Santa Rosa man injured in hash oil lab explosion

A 23-year-old Santa Rosa man was seriously burned Thursday night when a shed containing a suspected butane hash oil lab exploded in the Santa Rosa Junior College neighborhood, police officials said.

Officers found Jonathan Dubois suffering from burns to the front and back of his body outside the Humboldt Street apartment complex, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Rich Celli said.

The man initially was conscious and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, then later flown to a Bay Area burn center for treatment, Celli said.

Dubois was in critical but stable condition Friday morning at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital’s burn unit in San Francisco.

The explosion was reported at 10:27 p.m. in the 1100 block of Humboldt Street, near Spencer Avenue, prompting a flurry of 911 calls.

Firefighters saw flames coming from the back of a building when they arrived within about four minutes of the first 911 call.

A shed behind an apartment building was on fire, with flames spreading to nearby trees, fences and a backyard, and the fire burned close to the two-story apartment building, Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said.

The fire’s heat melted plastic children’s toys behind the apartment building and caused a second-floor window to shatter, fire officials said.

Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire and stopped it from spreading, he said.

The small shed measured about 15 by 15 feet and was located about 10 feet behind the apartment building, Lowenthal said.

Police and fire investigators were jointly investigating the fire and the butane hash oil lab found inside the shed.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson @pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.