Biographical Information

Ages: Burroughs, 51; Dorsey, 24

Cause of Death: Burroughs  and Dorsey were killed in an explosion at a West Virginia gas station where they had been called out to inspect the source of a leak. Dorsey was a volunteer firefighter and career EMT. Formerly, Burroughs was the chief of his department and at the time was the Raleigh County building inspector.

 By Shaya Tayefe Mohjer
The Associated Press

GHENT, W.Va. — Investigators returned Wednesday to what was left of a convenience store destroyed in a propane blast that killed four people and injured five others, at least four critically.

All that remained of the Flat Top Little General Store after Tuesday's explosion was a pile of splintered debris, twisted metal and a sign showing the price of gasoline. Candy and hot dog wrappers ended up in trees 200 to 300 yards from the store.

"It's going to be a slow process due to the severe amount of damage," said Kim O'Brien, spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office.

"Sometimes it is impossible to determine the cause of fires like these because you have to eliminate all sorts of ignition sources, natural and intentional, though we are leaning more towards an accidental source," she said.

A volunteer firefighter, a building inspector and two other people were killed in the explosion in this rural community about 70 miles southeast of Charleston.

Four people were in critical condition with burns and other injuries. A fifth person was sent to another hospital, where a spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking information Wednesday.

The blast occurred as emergency workers were investigating a report of a propane leak, state Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis said.

Seven nearby homes and an elementary school suffered minor damage. No injuries were reported at the school or the homes.

Lewis said store employees were working on an above-ground tank capable of holding 500 pounds of propane. However, that tank and the store's underground gasoline tanks did not explode, he said.

"It is our initial thought that the fumes entered into the building and had to have an ignition point," Lewis said.

He said cold temperatures would have kept the gas close to the ground.

The store's parent company, Little General Inc. in Beckley, would not comment.

Gov. Joe Manchin met privately with the victims' relatives at the Ghent Volunteer Fire Department.

"We seem to continue to go through many difficult times in West Virginia," Manchin said at a news conference, referring to recent disasters including the deaths of nine people in a fire at a Huntington apartment complex and a string of coal mine accidents.