Explosion Injures Three at South Carolina Fire Academy

Watch Video COLUMBIA, S.C.-- Students at a training center for firefighters put their newly learned skills to use when a small explosion injured their instructor and two others. The explosion occurred shortly after 11am Tuesday during training exercises as the instructor tried to ignite a pilot light on a replica of a full scale airplane with two human dummies in the cockpit. The 15 students at the South Carolina Fire Academy put out the fire and helped treat the minor injuries after calling 911. The three people injured were taken by ambulance to Richland Memorial Hospital with minor burns and cuts. The academy has two of the replicas, which were used in more than 300 training exercises last year and 173 so far this year. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. The state office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also been notified. Republished permission of WIS-TV.