COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A man was severely burned after a lawnmower ignited and exploded while it was being refueled Saturday afternoon in Colleton County.
Colleton County Fire Rescue crews responded to the Lively Stone Temple on Lively Stone Road south of Ashton just before 2:00 p.m.
The man and several church members were conducting grounds maintenance at the temple when a lawnmower was placed in a storage building.
Witnesses said the mower was being refueled when it exploded, spreading fire to the building and ignited the man’s clothing.
The storage building was on fire when emergency crews arrived a short time later, and the fire had spread to two large motor coaches that were parked nearby.
Fire Rescue crews said the storage building was destroyed and both buses were heavily damaged. The man suffered second degree burns over approximately 40-percent of his body.
He was transported to the burn center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for treatment.
Officials say the cause of the fire was consistent with the witness reports and appeared to have started near the lawn mower.
There is no word on the man’s condition.
