Men rush to help burn victims after propane explosion in Dayton

DAYTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Four co-workers are being praised for their quick response after two people were badly burned in a flash fire involving propane.

The fire happened Tuesday afternoon at T. Neale Propane, a propane filling station, on W. Clayton Street in Dayton.

Devin Whitely and his co-workers were driving by when they saw black smoke and then victims. They turned in to help.

"The lady was just screaming for help," Whitely told Eyewitness News. "The female was burned from her head to her feet."

The burned female was an employee. The second victim, a man, was a customer.

Whitely said it appeared they were filling a five-gallon tank when something went wrong. The man's truck was on fire and sitting next to a bigger tank.

Whitely said he grabbed a fire extinguisher to prevent further disaster.

"If that tank would have exploded, where you're standing, that house, that trailer, would be gone," Whitely said.

The two burn victims were flown to the Texas Medical Center.

Liberty County Fire Marshal Bill Hergemueller said the cause of the fire is still under investigation,but added Whitely and his co-workers deserve praise for stopping to help when others just drove by.

"Kudos to them," said Hergemueller.

"Really, I was just doing what I hope anyone else would do for me," Whitely responded.

No one at T. Neale responded to our requests for comment.

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