Dudley Lang, owner of Dudley’s Cajun Café in Longview, TX, is recuperating from second and third-degree burns he sustained in a flash fire from a propane tank. Lang was injured while working in the restaurant’s catering trailer when a propane tank used to fuel a cooking burner created a flash fire, burning him.
Lang, who was able to smother the fire on his own, was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center and later airlifted to Parkland Dallas for treatment of second- and third-degree burns. A Dudley’s manager told KLTV News that the work had recently been performed on the burner because it had not been functioning properly. Dudley was lying on the floor of the trailer trying to light the pilot light of the burner when the flash fire occurred.
Unlike natural gas, which is light, propane is heavy and can accumulate in low-lying areas. It’s also highly flammable.
Longview Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary said he does not know whether there was any problem with the equipment Lang was using.
Sources:
http://www.kltv.com/story/33503296/popular-restaurant-owner-back-at-home-recovering-from-serious-burn-injuries
https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/oct/27/owner-dudleys-being-treated-burns-dallas/