Meth lab suspected cause of home explosion near Piedmont

PIEDMONT — A home methamphetamine lab is believed to be the cause of an explosion that sent a Piedmont man to the Augusta Burn Center late Saturday night.

Anderson County Sheriff’s Narcotics Division Lt. David Baker said Sunday afternoon that 40-year-old Anthony Earl Whitmire suffered burns when something exploded around 10:30 p.m. inside a home on Wren Drive.

Whitmire was flown to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga. His condition was not known Sunday night.

Baker said Anderson County Fire Department investigators turned over the scene to Anderson County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigators after finding evidence of a meth lab inside the home. Baker said a homemade laboratory with various chemicals and other items needed to cook meth were found in the kitchen.

The Drug Enforcement Agency has joined the investigation and a hazardous materials clean-up crew has been dispatched to remove the chemicals found inside the home, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Gibson said the severity of the damage caused by the explosion had not been determined as of Sunday afternoon, but that it did not appear to be extensive.

“Usually an explosion burns out a fire,” Gibson said.

Gibson said Whitmire is believed to have been the only person in the house when the explosion happened. No information on what charge Whitmire could face was available Sunday night.