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Injured man named in Winter Park explosion on Sept. 1

The man who was found on September 1 in the Winter Park gas explosion was Mark Burg of Tabernash. He suffered upper body burns as well as other injuries and was airlifted to a Denver hospital on Thursday.

The preliminary investigation revealed that three people were installing new carpet in the home located at 98 Fir Drive in Winter Park, known as Old Town. When one of the workers plugged a carpet iron into an electrical outlet, the explosion occurred causing all three workers to be thrown off of their feet. Two of the employees suffered only minor injuries and were treated by Grand County EMS and released at the scene.

Burg suffered burns and trauma to his upper torso and was airlifted from the scene to University Hospital in Denver.

New information became available today, Friday, September 2 that a contractor for Xcel Energy had been working on Fir Drive that day, doing routine inspections of their service lines. The contractor discovered a natural gas leak and contacted Xcel Energy employees to find the cause and location of the leak. This investigation was in process at the time of the explosion, according to Fraser/Winter Park Police Department.

Low natural gas readings had been detected at the home with much higher readings being detected across the street. It is believed that the explosion originated in the crawlspace of the home.

The home located at 98 Fir Drive is currently owned by Tara and Victor Raposa, who were not present during the explosion.

The home has suffered extensive structural damage and has been condemned by the Town of Winter Park until such time as the foundational walls can be shored up and made safe.

All residents of Fir Drive remain evacuated from their residences pending safety evaluations by Xcel Energy and Mountain Parks Electric.

It is unknown at this time how long natural gas service to the neighborhood will be interrupted but electrical service should be restored on Friday, September 2.


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