You are required to turn your engine off at a gas station not because of the liquid gas, it is the fumes that will ignite. The fumes hug the ground, and you may not even notice it till it is too late. I have on numerous occasions ask people at pumps smoking to put their cigarette out. I have asked a man that was rummaging through the trash baskets at the pump for pop cans (not getting gas) to put his cigarette out. He the guy got my respect for putting forth an effort to get buy. Heck I gave him 5 dollars.
People just refused to do as they are told.
I don't have propane, but I do have natural gas. If we suspect a leak, we have the gas company's number programmed into both cell phones, and know to leave the house and call them immediately. They'll come fix the leak for free.
If the propane company doesn't have the same policy, shame on them. It could be because of that, the reason why this homeowner chose a DIY approach.
Please, please please! When you see or smell something like that evacuate the house. Call the gas/propane company from your neighbor's house. They come out, scan it with an electronic "sniffer" and assess the danger.
Our neighbor smelled gas coming out of our meter on the house and came over and told us. The gas company came out and tightened some stuff. We got to meet the boys down at the fire department. All at 3:00 in the morning and 20 degrees out. In my nightgown. After the "all clear" we just went back to bed.
The point is, we lived to go back to bed and wake up in the morning. OMG this is so horrible.
When one considers the mentality of some people, it is really difficult to imagine America becoming the great nation it is so capable of being. I really don't believe some of you realize how ignorant you are. Allow me to tell you. VERY.
Wierd story, I hope all of them get life, weather or not she was a willing particapant she was still murdered and then disgarded like trash. She deserves justice.
You may have posted this comment to the wrong article.