A New Jersey home exploded after a resident woke up and turned on the bathroom light early Monday.
The blast around 1:40 a.m. Monday inside a rear unit home along Cooks Lane near Niblick Street in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey left a resident with burns over half his body.
The groggy 47-year-old man, identified by officials as Kurt Wagner, woke up to the smell of gas and went into the bathroom where he turned on the light, said the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. The gas quickly ignited.
Firefighters rushed to the scene to find the home completely engulfed in flames and Wagner outside the home. He was conscious despite suffering burns to 40 to 50 percent of his body, said officials.
Medics rushed Wagner to Jersey Shore University Medical Center before transferring him to Saint Barnabas Burn Center where he remained in critical condition Monday afternoon.
Point Beach firefighters extinguished the blaze and New Jersey Natural Gas secured the gas meter without further incident allowing for county fire officials and crime scene investigators to determine exactly what led to the leak that caused the explosion.
This blast came less than a week after 15 people were hurt when a Stafford Township home exploded as crews addressed a gas main leak. Point Pleasant Beach is about 30 miles north of Stafford Township.
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New Jersey Natural Gas urges anyone who smells gas — a rotten eggs-like odor — to immediately evacuate the building and only use your cellphone to call NJNG (800-GAS-LEAK) once you are at a safe distance from the home since a phone can spark the gas.
