Two people suffered facial burns from a propane tank explosion Tuesday morning at a Whitehall Township building, according to scanner reports.
The explosion happened around 9:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Eberhart Road, according to dispatchers. Two people are being treated for facial burns, but it is not clear the severity of their injuries.
There was no fire reported as a result of the explosion.
More information will be posted when it becomes available.
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UPDATE
A Whitehall Township building with a enterprise space on the first floor and apartments upstairs was broken Tuesday morning in an explosion.
A propane explosion Tuesday morning in an apartment in Whitehall Township injured at least two folks, according to authorities at the scene.
The building, which has an empty organization space on the initial floor and apartments upstairs, is in the 2600 block of Eberhart Road. A dispatcher listed the address as 2678 Eberhart. The road was closed involving Seventh Street and Variety Road.
An AmeriGas worker was relighting a heater when somebody flipped a light switch, township fire Chief Robert Benner stated. The ensuing spark created a "fireball flash," Benner mentioned.
"It blew up," the chief stated in straightforward terms.
The worker and a resident were taken to an region hospital, police and Benner said. It's probable a third individual was hurt as well, but Benner was uncertain.
There was no fire, he added, but there was fire harm. The apartment can not be lived in, he stated.
A single of the building's walls bulged out and a building inspector was called, police said.
A UGI Utilities Inc. truck was nearby so it stopped and helped officials measure propane in the location, Benner said, who added that as opposed to natural gas which rises, propane sinks.
The home is owned by Nidal Yacoub and Kara Eilie, according to Lehigh County property records. They list the 400 block of Pershing Avenue in Whitehall as their address.
Freelance photographer Chris Post contributed to this report.
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Propane explosion 'lifts the roof off' Whitehall apartment, injuring 2 men
An AmeriGas employee and an apartment tenant suffered burns in the 9:15 a.m. blast at 2678 Eberhart Road, Chief Bob Benner said.
"The AmeriGas man was taken to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest," Benner said. "He has facial burns and burns to his hands.
"The tenant also has facial burns. He also went to the hospital, but his burns weren't as severe."
The propane worker was right next to the heater when it blew up, Benner said. The tenant was standing farther away.
The chief said it wasn't yet clear whether the AmeriGas worker set off the explosion as he tried to re-light the propane heater, or someone else ignited the blast by flipping on a light switch with propane in the air.
"I'm not sure which happened first, the chicken or the egg," Benner said. A team of five firefighters will investigate the explosion and make a report on the cause, possibly early next week, he said.
The blast rocked the two-story building, which houses businesses on the first floor and two apartments upstairs.
"The one apartment will need some extensive repairs because the explosion actually lifted the roof off," Benner said. "It broke two-by-fours. The ceiling came down in the apartment.
"The walls bulged out on both sides of the floor. The floor appeared to be uneven. The tables seemed to be tilted.
"It's not going to be an easy repair," he said. "The building inspector doesn't want anyone living there until he gets a structural engineer in to look at it."
The apartment next door had much lighter damage and its tenants probably can move back in quickly with relatively few repairs, Benner said.
The injured tenant and a second tenant of the badly damaged apartment will have assistance from the American Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania to find temporary lodging.
Twenty to 25 Whitehall firefighters were dispatched to the blast scene, about a half-mile east of MacArthur Road, Benner said.
"It was a flash," he said. "The explosion blew the fire out and it never reignited. There was no fire there when we got there."