Last week, one person suffered minor injuries after a gas explosion in the boiler room of a medical building located at QualMed Plaza in Spokane, Washington. The flash explosion blew the doors off of the entryway to the boiler room where a mechanic was working on the boiler, located in the basement of the facility. At the time of the explosion, the man was trying to fix the heat in the building, which had been out for two days. The 34-year old mechanic was taken to a nearby hospital for minor flash burns.
Although approximately 50 people were evacuated from the nine-story building, according to Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, medical procedures that were already in progress, “were not seriously interrupted and one critical procedure taking place on the fifth floor at the time of the explosion was able to continue.”
The fire was extinguished quickly and contained to the boiler room. While the explosion did cause damage to the boiler room, there was no significant damage to the rest of the facility. Firefighters examined the entire building for structural and infrastructure damage and determined that the building was safe before allowing occupants to return.
The explosion is still being investigated by Washington State Labor and Industries, as well as Spokane Fire Department investigators.