Worker injured in shop explosion
A man received burns to his face and nose, as well as inhalation injuries, after an explosion at Wichita Trailer, Inc., located in the 4900 block of N. Broadway.
The worker was welding on a tanker trailer used to transport crude oil at the facility just before 3 p.m. Monday.
"Preliminary reports say they were doing some welding on the truck, and they must have hit a pocket of gas that caused the explosion," said Eddie Fajardo, Sedgwick County Fire Department Division Chief.
There were no flames when fire crews arrived on scene, but there was smoke coming from the top of a manhole on the tanker trailer. The explosion burned a hole into the roof of the facility.
"Before they weld on a truck like that, they're supposed to clean the tank truck out," Fajardo said. "Right now we're trying to find out if they actually had cleaned the tank truck out. There shouldn't have been any vapors inside the truck."
The fire department sprayed foam inside the tanker to suppress any remaining vapors. They also planned to undo another manhole cover to let it ventilate.
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