Gas Fire, Explosion Force Evacuation
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A welder doing routine work on an underground water main in a Costa Mesa apartment complex accidentally scraped his equipment against a natural gas pipe, causing a minor explosion Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The welder, Scott Nelson, 29, of Riverside, was taken to the burn unit at UCI Medical Center in Orange where he remained in serious condition with burns to 25% of his body, mainly on his face and abdomen, hospital spokeswoman Kim Pine said.
Costa Mesa firefighters, police and gas company officials were called to the Village Creek apartments in the 3400 block of Meadow Brook at 3:25 p.m. where they immediately evacuated the six apartments, police spokesman John FitzPatrick said.
Authorities said they were relieved the gas had ignited instead of spreading.
“If it was not burning, this could have been a much bigger hazard,” FitzPatrick said. “Once it’s burning, it’s pretty much contained.”
Crews extinguished the fire at 4:40 p.m., officials said.
Gas company and law enforcement officials said they will continue their investigation into the cause of the accident.
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