‘Flash fire’ caused by oxygen tank nearly kills 73-year-old woman in Modesto
A 73-year-old woman was airlifted to a hospital on Monday with severe burns to her face caused by a “flash fire” at an alternative housing building in Modesto, according to officials.
The Modesto Fire Department and Modesto Police Department responded to a former hotel on the 700 block of Kansas Avenue at about 9:40 a.m. The initial report was that a patient was trapped.
When personnel arrived, they found one of the units in the building had “flash fire” damage. Investigators’ initial observations were that it was caused by an in-house medical oxygen tank.
The woman was taken out of the unit and provided care, according to MFD. Her injuries were determined to be life-threatening, so she was airlifted to a burn center at University of California at Davis.
As of Tuesday morning, further details had not been announced.
MFD’s Fire Investigation Unit took the lead on the investigation.
This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 10:21 AM.
