Local News in Brief : Liquid Ignites, Burns Construction Worker

A 36-year-old construction worker suffered burns over 35% of his body Thursday after he accidentally dropped a match into a container of flammable liquid, Fire Department officials said.

Bruce Wendl of Garden Grove was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after the incident, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. He later was transferred to the burn ward at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition with third-degree burns on his chest and legs, hospital spokeswoman Johna Rogovin said.

Burbank Battalion Chief M. W. Johnson said Wendl, who was working on a scaffold with another man, apparently had lit a cigarette and accidentally dropped the match into a container of toluene, a colorless liquid used in making dyes.

The container ignited, setting Wendl’s clothes on fire, Johnson said. Workers quickly doused Wendl with water and also put out the fire, which had begun to spread, he said.

Johnson said there were no other injuries from the accident, which occured on the second floor of a high-rise office building under construction in the 3400 block of Riverside Drive.