WOMAN BURNED IN METH LAB EXPLOSION

A Craighead County woman was listed in serious condition at a Little Rock
burn unit after an apparent methamphetamine lab explosion at her home early
Tuesday morning, police said.

Margaret Kaffka, 31, of 129 Craighead Road 354, Bono, was injured shortly
after midnight Tuesday when the explosion occurred.

Police said Kaffka sustained severe burns over her upper torso.

Kaffka's companion, Phillip Wayne Qualls, 45, of the same address, was not
injured in the explosion but was arrested for criminal attempt to
manufacture a controlled substance, a spokesman for the Second Judicial
Drug Task Force said.

"They appeared to be in the process of cooking meth when the explosion
occurred," the DTF spokesman said.

Police said they are still attempting to determine whether any criminal
charges will be filed against Kaffka in connection with the incident.

When Bono firefighters arrived at the home, the residence was engulfed in
flames. Later Tuesday afternoon, firefighters returned to the scene to
extinguish smoldering wood and debris that rekindled.

Following the explosion, Qualls placed Kaffka into a private vehicle and
transported her to St. Bernard's Medical Center.

The woman was then air-lifted to the Arkansas Children's Hospital's Burn
Unit in Little Rock, where she was in serious condition Tuesday afternoon,
a spokesman for the medical center said.

Police said Qualls called relatives, who lived in a mobile home next door,
and asked them to report the fire.

"Qualls tried to put the fire out himself, but when he saw how badly burned
Margaret was, he decided to take her to hospital in a private vehicle," the
DTF spokesman added.

At 3:15 a.m., police were dispatched to the scene after Bono fire officials
discovered components of a meth lab inside the burning structure.

Police said an explosion is a common hazard when cooking or manufacturing
the illegal drug.

The explosion and fire left little of the wood-frame, tin-roof home that
police said was owned by Qualls' mother.

Early Tuesday afternoon, three employees of Environmental Management Inc.
of Little Rock arrived at the home to perform cleanup work.

The spokesman said EMI employees are called in because of the hazardous
materials that are involved in the manufacture of crystal meth.

In September 1990, Qualls was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas
Department of Correction on a conviction for possession of a controlled
substance with intent to deliver. Qualls was paroled from prison on Dec.
15, 1999.

Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for the ADC, said Qualls is on parole until Nov.
14, 2009. Roy Thomas of the Department of Community Punishment, which
handles parole and probation, said DCP officers have placed a parole "hold"
on Qualls with jail personnel pending a DCP investigation.

Qualls was in the Craighead County Detention Center in Jonesboro Tuesday
awaiting a bond hearing today.