Emergency services were called to Coffs Harbour’s Jetty precinct at around seven last night, amid reports a 64-year-old had barricaded himself in his Orlando Street apartment.
Around 30 minutes later, a massive petrol explosion blew out the glass windows and doors, throwing items of furniture across the nearby garden.
The male occupant was injured and so were two police officers, a male police officer aged 32 and a female aged 23.
The officers were showered with shards of glass and other debris, despite taking shelter.
The pair was treated at Coffs Harbour Hospital, but later released.
The blast shook the entire neighbourhood, and fortunately adjoining apartments were not occupied at the time.
The 64-year-old man, who had a history of mental illness, was airlifted to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital last night with burns to 10 percent of his body. He remains in a serious condition.
