Homeowner badly burned after gas can ignites in backyard of Fresno residence
A man suffered burns to his face and hands from a fire Thursday night in central Fresno.
The Fresno Fire Department responded just before 6 p.m. to Fresno Street and Cornell Avenue after initially responding to an explosion. When crews arrived, they found that a small fence was on fire near a shed in the back of the house.
Crews said the homeowner had come out of the home and noticed an object burning his backyard.
“It was a gas can in the fence, like there been some nefarious or intentional activity,” Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Brian Price said. “When we went back there and looked at it, he picked up the gas can and it didn’t necessarily explode.
“But it still had gas in it, and it was already vetted.”
Price said that after the man picked up the gas can, he threw it to the ground. The gas can ignited and ended up burning the man on his face and hands.
He was taken to Fresno Community Regional Medical Center and suffered second-to-third-degree burns.
The cause of the fire is unknown, but investigators are investigating.
