Fire investigators with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department have confirmed that the propane heating system of the Rivest home, located on Haven Rd., was the cause of an explosion that took the lives of an Addison resident Mike Rivest, 43, and his 20-month-old son Gage; however, authorities were unclear as to why the system exploded.
Captain Newman said that whether the explosion occurred in the outside pipeline leading into the home or actually inside the home near the heating/boiler system was not determined by investigators, but the cause was clearly accidental.
“From our end of this investigation, it is done,” he stated.
Newman added that the insurance companies involved in the incident would probably continue the investigation as needed.
He also confirmed that the Rivests’ had changed propane heating providers about a month before the accident.