Wilkes-Barre Township fire department was on scene at the Wyoming Valley Mall Thursday, following a propane gas explosion at KPOT BBQ.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Two people were taken to the hospital with burn injuries Thursday and the Wyoming Valley Mall plus several other businesses were forced to close following a propane gas explosion at KPOT Korean BBQ and Hot Pot.
According to Wilkes-Barre Township Fire Lt. Brianna Mandak, the explosion occurred when two construction workers were attempting to light a hot water heater in a back hallway at the restaurant, which was slated to officially open in the mall toward the end of the month.
Residual propane fumes were present and because it was such a tight space, Mandak said all of the fumes compressed together and created a “big fire ball.”
“The explosion was so powerful in a tight area that it actually blew apart four of their sprinkler heads,” Mandak explained.
The two burn victims were taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley and later transferred to the Leigh Valley Burn Center.
Mandak did not have much information on the severity of their injuries, but said she believed one of the victims was in critical condition.
Mandak said that the per the state fire marshal, the fire was ruled as accidental.
There were burn marks present in the area of the explosion, but Mandak said that any damage was isolated to that specific area.
The explosion did cause a gas leak, and as a precaution, water and gas to the mall was shut off and the entire mall was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day.
PPL water company and UGI were called to the scene, and because there were two victims, the state police fire marshal was called to investigate alongside the fire department to make sure there was no foul play involved.
Mandak said that shutting off both the water and the power affected several other stores on the mall property and forced them to close as well, including Crunch Fitness and Sonic.
According to the Asst. Fire Chief Rich Hart, the call initially came in as a fire alarm and when crews arrived on scene and went to the fire alarm panel, they were notified to go help medics with two burn victims.
Mandak stated that there was no active fire when they arrived on scene and the fire ball created by the explosion “put itself out.”
The Lieutenant did not know when exactly the mall would reopen, but did say that the restaurant would have to fix any issues before power and water could be restored.
“If we turn things back on without the initial problem being fixed, we’re gonna be back here again,” she explained.
There is no word yet on whether or not the explosion will affect the opening of KPOT BBQ.