Max Walker, 65, was pulled from burning camper Tuesday night and died early Wednesday after being flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, officials said.
``This was one of the worst I've seen in the 24 years I've been doing this,'' Southeast Thurston County Fire Chief Rita Hutcheson said.
Fumes apparently began leaking after he replaced a five-gallon propane tank and exploded when he went to light a heater in the camper where he had lived for about 2 1/2 years, Hutcheson said.
``It appears he may have been trying to switch the bottles and he didn't get it tight enough or something,'' she said. ``It was an incredible explosion. It blew off the top and the sides out.''
Neighbors said they heard Walker screaming after the blast. William Thorson, who owns the lot where the camper was parked, said he another neighbor were joined by a Tenino police officer in getting Walker away from the flames.
``I had to put the fire out on his pants,'' Thorson said. ``He was burnt awful bad.''
