Lieutenant Donnie Ray Caldwell. 74. a volunteer firefighter with the Ghent (WV) Area Volunteer Fire Department who survived a deadly 2007 propane tank explosion at a convenience store in Ghent, West Virginia, has died. Ghent Fire Chief Jim Belcher said Caldwell was hospitalized long after the explosion, which occurred when propane gas suddenly blew through a faulty valve that was stuck open, leveling the Little General Store. Although Caldwell was eventually released from the hospital, Chief Belcher said he never really recovered.
The United States Fire Administration announced that Lieutenant Caldwell passed away from complications related to the injuries he sustained in the blast. The propane explosion killed two other firefighters at the incident scene, Captain Fred Burroughs, and Firefighter-EMT Craig Dorsey. Two propane service technicians were also killed and five other people were injured. The explosion leveled the store, destroyed a responding ambulance, and damaged other nearby vehicles. A report from the investigation of the fatal incident conducted by the United States Chemical Safety Board can be found at http://www.csb.gov/assets/document/CSBFinalReportLittleGeneral.pdf
