Company says it never happened; twins bouncing back at hospital

Twin toddlers from Talent who were burned in a motor home propane explosion were improving Thursday night, and their father said he believes a faulty repair job to the motor home's furnace the day of the blast may be to blame.

Tyler and Ryan Kenton, both 19 months old, were airlifted to Emanuel Burn Center in Portland Wednesday night after the explosion at Oregon RV Roundup, 405 W. Valley View Road, Talent. They were listed in fair condition Thursday night.

The twins' father, Jeff Kenton, 37, said a repairman from Scotty's RV worked on the furnace before the explosion.

A woman who answered the phone at the RV service business Thursday denied that a Scotty's employee worked on the Kentons' motor home.

Dan Marshall, chief of Jackson County Fire District 5, said a propane gas leak probably caused the explosion, but firefighters aren't sure why there was a leak in the first place, or what the ignition source was. They are still investigating, he said.

The explosion happened about 5:37 p.m. Wednesday, ripping off the top of the motor home and blowing out the back window. Jeff Kenton said the twins were playing in front of the furnace at the time, and their clothing and hair caught fire. Their mother, Brenda, 24, patted out the flames with her body.

James Hoitink, 55, who lives at the park, said he heard the "big boom" and ran toward the Winnebago, where a plume of smoke was rising into the trees. Hoitink saw the twins' father run out the door with the boys in his hands, and Hoitink took them in his arms as Kenton ran back inside.

Four-year-old Wyatt Kenton was also inside, but wasn't burned.

Hoitink helped douse the flames. "They're lucky to be alive," he said.

Brenda Kenton echoed that sentiment at the Portland hospital Thursday night.

"If the roof hadn't have blown off, it would have been like a grenade," she said. "The fact that it had an escape and it had a way out, I think that really saved us."

She said she wanted to thank all those in the RV park who gathered to help.

The babies suffered first- and second-degree burns on their heads, faces, necks and hands. Brenda credited Gerber flame-retardant sleepwear for lessening the extent of the burns.

Ryan, the more seriously burned of the twins, had been taken off his feeding tube and breathing tube by Thursday night, and Tyler had been walking around with his parents outside the burn unit, she said.

Jeff Kenton said he didn't know the repairman's name, but he drove a vehicle marked "Scotty's RV," and was out on another repair job in the park on Tuesday when Kenton asked him to fix his furnace. The repairman said his boss didn't know he was there, and he wanted to be paid $100 in cash, Kenton said.

The worker looked at the furnace and said he would have to come back the next day to fix it. On Wednesday, the worker returned and took the furnace apart, but didn't completely reassemble it. The repairman said he smelled gas but told Kenton not to worry about it, Kenton said.

Kenton said he believes that when he went outside later, the temperature inside dropped when he opened the door and the thermostat triggered the pilotless ignition on the furnace, setting off the explosion.

Kenton said an insurance carrier representing Scotty's RV called him to say a Scotty's employee had not worked on the furnace.

"Everybody has their faults, including me, but I'm sitting here with two burned babies," Kenton said.

Brenda Kenton, who has been studying juvenile corrections full time at Rogue Community College, said that she and her husband, who works as an automobile repossession agent, do not have medical insurance. She said they hope to qualify for some medical coverage under the Oregon Health Plan, and she hopes to get some counseling for 4-year-old Wyatt, who saw his brothers catch fire.

The couple were planning to stay in the loaned RV until they received their tax refund and could rent a house.

Terry Waler, manager at the RV park, said people have been calling the park offering to help the couple.

Marshall said people should check to make sure that repair workers are technicians certified to work with liquid propane gas. "If you smell gas, something's wrong," he said.