MARION, Md.- A 21-year old man using a cutting torch on an oil tank was severely burned Saturday afternoon in an explosion at Cullen Farm on 27430 Marion Crisfield Road in Somerset County.
Deputy State Fire Marshals said that the Tasley, Virginia man and his father were using an acetylene torch and performing a cutting operation on a large oil tank, which had previously been used to store gasoline when the tank exploded injuring both men, one severely.
The explosion ignited a nearby pole building. It is believed that neither man knew the tank had previously stored the flammable liquid.
The 21-year old suffered second and third degree burns to over 90 percent of his body, third-degree burns being the most serious. He was flown to Bayview Medical Center, Burn Unit in Baltimore.
The 52-year-old father was initially transported to McCready Memorial Hospital in Crisfield with non-life threatening injuries but was later transferred to Bayview Medical Center as well.
15 firefighters from Marion Volunteer Fire Company came to the scene and took approximately 25 minutes to bring the fire under control.
