Hampden man injured when propane tank explodes in van

HAMPDEN – A local man was injured Sunday morning when propane released from a tank exploded inside his minivan in Dorothea Dix Park.

The man, identified as Stuart Morris, 59, was apparently inside the Dodge Caravan, checking the amount of propane in a portable tank when the explosion occurred just after 8:30 a.m., according to Hampden police Sgt. Dan Stewart.

Stewart said the explosion occurred because Morris either lit a cigarette or already had one lit while he was checking the tank. The man apparently left the burning vehicle on foot and ran down the road to his residence to call 911.

The Hampden Fire Department arrived a few minutes after the explosion to find the van in flames, which had singed leaves roughly 20 feet above the vehicle, according to Assistant Fire Chief Elwyn Brewer.

The headlights were still on and fire crews opened the hood to cut the power to the vehicle, Brewer said. The fire crew extinguished the fire in less than 20 minutes, Brewer said, as well as a few small fires in the adjacent wooded area.

The victim was treated at his house by Hampden Fire and Rescue personnel and then was taken by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The vehicle was a total loss, Brewer said. Its windows and tires had blown out from the pressure, and the flames burned the seats down to the metal frames.

Stewart said after the incident that people need to take proper precautions when checking any type of gas cylinder.

“Propane should always be vented in a wide open area,” Stewart said.