Tulsan hurt in blast

BY DEON HAMPTON World Staff Writer
Sunday, June 01, 2008
6/05/08 at 2:29 AM

Correction
This story about a natural gas explosion contained the incorrect address for Comanche Park Apartments, 3608 North Quaker Ave.

Gas explosion caused apartment fire

A natural gas explosion at Comanche Park Apartments on Saturday left one man hospitalized in critical condition, firefighters said.

The severely injured man, who is believed to be in his mid-50s, was taken to the burn unit at Hillcrest Medical Center with burns covering about 60 percent of his body, said Fire Capt. Larry Bowles.

No details about the man's identity were available Saturday.

A second person was also taken to the burn center but was later released. Bowles said the second victim didn't suffer any burns.

Ladeanna Anderson, vice president of housing for Tulsa Housing Authority, said the second victim was back at the apartment complex Saturday afternoon, moving into a new housing unit.

Fire crews were dispatched to the apartments, located at 415 E. Independence St., at 7:20 a.m. after multiple callers reported a loud explosion, Bowles said. Firefighters at Station No. 24, about an eighth of a mile from the apartment complex, also felt the explosion, he said.

"It was a disturbing scene," said firefighter Ronnie Miller, who was the first emergency responder to arrive.

"When I pulled up I could see in the house; the victim was just sitting there" with fire all around him, Miller said.

Firefighters are investigating the cause of the explosion. However, they said the stove inside the apartment was disconnected.

Firefighters found cigarettes and a lighter near where the explosion occurred.

"We can't say definitively what caused the fire," Bowles said.

Neighbors said the fire caught them off guard.

"It startled me," said Greg Hill, 54.

Hill, who lives next door to where the explosion occurred, said he was watching television when he heard a loud noise.

He said the explosion knocked his pots and pans off the shelves.

Hill said he then walked outside and saw his neighbor under two boards.

"He was on fire," Hill said.

He said he and two other Comanche residents removed the wood.

"He was in bad shape," Hill said.

"I felt it," said Ron Bruner, 65, who was drinking coffee when the explosion occurred.

"I said to myself, 'Somebody sure slammed that door hard,' " said Bruner, who lives two apartments away.

Ten minutes later, he said, he went outside and saw the fire crews and trucks.Deon Hampton 581-8413

World staff photographer Mike Simons contributed to this story.

deon.hampton@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Tulsa firefighter Ronnie Miller (left) pauses at the scene of an explosion at Comanche Park Apartments. One man wasseverely burned in the Saturday morning blast.