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Investigator: Deadly house fire caused by propane explosion

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Fire investigators in Rock Hill have determined how a fire started which killed a man last week.

Rock Hill Fire Department investigator Capt. Karen Kane said the fire at 1132 Hoyle Street was accidental and that it was caused when 98-year-old Fred Cathcart tried to dismantle a 25-pound propane cylinder inside the house for scrap metal.

The cylinder was thought to be empty but when the cylinder head was dismantled it resulted in a large pressure release causing an explosion and fire, Capt. Kane said.

Cathcart was killed in the fire.

Investigators did not have any update Monday on burn victim Alice Wilson, who is in the burn center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.