Man Killed in Fire Identified

The Contra Costa County coroner’s office has identified a man killed in a fire at a Bay Point shed last week.

John Davis, a 69-year-old man, was found dead in his shed that had been badly burned after flammable gas caught on fire and resulted in two small explosions last Wednesday, according to the coroner’s office and an official with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

Fire Marshal Robert Marshall said fire inspectors found candles, lighters, electrical devices and welding materials but would not be able to determine exactly what sparked the blaze.

Fire inspectors do know that one of those materials ignited some flammable gas, which in turn caught propane and acetylene gas tanks on fire, Marshall said.

Witnesses reported two explosions, one that likely occurred when the gas caught on fire, and another louder boom that was the result of a propane gas tank exploding, Marshall said.

Firefighters responded at around 4 p.m. Wednesday to the 400 block of Shore Road in Bay Point, Marshall said. Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire coming from the shed and saw the gas tanks on fire. Fire crews concentrated their efforts on extinguishing the blaze, which was threatening a nearby home, Marshall said.

It was doused within roughly 20 minutes, he said. Once they were able to extinguish the fire and enter the shed, crews quickly found Davis’s body, Marshall said.

--Bay City News