Injured Prineville man improving after burn barrel blaze

A 59-year-old Prineville man who suffered serious burns Thursday when a backyard burn barrel fire flared up improved to serious condition Friday at a Portland burn center, officials said.

Gerhard Berger, 59, was taken first to St. Charles Prineville with possible third-degree burns, then flown to the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, where he was in serious condition Friday. A nursing supervisor had said he was in critical condition Thursday night.

Police responded along with Crook County Fire and Rescue medics to 697 Northwest Beaver Street shortly before 9 a.m. on the report Berger had suffered burns, said Sgt. James Peterson.

Officers on scene said they believed gas was added to a fire in a burn barrel and that there had been a flare-up or explosion, causing severe burns to his upper body and face. No one else was injured, Peterson said.

The fire also caused some minor property damage at the scene, he added.

Police said Friday they believed fuel of some sort was poured into the barrel, as there had been a fuel smell when first responders arrived. But it was not clear if an explosion had occurred, as earlier reported by police. Crook County Fire and Rescue Chief Matt Smith said he was not on the scene, but based on the reports, “We didn’t look at it as an explosion.”

A friend of the family told NewsChannel 21 that something in the barrel had exploded, catching a diesel can on fire that was next to him.