Goshen, IN – A natural gas explosion put a Goshen man in the hospital with burns and heavily damaged his house Monday.
Goshen’s Assistant Fire Chief Mike Happer said there was a natural gas explosion at the house at 205 W. Wilkinson Ave. around 4 p.m., and fire investigators are still working to determine its cause.
The blast resulted in a small fire, which firefighters extinguished in about 10 or 15 minutes. Investigators remained on the scene into early Tuesday morning, Happer said.
Cesar Perez was burned in the incident, according to a woman at the scene who said she lives with him at the house. Thomas Moore, an engineer working on a nearby construction project, told The Goshen News Monday he saw Perez walk out of the house on fire, and he used his work jacket to smother the flames on Perez’s body.
Happer said Perez was airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, and the 42-year-old is receiving treatment at the hospital’s burn unit.