Man injured in well blast
By JOLENE CRAIGPULLMAN - A Harrisville man was seriously injured Thursday night when the oil well he was working near exploded.
The explosion took place around 8:40 p.m. at an oil well two or three miles from the town of Pullman in Ritchie County, said Pennsboro Volunteer Fire Chief Robert Riggs.
Riggs said he could not release the well tender's name until he had talked with the man's relatives. The injured worker, 28 years old, was by himself working when the explosion occurred.
He tried to call for help on his cell phone but did not get service at the well's remote location, Riggs said.
"He ended up driving himself into Pullman for help," Riggs said.
He was transported by HealthNet helicopter from Pullman to West Penn Medical Center in Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Riggs said he was told the man had second- and third-degree burns over 76 percent of his body.
His condition was unknown Friday night. A spokesman at West Penn said the hospital was not releasing the man's name or medical condition.
The victim has been an employee for the Marietta office of Murvin and Meier Oil Co. of Chicago for the past six or seven years.
A message left with the company's Illinois office was not returned Friday.
Riggs said the cause of the explosion is unknown.
"We're not 100 percent sure of the cause," Riggs said. "Someone could have left on a heater and the fumes ignited or it could have been something else."
The explosion is being investigated.
Pennsboro Volunteer Fire Department was joined by the Ritchie County EMS and Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department to help the victim.
"Some responded to the well to put the fire out and others came to help the young man," Riggs said.
