LINCOLN – Burn victim Rick Pedley has died, but Linda Smith, his girlfriend, continues to fight to recover Wednesday from a propane-fueled explosion that destroyed the Pedley family’s cabin on Upper Coldstream Pond on June 25.

Smith remained in serious condition in the intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Family friend Gina Farinha of Mims, Fla., who was a neighbor of Pedley and Smith’s in a trailer park, said that Smith remains in a drug-induced coma.

“They are going to keep her in it for two weeks and then they were going to try to take her out of it,” Farinha said of Smith. “I think they have her in it because she is so burnt.”

Pedley, 51, suffered burns on 80 percent to 85 percent of his body, and Smith, 56, suffered burns on 60 percent to 65 percent of hers, according to authorities. A LifeFlight helicopter flew them to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston from Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

Pedley died at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, the spokeswoman said. An electrician who graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1974 and completed a two-year electrical program at Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute in Presque Isle, Pedley was retired at the time of his death.

His wake is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. today at Clay Funeral Home of Lincoln. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home with the Rev. Leroy Landry presiding. Interment will be at Lincoln Cemetery.

The Florida residents were vacationing in Lincoln. The explosion was an accident caused by a gas leak, but exactly what leaked or why remains a mystery, according to authorities. Because of the accidental nature of the fire and as standard procedure, State Fire Marshal’s Office investigators ended their investigation.

Fire insurance companies will examine the charred remains of a stove or heating unit taken from the fire scene.

Pedley and Smith had lived in the trailer park for about three years. Avid motorcyclists, they were part of a group of Harley-Davidson riders who live in the park, Farinha said. She has described the couple as “very friendly, outgoing and generous.

“It was probably a blessing that he died because he was in so much pain,” Farinha said. “You hate to say that, but at least his pain is over. That’s the only good thing about it. Now we are all praying for her.”

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