By Jessie Forand
NEW IBERIA, La. — A firefighter is in a medically induced coma after he and two others were injured responding to a natural gas explosion in Louisiana.
New Iberia Fire Department members responded to a natural gas fire, which later exploded, at what KATC called a “manufactured home structure” used as a commercial business location.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO NEW IBERIA FIRE AND EXPLOSION pic.twitter.com/ATYB2zC7CX
— Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (@LAFIREMARSHAL) July 30, 2021
Three firefighters were hospitalized after the incident, according to state fire officials. One was placed in a medically induced coma in Lafayette and is listed in critical condition.
A fire captain was transported to a different hospital in Baton Rouge, where he is receiving treatment for second- and third-degree burns on his hands, his father, Raymond “Shoe-Do” Lewis, told KATC.
Lewis recounted losing another son, named Garron, to a drive-by shooting two years ago.
“I thank God he’s alive. He’s alive. Garron, he was gone. He was dead. We had to go to another level. We had to bury him, and I thank God that that’s not the situation here,” said Lewis. “All he could tell (my wife) was from what he was told, the extent of his burns were second and third degree.”
The condition of the third firefighter involved is unknown. An investigation into the fire is ongoing.