HIGH POINT -- A man was injured early this morning in a propane tank explosion.
An employee at the building was taken to Thomasville Medical Center for burns to his hands, arm and face, High Point Fire Department Deputy Chief Tim Wright said. The man was then transferred to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
High Point firefighters were called to a two-alarm fire shortly after midnight this morning at Carolina Container at 909 Prospect St. Firefighters responded about 12:30 a.m. to a fire.
A second alarm was called about five minutes later, due to the size of the building, the amount of fire and explosions from gas cylinders, said Wright.
"The man was filling a (liquid petroleum) tank for a tow motor and something went wrong," Wright said.
Carolina Container, which makes corrugated cardboard, has its own fuel center at its facility. The employee was filling up a tank when it caught fire. The gas at the tank fueled the fire, Wright said.
Officials are still uncertain what caused the fire, and will have to interview the employee when he is feeling better to determine what happened.
Most of the building at Carolina Container was saved, Wright said. Only a small portion suffered water damage, and a section of the roof was cut off to better access the fire.
Firefighters cleared the business about 7:45 a.m.
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Posted 7:38 a.m.
HIGH POINT -- Firefighters are still at Carolina Container following a propane tank explosion that occurred shortly after midnight.
High Point Fire Department was called to the business at 909 Prospect St. about 12:30 a.m. today about a tank exploding, said Capt. Denita Lynch with the agency.
The fire department called a second alarm about five minutes after getting a call about the fire.
One person was injured in the incident, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
The fire was contained by about 1 a.m., Lynch said.
Contact Sarah Newell Williamson at (336) 373-7076, and follow @snewell_NR on Twitter.
Copyright 2014 - News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.
