Man hurt in bedroom explosion

File photo / APN

A man was taken to hospital with burns to his face and hands when an explosion at a Dannevirke house blew a bedroom apart yesterday.

The explosion, which local police and the fire service attended, Dannevirke CIB detective Sergeant Shane Brown said.

"Two males were living at the address, one was in the bedroom and the other in the sitting room at the time of the explosion,'' he said. "The fire was contained to the bedroom, but had enough force to take out a window and blow a wardrobe door off.''

Mr Brown said the man in the bedroom suffered burns to his hands and face and was taken to Palmerston North Hospital.

"I don't think his injuries were life threatening, but they were bad enough,'' he said.

A butane gas canister in the bedroom is believed to have been the cause of the explosion, but investigations were continuing.

"We've taken a number of items as exhibits, including carpet samples to confirm the source of the fire,'' he said. "One of the canisters could have been leaking, but the man could have been doing something else, too, but he was in no condition to sit down and have a chin wag.''

Mr Brown said the problem with LPG was you couldn't necessarily smell it. "But if you light a cigarette you get a contained explosion, especially if the can has been leaking.''

"We've completed the scene examination, but until the man in hospital is able to speak investigations will continue,'' he said.

The Dannevirke Volunteer Fire Brigade were first called to the scene around 1pm and returned later in the afternoon as a precaution.

The second man in the house was stressed, but unhurt.