MONTVILLE – A gas explosion in a Montville kitchen killed three men April 13, and leveled the house.

On Wednesday, April 13, at approximately 3:30 p.m., investigators from the Maine Fire Marshal’s office responded to a residential fire at 50 Darci Lane in Montville that occurred as a result of an explosion.

The Montville Fire Department, assisted by the Liberty, Searsmont, Freedom, Morrill, Troy, Unity, Brooks, Washington and Palermo fire departments, extinguished the fire, and found inside the home Rocco Taddeo, 88, of Montville. He had been killed by injuries suffered during the blast and fire.

Two other men, Stuart Nichols, 74, and a relative, Robert Gorham, 78, of Buxton, were found outside the residence near the tree line. They were transported to Waldo General hospital where they received initial medical care before being transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

According to the Maine Dept. of Public Safety, Stuart Nichols had recently acquired a used propane-powered cooking stove for his kitchen. His home also included other propane-powered appliances.

The investigation established that one of Nichol’s appliances was experiencing a gas leak.

Nichols and Gorham were on the outside of the residence while Taddeo was inside attempting to light the stove. The explosion threw Nichols and Gorham away from the residence into some nearby trees. 

They were transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Both subsequently died from injuries sustained as a result of the explosion.

Liberty, Searsmont, and Unity Ambulance Services provided medical assistance.

MONTVILLE — A home on Darci Road in Montville is destroyed, one person is dead, and two others are in critical condition at a hospital, the result of a fire believed to have ignited from a gas stove leak.

The three victims are all adults, according to the Maine Dept. of Public Safety.

The home was loaded on a dirt driveway, “a bit off the road,” according to Shannon Moss, the department’s public information officer.

Investigators from the Fire Marshals’ Office are on scene. The fire appears to be accidental, said Moss.