Gas tank explodes at Whitman

Six construction workers were injured the morning of Dec. 22 at the Whitman College construction site when a propane tank exploded.

One of the workers suffered burns to his face and right hand and was transported from the Helene Fuld Medical Center in Trenton to the Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Penn., for further treatment, Borough police said in a statement.

Three of the injured workers were treated at Fuld, and the remaining two at the University Medical Center at Princeton.

The fire is believed to have started when construction workers smelled gas and moved the leaking 100-pound propane tank, originally stored in one of the building's structures, too close to an outdoor heating unit, Borough police said. A valve may have broken as the workers moved the tank outside.

"The heating unit ignited all the gas," University spokesperson Eric Quinones said. "It created a flash fire."

The fire had already been extinguished by the time rescue teams arrived from the Borough police, Public Safety, Princeton first aid and fire departments, as well as paramedics from several nearby townships.

"The University is sitting down with the construction management firm to make sure they've addressed all safety issues and if there are any necessary new protocols to prevent something like this from happening again," Quinones said.

The heating subcontractor on the project will inspect and recertify all the heating units on the construction site, and the safety plan at Whitman will be reviewed, he added.