Padre-Expo Game Postponed by Fire in Stadium Tower

Black smoke filtered throughout Olympic Stadium for nearly two hours Friday after there were two explosions in a tower behind the center field wall.

About 70 workers were present in the tower when the explosions occurred at 5:30 PDT but no injuries were reported. Flames broke out suddenly between the seventh and eighth floors of the tower and sparks sprayed onto the field, burning small portions of the artificial turf.

The fire forced Friday’s game between the Padres and Montreal Expos to be postponed. It has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader beginning tonight at 5:05.

Padre coach Harry Dunlop was jogging near the stadium at the time of the blast.

“I saw a bunch of people running,” he said. “I thought they were getting off work, and I said to myself, ‘They’re in a hurry to get home.’ But then I heard sirens and I knew something was wrong.”

Said Jack Krol, the Padre third base coach: “I was jogging inside when it happened. Then I heard an explosion, and five minutes later, another.”

A tank of acetylene gas, which is used as an illuminator for metal cutting and welding, overheated and caused the explosions, fire marshals said. The tower is being built as part of a $1.17-million project to put a roof over Olympic Stadium.

The game was canceled by request of the Olympic Installation Board, which wanted to investigate the damage.