Fireman stands back from roaring blaze
6/2001
An Annamoriah man received serious burns Friday night when his mowing
machine clipped a gas line valve. A spark from his farm tractor apparently
ignited a high pressure gas line, sending roaring flames thirty feet into the
air and blowing across a meadow.
Tony Arthur, about 40, was taken to Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center in
Grantsville by Calhoun EMS for treatment of burns on the arms and face.
Arthur, a welder for Dominion, was mowing grass on the former Mary Bryner
farm on the Hur-Joker Road off Route 5.
He was then transferred to a burn center.
Firemen did not attempt to extinguish the natural gas fire, as a
spokesperson for Dominion said the company was seeking to turn off the
main line. A source at the scene indicated it was a 12" main. Gas company
workers said it might be late morning before the fire would burn down.
Fireman Keith Smith said the fire department would assist the gas company
in cooling the blaze. The Grantsville VFD responded with other emergency
services at 9:15 p.m. and stayed on scene for several hours.
Update: Arthur miraculously recovered from the inferno.
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