Explosion at East Side business injures worker

Virgin Oil Ldt. Explosion

Video

YOUNGSTOWN — An explosion and fire at an industrial building on the city’s East Side sent one worker to the hospital in critical condition.

Just before 2:30 p.m. today at least five Youngstown fire trucks responded to a blaze at Virgin Oil Ltd., 1630 Wilson Ave.

Fire Chief John O’Neill Jr. said little is known about the cause of the explosion, but it could have been caused by a spark in a byproduct of an oil well.

“Everything’s still pretty sketchy right now,” he said. “We’re trying to find out for sure what the product is.”

He said one man, whose identity was not released, was burned.

The worker was taken by helicopter from the property and was in critical condition at Akron Children’s Hospital’s burn unit, the fire department said.

O’Neill described the explosion as violent.

“You can see there’s building material 40 or 50 feet from the building,” he said. “There’s a minor collapse at the back of the building.”

For the complete story, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com