Explosion Inside Warren Business: Five Employees Injured

WARREN, RI—An explosion inside the building this morning at Water Rower, 560 Metacom Ave., injured two people, according to Warren Fire Chief Alexander Galinelli.

"One person had facial burns," he said. Another person was having a breathing problem. Then, three more were hurt due to falls when they evacuated the premises. In all, five people went to the hospital, he said.

The Fire Department was called around 11:45 "for a possible explosion inside the building," he said. When they arrived, rescue workers found the two imjured people. Firefighters dealt with the gas explosion.

"One of the ovens had exploded and did internal damage to a couple of walls," the chief said. But there was no structural damage to the building.

The company makes rowing exercise machines.

According to the chief, the only burning was the result of the initial oven explosion. It was a flash fire, he said, and it went out as soon as the gas was all gone.

The explosion was not due to a gas leak, he said. Investigators were able to determine the oven malfunction was the cause.

"It had nothing to do with National Grid," he said.

Chief Galinelli said the fire department stayed on scene for several hours. The state fire inspector, a local building inspector and an investigator from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called in. The Warren building inspector was unavailable, so an inspector from a neighboring town provided expertise, he said.