Two hurt in propane explosion

The Daily Inter Lake

Two people at an Evergreen trailer park were injured Tuesday night when propane from a faulty furnace that had built up inside their motor home exploded, causing a fire.

A man and a 7-year-old boy, both of whom were taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, were in the motor home when the explosion occurred, according to Evergreen Fire Marshal Ben Covington.

The boy suffered minor burns, but the man's injuries - reportedly severe burns to much of his back and arms - were more serious.

Rescue personnel were sent to the Backwoods Trailer Park in the 1600 block of Montana 35 about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Propane leaking from lines not correctly hooked up to the motor home's furnace had ignited when the man tried to light the stove, Covington said.

The approximately 18-foot motor home sustained some fire damage and moderate damage from the explosion, but firefighters do not believe it to be a total loss.

Some of the motor home's walls were pushed out by the blast.

Lynne Fleming, who lives across the street from the motor home, was watching her favorite TV show when she heard a 'shattering boom."

"I ran outside because I didn't know what it was," said Fleming, who initially thought a plane had crashed.

Fleming saw the motor home's occupants get out; the man appeared dazed and had been burned, she said. Then another neighbor, David Finch, attacked the flames with a fire extinguisher.

"There's just smoke billowing out of this thing through the vents," Fleming said. "The motor home could have been engulfed. You know how motor homes are, they can go fast."

Prior to firefighters' arrival, Finch - the father of three young boys - used the fire extinguisher to attack the flames first from outside, then inside the motor home.

"He sprayed the side of the motor home heavily and seemed to put out the fire … As he turned and started walking back toward us we could see the inside of the motor home flare up. He turned and saw what was happening and ran back inside the motor home which was heavy with smoke, risking harm to himself," said Fleming, who called Finch's actions heroic.

Finch, who emerged from the motor home uninjured, prevented flames from spreading and the motor home from becoming engulfed, according to Fleming.

Firefighters and paramedics with the Evergreen Fire Department and rescue personnel with the Kalispell Fire Department responded to the scene.