Alton Fire Department and Alton Police Department responded to a 911 call at Alton Steel Inc. at No. 5 Cut Street, Building 61, at 4:43 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1.
When firefighters and officers arrived, they discovered two employees had been working on a hose line when the hose line broke and fire came through the gas line. Both employees were tossed about 12 feet by the fire surge, Alton Fire Department Chief Derek Richardson said. One of the employees suffered bodily injuries when he landed against a brick wall. He was taken by ARCH to St. Louis University Hospital. Richardson said that man was reported in stable condition.
Richardson said the other injured man suffered burns and was treated and driven by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. The second man is also was reported in stable condition.