photo by Bruce Garner
Two men doing maintenance work on a sewer line were injured Wednesday morning by a flash fire. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. at 3806 Amnicola Highway, with Chattanooga firefighters being dispatched to a "confined space explosion."
Captain Robert Thompson with the fire department's Special Operations division said the men were down in a manhole when a flash fire broke out.
Both men managed to get out of the manhole and call 911 for help.
When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire was already out. One man appeared to be suffering from second-degree burns and was transported by Hamilton County EMS to a local hospital, where his condition was still being assessed. The other man had minor burns and declined to be transported.
Captain Thompson said they are still trying to determine what caused the flash fire. Representatives with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) will also be conducting an investigation of the incident.
The two workers are employed by SpectraShield, a subcontractor being used by the city of Chattanooga.