Firemen were dispatched to 8235 U.S. Highway 190 East at 8:15 p.m., where they battled a blaze that destroyed two mobile homes. The location is about seven miles east of Lampasas, across the highway from Alfredo's Mexican Restaurant.

At press time Monday, the fire was under investigation, and no cause had been determined, County Fire Marshal Gene Harrison said.

Matthew Batten, 45, suffered burns to his arms and was taken by Capital Ambulance to the hospital, a family member said.

PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Kempner Volunteer Fire Department personnel strap on gear in order to look for and extinghuish hot spots after responding to a structure fire Sunday night. Batten's mother, Carol Gauna -- the owner of about seven acres on which the mobile homes once stood -- accompanied her son in the ambulance to Rollins Brook. Mrs. Gauna lives nearby on the property.

"I'm glad it wasn't worse than it was," said Paco Gauna of Lampasas, one of Batten's brothers, who watched as firefighters sought to extinguish the blaze.

Tony Batten of Kempner, another brother who was on the scene, echoed those sentiments. "Houses can be replaced," he said. "Brothers can't."

Lampasas Assistant Fire Chief Wesley Alexander said officials earlier received a call about a structure fire just west of the Bug Acres auto repair business.

A motorist on U.S. Highway 190 told authorities he heard several explosions. A resident two miles away reported seeing flames and what looked like lightning but later was determined to be explosions.

As firefighters poured water on the blaze and smoke billowed into the nighttime sky, Alexander said: "As of now, we've been unable to determine the cause."

He said authorities did not know what triggered the explosion. "I have absolutely no idea," Alexander said.

Two fire trucks and two com- mand vehicles were dispatched from Lampasas to the scene, while the Kempner Volunteer Fire Department sent two trucks and a tanker to battle the fire, Alexander said. In addition, two units from the Lampasas County Sheriff's Department rushed to the site to assist.

Upon arrival, firemen found both mobile homes "totally involved in flames," Alexander said. The roofs were caved in on both structures.

Matthew Batten, who lived in the mobile home immediately to the north of the other structure, was able to get out of his residence before firemen arrived, Alexander said.

"He was stunned," the assistant fire chief said. "He was unable to tell me what the explosion was."

Firemen brought the blaze under control within about 15 minutes after their arrival, Alexander said.

While Batten resided in one of the structures, the other mobile home had been unoccupied and was used for storage, family members said.

Batten's brothers said the family was in the process of remodeling Matthew Batten's residence before fire struck on Sunday evening.

"We were trying to get it ready for him to have a nice two-bedroom home," Paco Gauna said.