Related
TAUNTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A home exploded then erupted into massive flames in Taunton Wednesday morning, sending a mother and her young daughter to the hospital with severe burns, according to Taunton fire officials.
Taunton Fire and police responded to 78 Plain Street around 9:50 a.m. for reports of an explosion with multiple burn victims.
According to Taunton Fire Chief Steven Lavigne, two of those injured were a 25-year-old mother and her two-year-old child. Officials say they both suffered severe burns and were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Chief Lavigne spoke about the snowy and cold conditions firefighters faced.
“The situation is now under control, but this was a very serious incident,” Chief Lavigne said. “The weather conditions present unique challenges, but we plan for these situations.”
An off-duty Quincy firefighter who lives behind the house that exploded jumped into action to help the victims. He spoke with 7NEWS after the incident.
“As I was coming to the back of the building, I see the woman and her two-year-old come out of the house. And I just told them like, ‘hey, come here, come with me,’ and I grabbed the kid,” said Shawn Fortin, who helped after the explosion. “Her state of mind, she was in shock, in disbelief. That was the bravest two-year-old I’ve ever seen. She was talking, she was in pain clearly. They were completely in shock. That house went up in flames real quick.”
— Natural Gas Expert on Taunton house explosion —
Two adjacent homes were also damaged in the explosion.
Eversource responded with crews on site to shut off utilities at affected homes.
“We have gas personnel on site coordinating closely with fire officials in response to the incident in the area of Plain and Hart streets in Taunton,” a company representative said in a statement. “We are actively investigating the issue, and continue to work with local and public safety officials.”
“I just wanted to see if I could help in some way,” said Fortin. “And thankfully I was able to help and give them some shelter, because it was not a pretty sight up there.”
No firefighters were injured while responding to the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation; Taunton police said they do not believe it was suspicious.
A GoFundMe for the mother and 2-year-old whose home exploded can be found here.
A GoFundMe for a next-door neighbor whose home was also damaged can be found here.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)