Man badly burned after home explodes

HASTINGS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A 59-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital after he was severely burned when his mobile home exploded early Sunday morning.

Family members identify the victim as Steve Boomer. His condition as of Monday afternoon is not known.

Fire crews found him outside the home, near his vehicle, when they arrived at 2:19 a.m. in the 2900 block of S. Charlton Road at Barry's Resort & Mobile Home Park, near M-79 in Hastings Township.

"I thought somebody had driven into the side of my mobile home," said Nancy Wotkyns, the owner of the park who said she lives about 500 yards away from the home that exploded. "It was a big explosion. ...It kept going with little explosions after that."

The explosion and fire are believed to be accidental.

An investigator with the state fire marshal's office told 24 Hour News 8 an accelerant-sniffing dog did not find any evidence of gasoline or any other accelerants in the home.

A check of natural gas lines feeding homes in the park shows they were working properly, so the investigation is focusing on a potential problem inside the mobile home. Investigators will be checking lines and appliances, such as the furnace, to try to determine the cause.

They will also try to talk to the victim.

Wotkyns said she knows Boomer and that he lived in the home alone.

"I hope he's gonna be alright," Wotkyns told 24 Hour News 8.

"I don't really know and I wouldn't dare to even venture," she said when asked about what she thinks happened.

After the flames settled, Wotkyns said she went over to the scene to survey the damage. She said the home is a total loss.

"There's nothing but framework left," she said.