Five injured in vault explosion
Danette Goulet
An electrical explosion at the Orange County Sanitation District
plant in Huntington Beach, Tuesday, injured five men, leaving one in
critical condition.
Marc Posey, 35, and Roger Webb, 60, were taken to Grossman Burn
Center at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where Posey was in
critical condition with third-degree burns over 90% percent of his
body, said hospital spokesperson Sonoma van Brunt. He went into
surgery Wednesday morning. Webb suffered third-degree burns over
about 6% of his body, she said. He was also scheduled for surgery
Wednesday.
Two others, Travis Lindberg and Scott Christianson, were taken to
UCI Medical Center, said Martha Werth, spokeswoman for the Huntington
Beach Fire Department.
Christianson, 32, had minor abrasions and scalding on the arm, and
was admitted for observation. Lindberg was treated for minor injuries
and released, Werth said.
The fifth worker, Phillip Sullivan, an employee of the Orange
County Sanitation District, was treated at Hoag Memorial Hospital
Presbyterian and released within a couple of hours, Werth said.
The four others, worked for a Southern Electrical Construction
Company, a sub-contractor.
The five men were in an all-concrete electrical vault upgrading
equipment when the electrical panel they were working on erupted in a
quick explosion. Posey caught fire and ran from the vault. The other
injuries were a result of the explosion or flames from Posey. The
fire immediately extinguished itself in the concrete vault, she
added.
Backup power was provided and sewage was diverted from plant No.
2, where the explosion occurred, to plant No. 1 so there were no
sewage backups or leaks due to the accident, said Lisa Murphy,
district spokeswoman.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, although
several theories are being thrown around, Werth said. Inspectors from
the Occupation Safety and Health Assn. will conduct the
investigation.
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