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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say 46-year-old officer Jeffrey Snook suffered burns early Monday evening in the remote southwest Nevada town of Sandy Valley when a trash fire inside a barrel erupted.
Las Vegas Police PIO Laura Meltzer said Tuesday the officer was at a vacant residence responding to a call of a suspected burglary in progress when the explosion occurred.
Police say the home's owners found trash inside not belonging to them and decided to burn it in a barrel. Snook was nearby when plastic containers and aerosol cans in the bottom of the barrel caused the fire to erupt.
Authorities say the explosion appears accidental.
Snook is being treated at the UMC Burn Center where he was flown Monday and his injuries don't appear to be life-threatening.
Sandy Valley borders California.
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