A WOUNDED and scorched chef crawled through the rubble of Chelmsford Rugby Club's kitchen on Saturday following a gas explosion.
While cooking a roast for the club's vice presidents' lunch, Alan Thornton, 61, was unscrewing a propane gas cylinder when it malfunctioned.
The air pressure forced the valve to unwind furiously before it launched and struck him in the head.
Only half-conscious, he screwed the valve back on, but the gas that had escaped caused a huge explosion, forcing the evacuation of 40 guests.
"The room fell in and we were trapped – we couldn't get out at first," he told the Chronicle.
"It was sheer panic, my arm was alight and my hair was alight.
"The other guy with me was scrambling around."
Mr Thornton, executive chef at Waller's Catering, escaped to safety with a younger assistant left with minor injuries.
Despite ongoing pain from his burns, Mr Thornton returned to his Rochford-based office on Monday.
"My mum just about recognises me," he explained.
"I've had big patches on to cool the body down so I don't go into shock and to stop my skin falling off.
"The skin is off my arms and my nose is smashed-in."
The former Chelmsford resident counts himself lucky to be alive and said he would have perished along with the club if he had not squeezed the valve back on.
"I don't know how I did it – otherwise the club would not be here today," he said.
The lunch, held on Saturday afternoon, initially expected 60 guests to watch Chelmsford face Lowestoft and Yarmouth's XV, yet only 40 showed up to the Timsons Lane clubhouse after snow forced the game's cancellation.
If the game had gone ahead, the teams may have been gathering in the changing rooms below the kitchen during the explosion.
Fire crews were called at 1.08pm after panicked guests were evacuated in seconds.
Fire-fighters, complete with thermal-image cameras, then spent nearly an hour cooling the three cylinders in the kitchen.
Two people were treated for slight injuries, but Mr Thornton was the only person taken to hospital.
Club president Andy Green, 61, was on the building's balcony when its windows blew out.
He said the walls shook and added: "The person next to me said, "what was that? A bomb?' "
He also said it was amazing there were not more injuries.
"All I can say is it was just luck," he said.
Following an emergency meeting on Sunday, club chairman Malcolm Davies said: "People are very shocked."
"The club was funded partly by charity events.
"It's hard to see some of that work undone," said Mr Davies.
"We are a tight-knit club and we are very proud of what was raised.
"It obviously knocks you back.
"But we are a resilient club and I'm sure we can get it back on a working basis."
Mr Green added: "We don't get stopped, we will be back in style for the new season – don't you worry."
