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.