Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said May 6 he is investigating the cause of an accidental fire that destroyed a cape-style house at 4 Aunt Park Lane in Hattertown early on the morning of Monday, May 4. The fire did not start due to the presence of compressed propane within two large tanks near the house, but after the fire started, the gas intensified the blaze, fueling the flames, he said.

Mr Halstead said the fire started at a rear porch of the wood-frame house, which is insured for loss. The fire left only a foundation and chimney standing amid the ruins.

Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company Assistant Chief Joe Masso, who served as incident commander, said there were no injuries in the blaze. It was reported to the town’s emergency dispatch center at about 4 am.

Asst Chief Masso said fighting the fire was complicated by intense jets of flame that shot upward about 60 feet from the propane tanks, as well as a wildly sparking electric service line, which had detached from the burning house.

Town real estate records list Barbara and Kenneth Donahue of Memphis, Tenn., as the owners of the 2.4-acre property, which is on the northern end of Aunt Park Lane, near its intersection with Hundred Acres Road. The single-family house was built in 1939.

Three young adult males lived at the house, one of whom is the son of the owners, Mr Halstead said. The men were at home at the time of the incident. They escaped without injury. Firefighters called in the American Red Cross to provide aid to the victims.