When sheriff’s officers arrived at the scene of a reported suicide threat at Brazeau Mobile Home Park Oct. 27, the first thing they noticed was the smell of propane emanating from the 20-foot travel trailer.
The officers turned off a propane tank and electricity outside the trailer, took cover behind a patrol car and, upon arrival of North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, joined firefighters in evacuating neighboring trailers and mobile homes.
“While in the process of evacuation, the explosion occurred,” NKF&R spokeswoman Michele Laboda said.
A man emerged from the debris and was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Laboda said. The man’s dog, a golden retriever named Missy, was picked up by Kitsap Humane Society for treatment and care; her hair was singed off, her whiskers were gone and she had a burn on the end of her nose, Laboda said.
No one else was injured in the explosion, sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said. A window in a neighboring mobile home was blown out by the concussion, he said. The explosion sent debris 30 feet into the air and 50 feet away from the trailer, Wilson said.
In addition to sheriff’s officers, at least three fire engines, three tenders, a command officer, and a medic unit went to the scene, Laboda said.
A relative of the man, described as either 53 or 59, called 911 after the man talked of committing suicide, Wilson said.