Md. man burned after propane explosion

A Maryland man is lucky to be alive after a propane tank he was reaching for exploded Sunday morning, state fire officials said.

Brian Hill, 28, had gotten a full-sized propane cylinder refilled, loaded it in the bed of his Ford F-150 truck, and headed toward his home in Indian Head. He was pulling into his driveway when neighbors alerted him to smoke seeping from a valve.

Authorities said Hill lowered the rear gate and was grasping for the tank when it ruptured, gutting the vehicle and severing the side of the truck bed.

Hill suffered first and second degree burns. He was treated at a hospital and released.

“I can’t believe he’s not dead,” Duane Svites, deputy chief state fire marshal, said.

-- Mike McPhate