Thursday, March 12, 2015

2 PEOPLE INJURED IN SOUTH PARK WELDING EXPLOSION IN MARYSVILLE, MICHIGAN











MARCH 12, 2015

MARYSVILLE, MICHIGAN

Bruce Lindke was inside his home on Gratiot Boulevard Thursday when he heard a booming explosion.

"I thought it was going to break out our front window, and then I saw the smoke coming up," Lindke said.

Two people were injured in an explosion at South Park Welding Supplies, located across the street from Lindke's Gratiot Road home. The business stores welding supplies that are always an explosion hazard, as unfortunately happened today. The worker who has the burns in his face most likely was filling a bottle with gas and it exploded.

Rescue crews were called to the scene at 50 Gratiot Boulevard, Marysville, MI 48040 shortly after 3 p.m.

The Clair Inn, which is located just south of South Park Welding, was evacuated. People in the surrounding area were told to stay inside their homes.

Law enforcement units from Marysville Police Department, Port Huron Police Department, St. Clair County Sheriff Department, Michigan State Police and U.S. Border Patrol closed the roadways north, south and west of the fire for close to three hours.

As of about 7 p.m., firefighters from Port Huron and Marysville remained at the scene of the fire.

Ron Buckmaster, deputy chief for the Marysville Department of Public Safety, said one person was treated for minor injuries and released.

Another person was hospitalized for treatment of second-degree burns to his hands and face.

Buckmaster said workers will not be able to return to the building Friday.
Lindke, a former undersheriff for the county, watched as firefighters worked to contain the fire.

"I thought the Marysville and Port Huron fire departments worked really well together," Lindke said. "I think it prevented things from being a lot worse than they were before."

South Park Welding Supplies was damaged seriously in a fire on Nov. 2, 2009. An acetylene tank caught fire and several secondary explosions followed.
Debris from the 2009 explosion flew hundreds of feet. One person was injured, with burns to his face, head and hands.

Paul Wessel was at his Gratiot Boulevard home during the 2009 fire and Thursday's explosion. On Thursday, he was in his basement when a loud boom shook his home.

"The other one was a lot scarier," Wessel said, of the shrapnel and metal that exploded from the 2009 fire.

"This one could have been just as bad but they got it out a lot quicker."
Buckmaster said the cause of Thursday's fire remains under investigation, but its clear there was an explosion of some sort.

"There's cinder blocks missing out of one section of the wall and windows were blown out," he said.
Source: http://www.thetimesherald.com