An industrial accident occurred at the Pine Grove Center 3 construction site on Friday, April 13. Of the three workers who were slightly injured, all were treated and released. There was no insignificant damage done to the building.
The accident was a minor explosion caused by leaking acetylene that was ignited by the flame of a cigarette lighter.
On Thursday night, the acetylene tanks were placed in the job box, a steel box with a combination lock that is five feet long, three feet wide, and four feet high, which was not completely closed. Since the tanks were not completely closed, there was a leak of the flammable gas confined inside the box.
When the workers arrived at the Pine Grove site on Friday morning, a worker used a cigarette lighter to see the combination lock on the job box because it was still dark out. The acetylene in the box ignited, which caused the explosion.
“None of this was Quinnipiac’s responsibility,” said Joe Rubertone, director of facilities. “This was an accident with the plumbing contractor, R. J. Patton, who is a subcontractor for the Pertra Corporation. It just happened on Quinnipiac property.”