KING FERRY (AP) -- Boaters who were watching firefighters battle a house fire nearly became casualties themselves when the fire ignited a 100-pound propane tank, which took off like a flaming rocket and splashed down in Cayuga Lake near the flotilla of onlookers.

Chief Gerald Warner of the King Ferry Fire Department said the house was set ablaze by the earlier explosion of a barbecue grill. It was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived around 11 p.m. Sunday.

As tanker trucks were bringing water, the large propane tank exploded and took off in a ball of flame. The explosion also started a brush fire, threatening to ignite nearby homes. But firefighters were able to draw water from the lake to douse the house and the brushfire.

The house burned down to its foundation, but nobody was hurt.

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