Explosion at Carmel High School injures 2
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) – An explosion Wednesday at Carmel High School has injured two people, one with severe burns, according to Carmel Fire Department.
Carmel firefighter Tim Griffin, the department spokesman, said a school employee and a contractor had been working on a heater and were attempting to relight it when the explosion occurred. It was not immediately known which person received the severe burns.
Griffin said about 9:45 p.m. that both people were conscious, but he did not know their conditions. They were taken to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis.
FACEBOOK LIVE: News 8’s Eric Feldman with Carmel firefighter Tim Griffin
He said the damage occurred on the second floor near the school’s gymnasium and pool. The blast caused “fairly significant damage” to a wall and the roof, Griffin said. Engineering crews from the city government were expected to visit the site Thursday to survey the damage and access the building’s stability.
Ryan Judy coaches a 4th grade youth basketball team. They happened to be practicing in the field house when the explosion happened. Judy said it sounded like a bomb and that bricks were falling to the ground.
He said immediately, the fear was if something else would explode and everyone ran away from the noise.
When they got outside, he said he and the kids were flustered. Judy said it was frightening to think that they were running a pick-and-roll drill the day after Christmas, and then the explosion nearly took it all away.
The department said on Twitter that the explosion occurred on the northwest corner of the high school and was believed to have come from a mechanical room where work was being performed. The fire was marked under control about 6:45 p.m.
The school is on winter break, but student athletes were in the school during the explosion. No students were physically hurt.
A boys basketball game set for Thursday afternoon against Anderson and a girls basketball game set for Thursday night against Kokomo have been postponed. No dates set yet for rescheduling the games, which were to be played at the school.
Carmel Athletics Director Jim Inskeep on Wednesday night posted this statement on Twitter:
“We are thankful for the first responders and city officials assisting in tonight’s explosion at the school. All practices and contests at the school are canceled on Thursday. The building will be closed. More information will be provided as it becomes available on Thursday.”
Children at the school were moved to the Carmel Stadium locker rooms. That’s where parents could pick up the children. All activities at the school for Wednesday night were canceled.
Multiple people called 911 about the explosion.
Dina Kancs lives by Carmel High School on Third Avenue Northeast. She told The Hamilton County Reporter that she “definitely heard the explosion.”
“The whole neighborhood ran out to make sure we were all OK. Saw the fire alarms going off at Carmel High School and sirens showed up pretty immediately afterwards,” Kancs said.
The fire department’s first tweet about the fire was sent at 6:20 p.m. It was not immediately clear when the explosion was first reported.