Grandfather, father and son seriously hurt after RV explodes in Peabody

PEABODY - Three men from the same family were rushed to the hospital after an RV exploded into flames in Peabody, Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon.

RV explosion caught on video

A grandfather, father and son were preparing the vehicle for a family vacation to the Grand Canyon when it blew up in front of a home on Walker Road around 3:30 p.m. The explosion was recorded on a nearby doorbell camera as fire engulfed the RV. The video showed a man run out and roll on the ground while smoldering.

The heat was so intense it melted the siding on the house, but the fire was quickly contained.

"It could have been worse. Yeah, it could have been fatalities. It also could have spread to the houses, so it was a great knock down by the firefighters," said Peabody Fire Chief Jay Dowling.

There's no word yet on what caused the explosion.

"It was like a shock in my body, kind of like adrenaline. Just another level of adrenaline like I had never really felt before. I didn't freak out on the outside, I was more freaking out on the inside," neighbor Evan Deleido told WBZ-TV. "I hope they end up ok and everything."

"A big explosion"

John O'Donnell lives down the street. He said the blast shook his home.

"We heard a big explosion and I looked out the window, and then I just saw tons of smoke going up into the sky. You could see the flames over the house just across the street from me, and I ran out and I started running down the street and I seen the RV on fire," he told WBZ.

Two of the men were rushed to the hospital on a medical rescue helicopter. The third was taken by ambulance. Investigators said all three were alert and talking after the explosion.

"They're very good people. They're friends of mine," O'Donnell said of the men. "I was worried about the kids and everybody else too also."