DAVIDSON, N.C. — Two people were airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Burn Center Friday after a propane explosion in Cabarrus County.
The cause of the explosion at the home at 11630 Mooresville Road in Davidson was not immediately known.
The Cabarrus County Fire Marshal’s Office is handling the investigation.
In February, WCNC Charlotte found there are only two burn centers in North Carolina and neither of them are in Charlotte, the state’s biggest city.
WCNC Charlotte checked two dozen other large cities, including those of similar size to Charlotte. According to the American Burn Association website, almost all of the other cities had burn centers, including Nashville, Indianapolis, and Orlando. The search showed Austin, Jacksonville, and Denver do not have burn centers.
The Defenders team learned that in order for a hospital to apply for a burn center, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has to determine there’s a need for a burn center. The state did not determine there was a need for an additional burn center in the latest plan.
Atrium Health shared numbers with WCNC Charlotte about how many burn patients needed to be airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Health in recent years. In 2017, there were eight patients, six patients in 2018, and five patients in 2019, according to Atrium Health.
Wake Forest Baptist Health, based in Winston-Salem, announced Friday it has merged with Atrium Health, based in Charlotte.
Wake Forest School of Medicine is also included in the merger.
The combination of the health companies was first announced in April of 2019. The merger became official on Friday.