KINGSTON — When sheriff’s officers arrived at the scene of a reported suicide threat at Brazeau Mobile Home Park Oct. 27, the first thing they noticed was the smell of propane emanating from the 20-foot travel trailer.
The officers turned off a propane tank and electricity outside the trailer, took cover behind a patrol car and, upon arrival of North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, joined firefighters in evacuating neighboring trailers and mobile homes.
“While in the process of evacuation, the explosion occurred,” NKF&R spokeswoman Michele Laboda said.
A man emerged from the debris and was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Laboda said. The man’s dog, a golden retriever named Missy, was picked up by Kitsap Humane Society for treatment and care; her hair was singed off, her whiskers were gone and she had a burn on the end of her nose, Laboda said.
No one else was injured in the explosion, sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said. A window in a neighboring mobile home was blown out by the concussion, he said. The explosion sent debris 30 feet into the air and 50 feet away from the trailer, Wilson said.
In addition to sheriff’s officers, at least three fire engines, three tenders, a command officer, and a medic unit went to the scene, Laboda said.
A relative of the man, described as either 53 or 59, called 911 after the man talked of committing suicide, Wilson said.
The man has had “ongoing mental health crises” and officers have previously visited the trailer to check on the man’s welfare, Wilson said. Laboda said firefighters visited there “possibly last night” in response to a call from the man reporting a fire.
According to Wilson: On Oct. 27, CenCom received a 911 call at 9:12 a.m. Sheriff’s officers were dispatched at 9:14 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 9:32. NKF&R was dispatched at 9:56 and arrived at the scene at 10:05. The trailer exploded at 10:19.
Sometime between 9:32 and 10:19 a.m., an officer established phone communication with the man and tried to talk him into leaving the trailer. At one point, the man said he was going to have a cigarette. It’s not confirmed at this point whether the man ignited the propane. Wilson said the fire marshal is investigating and will determine what caused the propane to explode.
Five propane tanks were found at the scene. Two taller tanks had been outside and were not a factor in the explosion, Laboda said. Two other tanks were believed to have been inside the trailer; one was closed, one was half-opened. The man may have carried one of the tanks out of the trailer after the explosion, according to Wilson, and Laboda didn’t know if that one was opened.
Wilson hopes that the man gets the help he needs after he’s released from the hospital. “Will he get the professional help he’s going to need,” Wilson asked. “There’s a long line of people who need help, and unfortunately the ones who need help the most often don’t get it.”
Brazeau Mobile Home Park is located on 22 forested acres at 6205 Highway 104, near Ritter Lane, in Kingston. According to a 2008 North Kitsap Herald story, it was founded in the 1970s.
A man and his dog were injured in a travel trailer explosion at Brazeau Mobile Home Park in Kingston, Oct. 27. Top three photos: Deputy Scott Wilson / Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. Bottom photo: Michele Laboda / North Kitsap Fire & Rescue
