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Man Severely Burned in Brooklyn Storefront Explosion, FDNY Says

By  Aidan Gardiner and Ben Fractenberg | October 21, 2014 3:22pm 

 A man was severely burned after an explosion at 910 McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 21, 2014. 
Man Burned in McDonald Avenue Explosion
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BROOKLYN — A man was set ablaze and critically injured in an explosion at a shuttered Borough Park storefront Tuesday afternoon, FDNY officials said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, ran out of the first floor of 910 McDonald Ave., near 18th Avenue, "engulfed in flames" about 1:40 p.m., an FDNY spokesman said.

He was rushed to Maimonides Hospital in critical condition, fire officials said.

Alex Mayer, 36, who works in an electronics store across the street, said he heard a loud boom and saw the man come out of the building.

"He was running," Mayer said. "He was engulfed in flames."

The man's clothes were burned off except for his boots and a pair of red gloves, Mayer said.

The victim fell to the ground and rolled around until all the flames, except the ones on his boots, were out.

"He was just saying, 'Help me. Help me,'" Mayer said. "He was falling in and out of consciousness. His eyes were rolling back, so I yelled keep breathing. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen."

Approximately 60 firefighters brought the blaze under control about 2:50 p.m., FDNY officials said.

Fire marshals will determine what sparked the flames, the FDNY said. A HazMat unit is investigating and unknown substance found in the basement of the building, FDNY Deputy Chief Mark Egan said.