Walking To A Gas Leak With Lit Cigarettes, Guess What..

Alvarado, 58, was helping a friend move furniture out of the complex's basement when, authorities say, they bumped into and possibly broke a gas valve.A woman from Progress Energy happened to be auditing the building's electrical use at the same time. She smelled gas and insisted the men get away from the basement.
The men, both carrying lit cigarettes, walked back toward the building.
"She begged them not to go," said Jerry Burns, who lives across the street. "They didn't listen.
"As soon as they touched that sidewalk — boom — both of them fell back," Burns said. "It was like something from the sun blew up. It was one big ball of fire."
Alvarado, his right arm ablaze, stumbled across the street and collapsed in a parking lot. The other man, whose name was not available, was also burned, though not as severely.
After the explosion, he sat in the parking lot, still holding his cigarette.


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