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Man seriously burned in home explosion near Sylvan Lake

A man suffered serious burns to most of his body in an explosion on a rural property southwest of Sylvan Lake Monday afternoon.
WEB-Sylvan-Fire
Sylvan Lake and Red Deer County volunteer firefighters tear apart a house’s still burning remains west of Sylvan Lake Monday night: the lone man inside was taken to hospital with serious burns.

SYLVAN LAKE — A man suffered serious burns to most of his body in an explosion on a rural property southwest of Sylvan Lake Monday afternoon.

The 66-year-old resident was found fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived, RCMP said.

The man was transported by ground ambulance to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and flown by STARS to the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary around 7:30 p.m.

Cpl. James Allemekinders of Sylvan Lake RCMP said the man was the only occupant of the shop that had been turned into a home on a property on the northwest corner of the Range Road 24 and Township Road 385 junction.

“He suffered burns to 90 per cent of his body,” said Allemekinders, adding there was no threat to the other two homes on the farmstead located about 1.6 km southeast of the Hwys 11 and 11A intersection.

The Sylvan Lake volunteer fire department responded to the initial call around 4:45 p.m. It was joined later by Red Deer County volunteer firefighters. They were still hosing down the small building’s smouldering remains around 6 p.m.

Allemekinders said Red Deer County fire investigators were on the scene and had called in the Provincial Fire Inspector due to the severity of the man’s injuries. The extent of his injuries are not known at this time and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

— copyright Red Deer Advocate