An oxygen tank that exploded during a mobile home fire sent several firefighters and an EMS worker to the hospital early Sunday with non-life-threatening injuries, the Lakeland Fire Department reported.
Three Lakeland firefighters and the emergency worker were outside the mobile home on Robson Road West when the oxygen tank inside the home exploded, said Cheryl Edwards, spokeswoman for the Lakeland Fire Department.
The employees were taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center to have their ears and hearing checked, Edwards said. The firefighters and EMS worker were treated and released, she said.
The fire, which began about 1:35 a.m., was caused by a cigarette a woman was smoking in bed, Edwards said. The woman used the oxygen tank that eventually exploded, she said.
The woman and her two adult sons were able to make it out of the mobile home safely, Edwards said. One of men was taken to the hospital, but his condition was not known Sunday night.
The fire destroyed the home, and damage is estimated at about $40,000, Edwards said. The American Red Cross is helping the family, she said.
