(Oklahoma City, OK) A girl had lost her life, while her parents and brother were hospitalized, when their home in Oklahoma City exploded Thursday morning. The coroner has identified the girl as Berklee Maguire, 14 years of age. Her parents and brother were injured in the explosion with burns, said District Fire Chief Benny Fulkerson of Oklahoma City.
The house explosion occurred just before 7 a.m. in northeast Oklahoma City and destroyed the home while also damaging at least three nearby houses, according to the District Fire Chief.
The blast may have been caused by an illegal log lighter in the fireplace, said Nicholas Nadeau, safety code enforcement officer with the Oklahoma State Liquified Petroleum Gas Administration. The device had a faulty pilot safety shutoff and the pilot light went out, filling multiple rooms with propane gas vapor, and when Shawn Maguire, Berklee’s father, attempted to plug in a coffee spot when a spark flew and ignited the gas.
(Photo Courtesy of News9 in Oklahoma City)
