By Maggie Ybarra
The El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — Two men were injured Wednesday when an oven exploded at a Northeast bakery.
The men, ages 21 and 25, were burned when the oven exploded about 12:30 p.m., fire officials said. The 21-year-old received second-degree burns to his elbow, and the 25-year-old had minor injuries to his face, said Battalion Chief Sam Pena, spokesman for the Fire Department.
They were taken to University Medical Center, he said.
Both men are employees of Supreme Bakery, 10166 McCombs St., said Battalion Chief James Carvalho. One was near the oven and the other was near the counter when the explosion occurred, he said.
No customers were inside the bakery when the explosion occurred, Carvalho said.
“Only employees were inside,” he said. “One customer was walking out, and they had customers walking in. They weren’t actually inside, fortunately.”
Fire officials said 23 firefighters responded to the fire. It was extinguished by 1:30 p.m. Damage to the interior, windows, oven, baked goods and supplies in the bakery was estimated at $14,000.
Texas Gas Service sent employees to the site to test its meters, Carvalho said. In addition, he said, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent representatives to investigate the explosion.
Fire officials said Wednesday night that the explosion resulted from improper modifications to the oven’s pressure regulator switches.
The modifications allowed natural gas to build up and delayed ignition in the oven, resulting in an explosion, officials said.
Copyright 2011 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper