SACO, Maine — A home explosion early Tuesday morning on Pheasant Road that claimed the life of a man inside was apparently caused by the man, according to a press statement released by the state fire marshal’s office.
“Investigators believe the victim is 71-year-old Stephen Laughton, who started the fire,” the release issued by spokesman Stephen McCausland states.
Fire marshal investigators say the cause of the fire is arson. They believe that Laughton used gasoline and “doused both inside and outside the mobile home” before setting it ablaze.
The fire was reported just before 2 a.m. and several propane tanks inside the mobile home exploded as a result of the blaze.
A man’s body was found in the rubble by firefighters after the flames were extinguished and was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Augusta for an autopsy and positive identification, McCausland said.