ABERDEEN, Wash. — A propane tank exploded inside a family RV in Aberdeen Thursday morning, resulting in two children and their parents being seriously injured ahead of the winter season.
Shortly after 8 Thursday morning, fire and paramedic personnel with the Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Cosmopolis fire departments responded to a report about a fire in the 200 block of South Mill Street. When they arrived at the scene, they found an RV with a “smoldering fire” inside, according to a press release from Aberdeen Fire Chief Dave Golding.
Officers with the Aberdeen Police Department received a call at the same time regarding an explosion and responded to the scene. When officers arrived, the trailer was not on fire, police said.
The police department also received a call from a family of four who reported being burned and injured as a result of the RV fire. The family walked two blocks away from the initial fire scene when the department received the call. When personnel reached the family, they saw that each victim had varying degrees of injury. One of the victims told personnel that there was an explosion inside the RV when it caught fire.
The family of four, including two children aged 3 and 4, lived in the trailer, police said.
One of the children was airlifted from the scene. The other three family members were transported to the Harbor Regional Health Hospital.
A preliminary investigation found that the fire may have been caused by a propane tank and a small heater used for heating the trailer.
There are currently no updates on the victims’ conditions of Friday afternoon, police said.
The investigation is ongoing, but investigators do not believe there was any foul play involved.
“We want to remind everyone that if you are using a portable propane heater indoors, while not advised, make sure there is proper ventilation and automatic shutoff safety features as well as carbon monoxide detectors,” the police department said in a press release Friday afternoon.
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