CROCKER, RICHARD L.

BEN LOMOND – The person killed in a house fire at 11056 Love Creek Road [May 28, 1990] was identified by the county coroner as Richard Crocker, 65. Crocker’s remote mountain home was completely gutted by the fire, and his body was burned beyond recognition.

Ben Lomond Fire Chief Stephen Sanders said the fire may have burned for as long as 45 minutes before firefighters were summoned just after 10 p.m. Reports that the house exploded in flames initially gave rise to speculation that a gas leak had caused the fire, but Sanders said the house had no gas hookup and its propane tank had been removed. The cause of the fire has not yet been established, but preliminary investigation seems to indicate that the fire began near the home’s wood burning stove. The reported explosion of flames could have been the result of a sudden influx of oxygen reaching a long-smoldering fire inside the residence, he said.