Drain Cleaner Explosion Seriously Injures Maintenance Worker

Smithfield paramedics load a 49-year-old maintenance worker into the back of an ambulance. The worker was injured Friday, at Johnston Court Apartments, after drain cleaner exploded in his face.

A maintenance worker sustained serious eye injuries after drain cleaner exploded in his face. It happened at 2237 Kay Drive in the Johnston Court Apartments in Smithfield Friday afternoon. The 49-year-old worker reportedly placed drain cleaner in a sink to unclog the drain and it came in contact with a cigarette lighter in the drain and somehow exploded. The victim was rushed by Smithfield EMS to Johnston Memorial Hospital . Smithfield Fire also responded to the scene.