DRAPER, Utah — A Draper man died late Friday night after injuries sustained in a home explosion that morning, University Hospital officials confirmed Saturday.
Paul Broadhurst, 40, was airlifted to the hospital’s burn unit after his Draper home exploded causing a two-alarm fire Friday morning. As of Friday night, Unified Fire Authority had not pinpointed what caused the explosion.
Broadhurst’s brother, Ryan Dickson, asked the University of Utah Health Care to release the statement on his behalf: “Our family is grateful to emergency medical personnel and health care providers who assisted Paul on Friday. We ask for privacy as we grieve the loss of our family member.”
The fire, located near 15000 South Junction Circle (235 East), was reported just after 7 a.m. Friday.
Neighbors say they heard a loud explosion that shook their homes, and when they came outside, they saw flames shooting out of the home across the street. They say they saw Broadhurst stumbling out of his home just after the explosion.
The fire spread quickly, causing part of the house to collapse, and flames were so intense that siding melted off nearby houses.
Draper City reports that the cause of the fire is believed to be a gas explosion, although the fire is still under investigation.
No one else was in the house at the time; the man’s wife and children are out of town.
