Salt Lake City man burned in furnace explosion

A Salt Lake man was badly burned on Saturday when the gas line leading to the furnace at his home exploded.

The explosion caused the duplex, near 600 South and 300 West, to catch fire and burn for several minutes before 10 p.m., causing nearly $80,000 in damage, according to Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag. He said the man, in his 50s, was taken to the University Hospital burn unit in serious condition.

The man lives alone, and the family occupying the other side of the duplex were not home at the time of the fire. The family's three dogs were taken to an animal shelter for the time being, Freitag said.

Officials did not know exactly how the fire started but closed off the home for further investigation.

— Wendy Leonard