Southport firefighter hurt in boat explosion sent to burn center

OCEAN ISLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A week after a boat explosion in Ocean Isle Beach one of the men involved has landed in a North Carolina burn center.

Sea Tow employee Kendrick Schwarz was burned in the incident. He’s also a Southport volunteer firefighter.

According to Schwarz’s Facebook post, which was shared by the Southport Fire Department, he was taken to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill Wednesday night. According to the post, Schwarz suffered complications from the burns he received in the explosion at the dock of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center.

According to the post, doctors had to remove burned skin from his leg, arm and face. He says he’s in a lot of pain and is having trouble sleeping.

We’re told Schwarz was taken by ambulance to a Myrtle Beach hospital immediately after the explosion and later released. Two other men on the boat were flown by helicopter to Chapel Hill.