Cane Beds, AZ – Emergency responderswith the Colorado City Fire District and Mohave County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a mobile home fire triggered by a gas explosion Saturday morning.
Four people were in the mobile home at 2600 South 1800 East, Cane Beds, Ariz., when the explosion occurred around 8 a.m. Utah time, Colorado City Fire District Chief Kevin Barlow said.
The structure’s occupants were each injured in the blast. Two of the victims had critical burns, Barlow said. They were taken by ambulance to the local airport where they were then flown to hospitals with burn centers by Life Flight, out of St. George, and Mercy Air, out of Mesquite, Nev. The other two burn victims were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center by ambulance. Barlow said he believed at least one of the people sent to DRMC was airlifted to another hospital for additional treatment.
Trish Carter, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, said the four individuals consisted of a family of three, a father, mother, and their 8-month-old daughter, and a 15-year-old female friend of the family who spent the night at the home. Responders found the trailer’s occupants outside on the front yard when they arrived at the scene, she said.
In a statement released from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Carter said all of the burn victims ended up being airlifted to various hospitals.
“The mother of the baby was airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas,” Carter said in the statement. “The 8-month-old baby was airlifted to the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. The father of the baby and 15-year-old female (were) airlifted to a hospital in Salt Lake City.”
A joint investigation between the Colorado City Fire District and Mohave County Sheriff’s Office has determined the origin of the explosion to be a leaking valve on a propane gas line located behind a stove. The cause of ignition however, is unknown at this point, Carter said.