DWP Electrical Vault Explodes; 7 Workers Hurt

Seven Department of Water and Power workers were injured, six of them critically, and power was knocked out in a six-block area when an explosion ripped through an underground electrical vault in the downtown area at about 3:30 this morning.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, the DWP said.

Ken Miyoshi, assistant chief engineer for the DWP, said the men were reconnecting some 4,800-volt circuits that had been temporarily shut down for the Metro Rail subway construction project when “they heard a sizzling type of noise” in the vault below the intersection of 8th and Spring streets.

As the men started to flee, Miyoshi said, there was suddenly an electrical arc and an explosion.

Insulation Oil Fed Flames

Bob McMillen, a DWP engineer, said flames fed by insulation oil filled the concrete vault--about 14 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall--boiling up out of the manhole above with enough concussive force to shatter some windows in nearby buildings.

McMillen said several of the men were in the vault when the explosion occurred, while the others were working at the surface, beside the manhole.

He said that despite the danger, the men on the surface--assisted by workers from another DWP crew that had been working nearby--immediately descended into the still-smoldering vault to help the men below. The DWP said some of the rescuers were injured during their efforts to aid their fallen associates.

Three of the critically injured victims--Robert McClure, 39, Robert Landis, 32, and Kevin White, 22, were given emergency treatment at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center before being rushed to the burn center at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital.

Medical officials said the three others listed in critical condition--Brian Wilbur, 20, Clarence Dennis, 28, and Ted Smissen, 20--were admitted to the California Medical Center.

All six sustained major burns over large portions of their upper bodies, according to Dr. Craig S. Miller, the DWP’s medical director. In addition, he said, all six were suffering from smoke inhalation.

The seventh victim--George Gonzales, 34--was listed in serious condition at the California Medical Center, where he was being treated for smoke inhalation.