Fire Injures Five at the St. Brides Correctional Center in Virginia

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) -- A flash fire or propane explosion Wednesday injured five people, two critically, at a construction site at St. Brides Correctional Center, a fire official said.

Capt. Steve Johnson of the Chesapeake Fire Department said two of the five suffered minor injuries, while the extent of injuries involving a final worker has not been determined.

The five were working on a kitchen in the low-security prison.

St. Brides is undergoing an a $32.5 million expansion intended to create 800 new beds. The prison has between 500 and 600 inmates and has a youthful offender program, Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.

Traylor said a section of the prison was to close soon with the opening of the expansion. He could not immediately provide information on the fire.