San Diego
A fiery explosion ripped through an underground oil tank at a Kearny Mesa asphalt plant Sunday, seriously injuring one worker, a Fire Department spokesman said.
The worker, who was not identified, was filling an adjacent tank using a solvent and a heating device when the solvent caught fire and touched off the blast at 3:58 p.m., spokesman Jon MacDonald said. The victim was reported in serious condition with neck and chest burns at the UC San Diego Medical Center burn unit.
Firefighters allowed the two-alarm fire, at the Sims Harris plant in the 9200 block of Kearny Villa Road, to burn itself out in the partially filled tank before sealing the vessel, MacDonald said.
Crude oil is used in the manufacture of asphalt. Heating devices and solvents are used to keep the asphalt flowing through the underground tanks.
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