Elk River Explosion Victim's Condition Improving

Vern Ohman, the 72-year-old man injured in a huge explosion Wednesday afternoon, is improving at HCMC.

His condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, and is surrounded by family in an HCMC hospital bed. Elk River Police Chief Jeffrey Beahen says it was miraculous the man even survived the blast, which was felt up to 12 miles away.

Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, 911 calls started flooding in to Sherburne County's dispatch center, about a loud explosion in Elk River, east of 169.

Desptie the volume of the calls, first responders had a hard time finding the location of the explosion since there were no smoke or flames. But luckily, Ohman was able to crawl through the house after the explosion ripped his garage apart to dial 911.

"The victim had somehow crawled through the rubble, and was trying to use the phone to call for help. So that pinpointed the location," says Chief Beahen.

Ohman was badly burned and frightened, but still alert and conscious. He told investigators the explosion occurred when he switched on the miter saw in his garage workshop.

Dr. Leslie W. Smith is the burn specialist treating Ohman at HCMC. She says all his systems are responding, but he has a blunt-force injury to his head where he was hit by a section of the roof, and second degree burns on his face, arm and hand.

"Tthe fact that he is surviving after such a large blast is extremely impressive. It could have been worse," says Dr. Smith.

Ohman has Parkingson's disease, which makes him much more fragile. Dr. Smith also says its possible he could need skin grafting on his hand.