Two Workers Injured On Northwest Side When Gas From Cutting Tool Ignites
(CBS) -- Two workers were seriously injured in an explosion Friday afternoon in a house being remodeled in the Oriole Park neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side.
They were working in the bathroom of the home at 7802 W. Rascher Ave. when the gas from one of their cutting tools ignited, according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.
The workers were taken to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in serious condition, Langford said. The flash facial and hand burns are not considered life-threatening.
Langford said investigators indicated that one of the gas tanks, possibly containing acetyline gas, had a loose connection, which allowed the gas to escape and explode.
The force of the blast cracked plaster, knocked out a picture window and knocked over furniture in the single-family home.