The explosion of a pair of 100-pound propane tanks outside a home on Fifield Point preceded a fatal fire in Stonington Sunday, fire officials say.
The cause of the fire at the home of David Crutcher is still under investigation, but the state fire marshal’s office confirmed Monday that the tanks exploded before the fire razed the home at the end of Fifield Point Road.
A man, believed to be Crutcher, was found dead in the rubble.
Firefighters from across the island and the Blue Hill Peninsula responded to the fire that broke out Sunday morning. Stonington Fire Chief Ryan Hayward said the home, known as the Avalon House, was engulfed in flames when he drove down the single lane dirt road to get to the fire.
All that was left of the $1.3 million property is the foundation and a torched chimney.
“It’s leveled,” said Orland Fire Chief Bob Conary, whose department helped put out the fire later Sunday afternoon. “It’s completely gone.”
While the investigation continues, officials said there was no evidence of foul play.
The 71-year-old Crutcher, originally from Kentucky, had lived on the island for about seven or eight years, according to Sue Buxton, who knew Crutcher and whose family also has property around Fifield Point. The point juts out into the water on the western side of the island, and Crutcher’s house was at the very tip.
Buxton, whose family runs a boat building and seafood business on the island, said she first met Crutcher when he came to Stonington and was interested in having a boat built. Though he lived alone at the house, Buxton said she and her husband had dinner with Crutcher’s siblings in the past, and they were a tight-knit family.
“The whole thing has been an emotional experience,” she said. “It’s tragic all the way around.”
Crutcher owned several properties around the island, was involved in the stock market and had a passion for electric bicycles, which he rode and sold, according to people who knew him.
Jill Hoy, a local painter, said Crutcher was a high-energy person who once cycled to the gallery and bought six paintings. The art drew him to Stonington, and the two developed a friendly professional relationship, where he often ran potential business ideas past her.
“David was very entrepreneurial and inquisitive,” she said. “He was full of ideas, forward thinking.”
Hayward and another investigator at the scene said no other bodies were found at the home.
Firefighters were at the home for about 12 hours on Sunday and then about five hours on Monday. Fire crews had to be called in from as far as Lamoine later in the day Sunday because several departments had to leave to extinguish a forest fire that had also broken out in Blue Hill.
Firefighters also contended with the extremely dry conditions and low water levels in Stonington.
Hayward estimated that about 100,000 gallons of water were needed to put out the fire. Firefighters started fighting the blaze with the town’s fire hydrant system, but eventually needed to pull a majority of the water needed from a nearby pond.
The water level in the pond dropped about 5 inches, according to the chief.
“This drought we’ve had down here has taken a toll on the island,” he said.