VENTURA : Man Badly Burned in Body Shop Blast
A Ventura man was critically burned at Paradise Chevrolet in Ventura on Thursday morning when sparks from a torch he was using caused a 55-gallon drum to explode, a fire official said.
Terry Kemp, 27, was in critical but stable condition Thursday evening in the burn center of Sherman Oaks Community Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Kemp, the assistant manager of the dealership’s body shop, was using an acetylene torch to cut up a roll bar for recycling when the accident occurred at 9:45 a.m., said Ventura Fire Battalion Chief Bill Rigg.
As Kemp used the torch, fumes from a nearly empty, 55-gallon drum of acrylic lacquer seeped out of a hole in the side of the drum and caused a flash explosion, Rigg said.
The explosion burned the clothes off Kemp’s back and caused second- and third-degree burns over 45% of his body, Rigg said.
No fire was started by the blast, Rigg said.
Kemp was taken to Ventura County Medical Center and later transferred to the Sherman Oaks hospital’s burn center.
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