Cause of NH Home Fire, Explosion Determined

(NECN: Kathryn Sotnik, Brentwood, N.H.) - One week after a police officer was shot and killed in Brentwood, New Hampshire, state police and other officials are releasing more detail about what happened.

New Hampshire State Police say fallen Brentwood Police Officer Steve Arkell did "everything right" when he responded to the Mill Pond Road home.

They say he was wearing his bullet proof vest, but that suspect Michael Nolan, 47, ambushed Officer Arkell from above, firing three volleys of gunfire from a small square "cut-out" in a second floor wall.

State police are also providing more detail about the moments leading up to the deadly gunfire.

They say the suspect's dad, Walter Nolan, willingly let Officer Arkell into the condo. Moments earlier, a neighbor had called 911 for a domestic complaint, saying that Michael Nolan was yelling at his dad. Police say Michael Nolan had six firearms in the condo, but that all were legally registered.

As for the fire and subsequent explosion, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says Michael Nolan set multiple fires on the first and second floors of the condo, which eventually overwhelmed the sprinkler system.

Michael Nolan was later found dead in the home.

His cause of death has yet to be determined, pending the results of an autopsy.

The explosion, they say, was unintentional. The ATF believes that it was the result of a gas pipeline in the basement coming into contact with the fire.

New Hampshire State Police are also providing more detail on Freemont Officer Derek Franek, the second officer on the scene.

State police say Officer Franek bravely tried to enter the condo from the back, but because of an elevated deck, had to go around to the front, where they say he entered the condo, knowing that shots had already been fired. They say Officer Franek was also fired at from above, and that his identification that Officer Arkell was already dead was critical. Police believe it stopped other officers from attempting to enter the home, which may have risked more lives.

New Hampshire State Police say they're having a tough time getting information out of Walter Nolan. They say it's not a case of not cooperating, but rather a case of an elderly man having a hard time remembering. They say they'll try to interview him again in the near future.

Arkell's colleagues will be remembering him with a private police walk-through at Exeter High School Tuesday.

The public will be able to attend a memorial on Wednesday, scheduled at 11 a.m. at Exeter High School.

A public visitation is scheduled for Thursday at the Stockbridge Funeral Home in Exeter from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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