A 35-year-old Maine man was badly burned in a house explosion Sunday night caused by using butane to extract THC from marijuana, state police said.
Police and firefighters were called to a report of a house explosion on Broadview Avenue in Auburn shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday.
Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze, but a man who lived in the home sustained serious burns and other injuries, state police said. He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where he was stabilized and transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland. He is expected to survive.
His name is not being released, police said.
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Four others were also at home at the time of the explosion -- a 33-year-old woman, a 7-year-old girl, a 70-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man. None of them were injured in the blast, police said.
The explosion caused extensive structural damage to the home, which is now uninhabitable.
The Fire Marshal's office determined following an investigation that the explosion occurred as a result of using butane to extract THC from marijuana.
No charges have been filed. The investigation is ongoing and officials said the results will be forwarded to the Androscoggin County District Attorney's Office for further review.
