2 workers injured in Warren County flash fire, explosion at home

Firefighters responded to an explosion inside a home in Washington Twp., Warren County on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of WCPO.

Firefighters responded to an explosion inside a home in Washington Twp., Warren County on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of WCPO.

One geothermal heating worker who was severely burned Tuesday was airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton and another was transferred to Clinton Memorial Hospital in Wilmington following a flash fire/explosion at a Wilmington Road residence in Washington Twp. in rural Warren County.

The workers were injured in the flash fire as they tried to install a geothermal heating system Tuesday afternoon in the home in the 10000 block of Wilmington Road, less than a mile from the Warren/Clinton county line, according to our news partner WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.

Three workers were in the basement at the moment of ignition, which started a fire that spread to the first floor of the Wilmington Road home, according to WCPO.

One was badly burned and flown to Miami Valley Hospital; another with less severe injuries was taken to Clinton Memorial Hospital, according to Chief Bob Wysong of the Clinton-Warren County Joint Fire District, according to WCPO.

Wysong told WCPO said the third worker was uninjured and the residents of the home were safe.

Hazmat teams from Hamilton County will examine the scene for any lingering signs of danger, according to WCPO.

Scott Hagemeyer, Washington Twp. trustees president whose family lives about a quarter-mile from the fire scene, said he knows and worships with the family whose home caught fire. According to Hagemeyer, the chemicals used for the installation work created the reaction that caused the explosion and flash fire.

He said damage to the home has not yet been determined as of Tuesday afternoon.

Hagemeyer said the Clinton-Warren firefighters arrived within minutes of the blaze, which was reported just before 2 p.m. He said firefighters from Wilmington and other communities were contacted for mutual aid and that the Warren County Sheriff’s Office closed Wilmington Road between Clinton-Massie and North Clarksville Road so that first responders could work.

The home is owned by Adam and Sarah Baker, according to Warren County property records.

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