A CARETAKER and a pupil at a vocational school in Co Galway received minor injuries in a gas explosion at the school's science laboratory yesterday.
But a major accident was averted by the "quick thinking" of the caretaker, Mr Michael Kenny, who opened the windows in the room to let the gas escape, just before the explosion occurred. The room, which was unoccupied at the time, was wrecked by the blast.
The accident happened just before classes began at 9 a.m. at St Killian's Vocational School, New Inn, according to the school principal, Mr Tomas Mac Lochlainn.
He said Mr Kenny unlocked the laboratory for a waiting class and smelled gas. He told the pupils to stay outside the room while he went in and opened the windows. The gas ignited as he was leaving the room.
Mr Kenny, a former county hurler, suffered burns to his hands and was taken to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, together with a fourth year pupil, Niall Conerney, who suffered minor burns. Both were later discharged.
Thirteen other pupils who were standing outside the laboratory were also brought to hospital as a precaution in case of shock. They were sent home.
Fire and safety officers were examining the scene yesterday and the school will be closed until Monday to assess the damage and check the gas supply.
Mr Mac Lochlainn said a leak in the supply was suspected as the probable cause of the accident, as all the gas burners in the room had been turned off. The room was used last Wednesday and the gas may have built up overnight.
He praised Mr Kenny's foresight in opening the windows. "His quick thinking saved the situation," he said.