A Manteca woman was airlifted to the U.C. Davis Medical Center burn unit in Sacramento Sunday after suffering severe burns to the upper half of her body from a propane cook stove located in her garage shortly after 11 a.m.

Manteca Firefighters said the call came in as a structure fire that was centered in the garage of the family home in the 1100 block of Silver Brook Place. The structure fire call triggered response from several available units with the first finding the victim being cared for by her husband and a teenage son.

Manteca Ambulance personnel and fire medics initially cared for the woman who was then transported by ambulance to Roberts Estates Park some six blocks away at the corner of Rail Street and Junction Drive. The REACH air ambulance was on the tarmac at Stockton Airport and responded to the Manteca location within minutes of receiving the call and was guided into its landing site in the neighborhood park by firefighters.

The home is located east of Airport Way and south of Wawona Street.

A fire department spokesman said there was no fire at the structure only the brief explosive flash fire from the propane that was supplying a two-burner cooking surface set up in the garage. Family members had reportedly just been leaving for church when the mishap occurred. As soon as the helicopter became airborne the husband and the son left in their car for the hospital in Sacramento.

It was not determined what exactly caused the propane to flash on the woman, but firefighters urge citizens not to use propane for cooking or heating purposes in enclosed areas such as a garage or even inside a house where ventilation is often poor.