A gas leak is thought to have caused an explosion at a Perth apartment block that left a man with critical burns fighting for his life.
Dozens of residents in a two-storey block in the city's eastern suburbs were left homeless on Wednesday after a massive blast and fire that is being investigated by police.
The explosion occurred just before 5.30am (WST) on the second floor of the property on Braithwaite Road, Lockridge.
Police have said they do not believe any criminality was involved in the explosion, with the injured man believed to have lit a cigarette just prior to the blast.
It's understood he recently had some gas work done in his apartment.
The injured man is now in a critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital, where there is a specialist burns unit.
He was initially saved from his devastated flat by ground floor resident Ricky Bromfield, a 24-year-old father of four.
He described how he raced upstairs after hearing the explosion, at first thinking a bin truck had slammed into the property.
Debris was everywhere, he said.
"I looked up at his unit ... smoke was pouring out," Mr Bromfield told Channel Nine and Fairfax radio.
"All I could hear was him screaming `help me'.
"I booted the door in - had to force the door open because there were a lot of bricks around - ran in. He was in the lounge room so I grabbed him.
"Just as we left, the whole flat went up in a fireball."
Crews from seven fire stations brought the blaze under control and contained it within 45 minutes.
Six units have been gutted and 40 people displaced, according to a Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman.
She said agencies including Homeswest and the Department of Child Protection were arranging emergency accommodation.
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