Plympton man survives explosion

(Plympton Fire Department photo)

The remnants of the mobile home that exploded.

By John Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

Residents in Plympton thought they heard a plane crash, or a tree falling, or some kind of explosion on Thursday night, said Fire Chief David Rich.

They were right about that third part.

A mobile home trailer exploded in the driveway of a home on Mayflower Road, sending its occupant flying out through the front door and into the nearby woods. The lucky man was not seriously injured.

"His eyebrows were gone and his hair was singed, but he was OK," Rich said. The occupant, whom Rich did not identify, refused medical treatment.

The exploded trailer was not discovered until a neighbor saw the wreckage the next morning and called 911.

"Apparently [the victim] was fixing the heating system in the trailer and gas began to leak," Rich said," but victim has no sense of smell from a previous injury so he didn't realize it."

The trailer was parked next to the detached garage at Paul Harper's house. Harper was letting the victim leave his trailer on the land as a favor to a friend, said Harper's daughter, Sandra Coelho.

Coelho said the only casualty of the explosion were the dozens of old glass baby food jars meticulously arranged in the garage containing decades' worth of nails, screws, bolts, nuts and other machinery from Harper's former career as a mechanic.

Coelho said the victim had agreed to help Harper pick up the shattered glass and reorganize the garage.

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