CASPER — A 30-year-old man is recovering in a Denver hospital following an explosion outside his home on the south side of the city on Monday.
Norman Edward Cardinal III was flown to the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center suffering from second- and third-degree burns on his hands and face, his sister Sydnee Cardinal said.
“They did the debriding process. He is doing well,” she said. “He might possibly need a skin graft. They are waiting to check on that. If he does, that will happen Friday.”
Casper police and fire personnel continue to investigate the cause of the explosion, which they said originated outside a work trailer at his house.
Sydnee Cardinal said her brother services gas pumps and some of his equipment may have been there.
Sydnee Cardinal said her brother’s face and left hand suffered second-degree burns while his right hand has both second-degree and third-degree burns.
Initially he was intubated because first responders saw his throat was discolored and thought he may have suffered airway damage. The tube has since been removed after doctors determined it was not damaged.
Norman Cardinal has been told to rest, and he was using a white board to communicate due to his intubation, his sister said.
Norman Cardinal may have suffered nerve damage to his right hand that could require physical therapy. He likely will be in the hospital for the next week, his sister said.
Casper Fire Department spokesman Taylor Herron said the department was called to the 2400 block of South Fairdale at 2:01 p.m. for an explosion.
No ‘Certain Cause’
“We don’t have a certain cause,” he said. “Somebody was working in their driveway and caused an explosion. A trailer and SUV ended up being totaled.”
The fire did not hurt any structures adjacent to the vehicles, and he noted that one person (Cardinal) was sent to Banner Wyoming Medical Center.
The cause of the fire is being investigated jointly by the Casper Fire Department and the Casper Police Department, Herron said. He said the trailer was a type of work trailer and had canisters with fuel or ones that formerly held fuel that exploded.
Sydnee Cardinal said her brother works for a company that services gas pumps at gas stations. She believes her brother may have been working on something for his job but had no further details.
“His wife heard a big bang and by the time she got downstairs and to the window he was up and moving,” she said. “He was never knocked unconscious. … He was trying to put the fire out.”
Sydnee Cardinal has started a GoFundMe for her brother to help with the family’s house payment and other extra costs due to his inability to work for the near future. She said his company has stepped in to help with the hotel bill for the family in Denver and that the family does have some type of health insurance coverage.
A looming cost will be to replace their family’s vehicle that was destroyed in the explosion and fire.
Husband and Father
Norman Cardinal and his wife, Jessica, have two children, an 8-year-old and 4-year-old. Norman's sister describes him as “an incredible brother, uncle, father, and human being. His heart is bigger than anyone I know.”
“Out of all three of my siblings, Norman is the best. He goes out of his way no matter what to make sure that everybody is healthy and everybody is good,” she said. “And he isn’t right now and he’s still trying to make sure that everybody is OK even though we are all worried about him.”
One thing her “little brother” does on a regular basis for her is take photos of the sky, no matter where he is and send them her way. Sydnee Cardinal said she has always been fascinated with the sky.
She said when music is playing her brother is “moving” and he loves to “cracks jokes” and is typically the “life of the party.”
“You can’t not have fun when you are around him,” his sister said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
