A 66-year-old man was airlifted to Bridgeport Hospital with burns over 20 percent of his body after a propane heater exploded and set fire to a woodworking shop in East Hartland on Wednesday morning, according to the town fire marshal.
Hartland Fire Marshal Peter Sevetz Jr. said Robert Burke, 66, was in the room where the fire broke out at 59 South Road.
Firefighters were called to the scene after someone reported a furnace explosion around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. They found heavy flames at the back of the building and spotted Burke, injured, in the driveway.
An ambulance brought him to Saint Francis Hospital and a LifeStar medical helicopter then airlifted him to the Bridgeport Burn Unit, Sevetz said.
One person has been taken to the Bridgeport Burn Unit after a fire at a woodworking shop in East Hartland on Wednesday morning.
The Hartland Fire Marshal is invstigating alongside the State Fire Marshal's Office. Sevetz said crews won't be able to determine the exact cause of the fire until they can interview Burke, but they suspect the propane heater contributed to the blaze.
Fire companies from West Hartland, Barkhamsted East, Lost Acres, Pleasant Valley, New Hartford and Tolland, Massachusetts provided mutual aid.
