CLOVERDALE — A man was taken to hospital after suffering severe burns when a cooking fire exploded Sunday, according to Surrey Fire Department.
Initially, Surrey fire crews received a call at 12:30 p.m. that someone who had a camp set up had fallen through the ice at a pond in the 5300-block of 180th Street.
But upon arrival, responders found a man with second and third degree burns on his face, chest and arms.
“He had been cooking with briquettes and there was some kind of explosion,” said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Woznikoski. “We’re not sure if he used a fluid or what happened. But it caught his clothes on fire.”
Woznikoski told the Now firefighters had to use a ground ladder to get across a ditch and over to the little island he was on.
There was some discrepancy about the man's age. The fire department believed the man was in his mid-20s but RCMP say he was 35.
He was taken to hospital by ambulance and Surrey RCMP Sergeant Alanna Dunlop said he is expected to recover from his injuries.