Helena, OH – HELENA A local man is in critical condition at a Toledo hospital after a camping trailer exploded over the weekend.
James Bishop, 71, was transported Sunday by LifeFlight to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center from a residence in the 1500 block of South Sandusky County Road 32.
Sandusky County Sheriff’s Detective Capt. Sean O’Connell said Bishop was inside the trailer, behind a mobile home, at the time of the explosion.
Detectives believe Bishop was sleeping in a reclining chair when four to five large, 100-pound propane tanks exploded in the trailer.
Bishop’s daughter and son-in-law heard the explosion from far away, according to O’Connell, and they arrived to find the camper trailer engulfed in flames.
The front of the trailer had been exposed due to the explosion, so the two were able to carry Bishop out of the structure to safety until medical personnel arrived on scene.
O’Connell said the explosion caused severe burns to more than half of Bishop’s body.
Gibsonburg, Helena, Risingsun, Kansas and Bradner fire departments, along with law enforcement and emergency responders, handled the initial call of an explosion at 9:48 p.m. Sunday.
O’Connell said there were multiple wires leading from the mobile home to the trailer and a faulty connection may have caused the explosion.
The incident was turned over to the state fire marshal’s office for further investigation.
The explosion was the result of a propane leak, said Stephanie Sharlow, on behalf of the Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office.
There is no indication of criminal activity.