July 05--A July Fourth family barbecue in Hialeah Gardens ended with four men rushed to the hospital after the custom-made brick oven they were grilling on blew up.
The explosion was caused by a leaking gas tank on a brick oven and grill at Hialeah resident Luis Fabian Chirino's home in the 9800 block of Northwest 135th Street, police said.
Rescuers airlifted Chirino and three other men to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital at about 4 p.m., according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Chirino, 68 and William Hernandez, 31, had second-degree burns across their bodies, and Juan Chirino, 53, and Guillermo Valdes, 46 were burned from the waist down, said Hialeah Gardens Police spokesman Carlos Fojo.
Luis Chirino was hospitalized in critical condition, but none of the men's injuries were life-threatening, Fojo said.
The explosion also caused a small fire on the patio where it happened.
Miami Herald staff writer Jonathan Simmons contributed to this report, which was also supplemented with material from the Associated Press.
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