By MATT LINDSEY

WEST POTSDAM – A Hopkinton man suffered burns to his face, hands and waist following an explosion Tuesday afternoon after he lit a torch while working on a milk compressor at a farm located at 2051 County Route 35.

Goodrich Refrigeration employee Blake Baldwin, 21, was burned in the explosion and fire Tuesday afternoon on an Amish farm, according to business owner Terry Goodrich said.

“He went to light his striker on his torch and it set off an explosion,” Goodrich said.

Baldwin was working on a milk compressor in a milk room at the farm of Peter Schwartz around 4:30 p.m. when the explosion happened.

At least six fire departments responded to the fire including West Potsdam, Madrid, Potsdam, Morley, Norwood and Norfolk, according to the Office of Emergency Services. Potsdam Rescue was also on scene.

Goodrich said there was some sort of explosive gas present but investigators were not sure exactly what it was and testing is being done to figure out the cause.

Baldwin was transported to the burn unit at Upstate Medical in Syracuse, Baldwin said. His burns are believed to be second-degree.

“I am completely baffled by this…nothing that we use is flammable,” Goodrich said. “I will be anxious to see why this happened.”

The milk room was a total loss, the Office of Emergency Services said.

“I want to thank all the fire and EMS personnel for minimizing the damage and improving the outcome for Blake,” Goodrich said.