Kentucky Worker Injured In Fire After Hitting Gas Line

A Marine Electric worker was taken to the hospital yesterday after the machinery he was using hit a low-pressure gas line, said Fire Battalion Chief Randy Gilliam.

Gilliam said the worker was digging a shallow ditch for electrical wiring close to noon yesterday near the University of Kentucky's new biomedical building on South Limestone.

He struck the gas line with a Ditch Witch machine and a flash fire occurred, Gilliam said.

Firefighters responded to the scene, shut off the gas line and were able to put out the fire soon after they arrived.

The machine the worker was using on the ditch was destroyed, Gilliam said. The man was transported to UK Medical Center, he said.

The man had first-degree burns, Gilliam said, but no other injuries were reported from the fire yesterday.