Explosion injures 4 firefighters in Winnipeg

The Canadian Press, Online Out

WINNIPEG — Four Winnipeg firefighters were sent flying by an explosion at a fire at a fibreglass plant.

Chad Swayze managed to escape without major injuries, while two of his colleagues suffered concussions from the blast at Omniglass in west Winnipeg on Monday.

No one was working in the building due to the holiday.

Crews remained on scene Tuesday to soak any hot spots with water.

The owner of Omniglass says the fire caused around $5 million in damage and he doesn't know when it will reopen.

Swayze says his left leg took the brunt of the impact, along with his left elbow and left arm, and he was left with a stiff back and neck, as well as bruising.

"I still don't know what exploded or how it exploded or why. But we ended up flying back 10 to 15 feet," he said.

"Time slowed down at that second. I started to think about everything I had done in my life, my experiences at different fires."

He said he hates to think what would have happened if the explosion at Omniglass had happened when firefighters were inside the building, rather than being outside at the time.

Swayze was on duty at a St. Boniface fire in February 2007 that killed two of his colleagues.

Copyright 2012 The Canadian Press

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