Man who died in RV explosion/fire traveled the world in it

It was an RV the owner traveled the world in and would die in. An explosion shook the Denver Whittier neighborhood around breakfast time on Saturday. Dana Fox, a neighbor felt the blast around 7 a.m. "I heard screaming, and so I looked out my back window, and I  could see a large plume of black smoke."

Neighbors heroically ran to the RV and attempted to remove the elderly man, but without luck. One man told CBS4 he grabbed the man, but couldn't pull him out. Leonard Hurst and his grandmother heard the blast, saying with regret, "It's sad for sure, especially trying to save him and not being able to."

The RV was filled with stickers from places the owner had proudly taken it by ship overseas. It was parked in an alley behind his daughter's home at 27th and Vine Street. Neighbors believed he lived in the RV at least part of the time.

Assistant Denver Fire Chief Greg Pixley said police were investigating alongside their department. "The combustibles inside this RV, they were overwhelmed by this malfunction or this fire, whatever caused this fire, because it's still under investigation. We don't know if it's accidental or what it might be."

The Denver area is filled with such old vehicles parked along streets. In many cases, just a step above homelessness, at least providing a roof over the head. No one approached by CBS4 was willing to discuss the dangers of propane often used to heat and cook.

A similar fire happened recently in Aurora. No one was injured here, but still, another going up in flames.

Last year, there were 32 RV fires in Denver with one death. This year, there have already been 30 with this the first fatality.

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