Updated at 9:15 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A man was badly burned in Napavine this morning from an explosion and fire inside a camper in the driveway of a house.
Firefighters called just before 6 a.m. to the 200 block of West Branch Street found a male patient about 60 years old with burns to approximately 40 percent of his body, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.
The fire itself stayed inside the camper and was quickly extinguished, according to Firefighter-EMT Maria Kennedy. Neither the trees above it or the house which was only about 10 feet away caught fire, she said. The truck it was mounted upon even seemed undamaged, she said.
Kennedy, who was on the first arriving engine, said she didn’t yet know the cause.
“We believe a possible gas leak, but we put all our resources into patient care and had District 6 put the fire out,” she said. “The scary thing about burns, is your skin is your most important organ.”
Kennedy said she didn’t know if the man was visiting or lived there, or what he was doing inside the camper when it happened, but said residents at the home had gotten him to a safe part of the yard and were caring for him where crews arrived.
He was treated at the scene by medics and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, she said.
•••
CORRECTION: This news story has been updated to reflect the victim had been inside the camper when it caught fire.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter