BIRCH BAY, Wash. -- A mobile home in birch bay caught on fire yesterday after firefighters say a man breathing home oxygen burst into flames.

Firefighters arrived at the double-wide mobile home on willow way off of Birch Point Drive, in a neighborhood north of Birch Bay Village, just after 11:30 a.m. Lt. Burr McPhail with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue says the renter may have been smoking a cigarette when the oxygen ignited.



He says a neighbor called 911 and helped the renter escape.

The renter was taken to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center with serious burns to his airway, as well as his face, neck and arms.

The fire destroyed one room and heavily damaged two other rooms in the mobile home, causing an estimated $25,000 in damages.