PROVO, Utah, Oct. 21, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — One person died Friday morning following an explosion inside an outbuilding in the backyard of a Provo home.
Police and firefighters responded about 6:30 a.m. to emergency calls from residents near 1050 North and 1600 West who reported hearing “multiple explosions,” Provo Fire Capt. Sam Armstrong said.
The lone occupant in the outbuilding during the explosion was “significantly burned and ended up dying from those injuries,” Armstrong told Gephardt Daily.
The man had stumbled out of the outbuilding but was on fire, Armstrong said, and another resident at the home was using their hands and arms to attempt to put out the flames.
A Provo police officer was first to arrive at the scene and began assisting the resident in putting out the flames, Armstrong said. Both the resident and police officer sustained first- and second-degree burns to their hands and arms and were treated by paramedics at the scene, he said.
No other injuries were reported.
Armstrong described the outbuilding as a shed or workshop attached to a carport but not the home. The interior of the structure was fully involved when firefighters arrived, he said.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, Armstrong said. The home was not damaged, he said.
