South Jordan • Police and firefighters rushed to the scene of a propane explosion that injured three painters, one critically, late Friday morning.
South Jordan Fire Capt. Nathan Morreale said the incident occurred at 9:54 a.m. as three men with a private contractor working for Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District were painting a pipeline near 7000 West and the Old Bingham Highway.
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The workers had placed a propane heater just above the concrete vault where they were working to keep warm, Morreale said.
Investigators did not immediately determine how the propane was ignited, but the resulting blast blew the cover off the vault and badly burned one man on his hands, feet and face. He was first taken to Jordan Valley Regional Medical Center and then flown by helicopter to the University of Utah’s Burn Center, where he was in critical condition.
A second worker was taken by ambulance to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray and treated for bumps, cuts and bruises. A third worker was treated at the scene.
Initially, the injured men were thought to be Rocky Mountain Power employees because a utility repair crew reportedly was in the area.
However, Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said all of the utility’s employees were safe and accounted for; a Rocky Mountain Power employee — working about 600 feet away — called 911 to summon help for the three men.
Eskelsen said while the explosion occurred west of the power company’s Oquirrh substation, the blast "wasn’t on our property."
Witnesses reported the explosion blew dirt and rocks, along with the vault cover, into the air. No structure fires resulted.
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