An explosion at a Saturday campfire in Berkeley Springs injured several people and sent five to the hospital in EMS care with various burn-related conditions.
Two individuals were flown to the hospital with serious injuries, according to fire officials. Other sources indicate at least one of those injured was a teen.
The incident took place in the Lakewood Hills Road subdivision off on Martinsburg Road east of town.
Assistant Fire Marshal George Harms on Monday evening told The Morgan Messenger that the cause of the explosion was accidental. There were ignitable liquids in the area of the bonfire.
Harms said that there were six people injured in the explosion. Two were flown by helicopter to a burn center in Washington D.C. Three people were taken by ambulance to Winchester Medical Center and one person went to War Memorial Hospital by self-transport. There were no life-threatening injuries.
Morgan County 911 Dispatch Center training supervisor Sarah Hogbin said that the incident was called in to the 911 Center at 9:55 p.m. on Saturday, February 18.
Hogbin said that the campfire blew up and emergency officials weren’t sure why. The campfire didn’t spread or threaten any nearby structures or woods. Fire units responded to the scene put the campfire out. There were no injuries to firefighters.
Units that responded to the incident were Berkeley Springs and Hancock Volunteer Fire Companies and Morgan County Emergency Medical Services. The last fire unit left a little after 10:30 p.m. and the last medical unit cleared the scene a little after midnight, Hogbin said.
