2 men burned when pipe explodes at Sherman Steel

CAMPBELL -- Two men were badly burned in an explosion Tuesday afternoon while they were using a torch to cut pipe at Sherman Steel, 27 Union St.
One man was flown from the scene by helicopter in critical condition to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh with burns over his entire body, mostly third-degree burns, the fire department said.
The other man, who complained of back pain and suffered second- and third-degree burns, was taken by ambulance to the burn unit at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron.
The fire department declined to release the names of the men Tuesday evening, but said both were employees of Atlas Recycling -- a company that recycles steel.
The two men were on a lift cutting pipe with a torch, when something flammable in a pipe exploded and ignited the men's clothing, and one of the men jumped 15 feet from the lift platform to the floor at 3 p.m., the fire department said. Campbell and Struthers firefighters were at the scene.