Chemicals, Fuels, Propane On Site Of Pre-Dawn David Lane Fire, Explosions: State

NORTH BRANFORD, CT — A pre-dawn fire at a David Lane property that a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesperson described as a "hoarding situation" was fueled and compounded by chemicals, myriad fuels and propane tanks, according to Bill Flood.

"There are an unknown number of containers of pool chemicals, some of which have been compromised by the fire," Flood said in an email to Patch. "There are also an unknown number of containers of gasoline, diesel fuel, and other motor vehicle fluids that have been compromised."

Flood said that "numerous propane cylinders have been observed, some of which have been damaged by the fire and some underwent BLEVE," the acronym for boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.

"An environmental contractor is responding to segregate and containerize all the waste for disposal," Flood said. "The ERU will work on making all the propane tanks safe by flaring any residual gas from the cylinders."

An emailed request early Friday for information from the Branford Fire Department was not returned by publication time.