SOUTH MOUNTAIN (November 13, 2009)-“Man on fire, something blew up” is not a call that first responders typically hear when they are dispatched to an emergency situation.

That was the call however that went across the radio at 7:52 a.m. Friday.

The third “explosion” call in Central Texas in as many days, units from Gatesville Vol. Fire Dept., Coryell Memorial EMS and Coryell County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 700 block of CR 274 in rural Coryell County.

A welder, identified by police as Chris Breckenridge, of Gatesville, was cutting apart an old pick up truck when the heat from his torch caused the unvented fuel tank to explode.

Gasoline spilled onto the man and caught his clothes on fire.

Breckenridge began to run but someone else managed to knocked him to the ground and removed his burning pants.

Burned from the waist down, Breckenridge was flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas in Dallas for evaluation and treatment.

The extent of Breckenridge’s injuries not disclosed.

Late-Night Explosion in McLennan County
One person died late Wednesday and another was badly burned following an explosion and fire in the home of a Waco firefighter that may have been set in an attempt to hide evidence of a deadly shooting.

Mid-day Explosion in Bell County
A propane explosion that was felt for miles ignited a fire that gutted a house Wednesday in Bell County, but the 90-year-old resident escaped injury because he was working on an adjacent home at the time of the blast.