Taunton house engulfed in flames after explosion; mother and child severely burned
A fiery explosion destroyed a Taunton home Wednesday morning. City officials said a 25-year-old woman and her 2-year-old child were severely burned.
"The house exploded," Taunton Fire Chief Steven Lavigne said. "There's nothing left standing."
It happened at a three-family home on Plain Street shortly before 10 a.m. Video showed the house completely engulfed in flames, sending black smoke into the air.
"A pretty horrific image"
The woman rushed out of the house after the blast, but then ran back inside when she realized her 2-year-old was still in the home. That is when she suffered significant burns.
"It was a pretty horrific image," Taunton Mayor Shaunna O'Connell said.
Lavigne said an investigation is underway into the cause of the fire, but they are leaning toward a gas explosion. He said Eversource shut the gas off in the area.
The public is asked to avoid the area so first responders can access the scene. Plain Street was blocked off Wednesday afternoon and expected to be closed for hours. Neighboring homes were also heavily damaged by the fire, but one was empty and for sale.
Neighbors describe Taunton explosion
Neighbor William Shivers Jr. told WBZ-TV he heard a "big explosion." He ran to help people who were in neighboring homes, and said he could feel the heat from the fire through his clothes.
"When you see something like that, the first thing you want to do is make sure people got out," he said. "The flames were just insane, it was above the building."
Taunton received 29 inches of snow from the Blizzard of 2026 on Monday, making it difficult for crews to get there quickly and fight the flames. Shivers Jr. said people worked together to find the fire hydrants that were buried under snowbanks.
"I went on Google Earth and I looked for where the fire hydrants were in front of the houses, and then gave them our shovels and they went and shoveled it out," he said.
Another neighbor, Jason Meszaros, said he heard the noise of the house exploding.
"I heard a loud thump, but it wasn't a thump it was the explosion ... These houses are 30 to 40 feet, those flames are 50 feet in the air. It was an inferno," he said. "Hopefully they have a speedy recovery, and they are not too badly burned, but we are all neighbors. We don't want this to happen to anybody."
For neighbors who are out of power and in need of a place to go, the city has opened a warming center and shelter at the senior center at 30 Olney Street.