An explosion in the basement of an auto repair shop in St. Louis caused the roof to collapse and injured one technician. Six employees were inside Shawn’s Master Auto Repair at the time.
Pam Mead was working in the office during the explosion. She went into the bay where her son, general manager Eric Mead, and three technicians were working. Her husband Shawn owns the business.
“I noticed the ceiling falling down and my son was working in the first bay, and it had fallen on top of him,” Pam Mead said. “... It fell on top of him. I could see him so I went out to get him, and [another employee] noticed a fireball coming up out of the basement.”
All six employees were able to get out of the building safely, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, but Eric Mead suffered minor injuries. Emergency responders wrapped his arm up at the scene before taking him to the hospital to be checked out.
“I’m just shaken up, very shaken up,” Pam Mead said. “Because this is our business and thank God Eric didn’t get hurt real bad and nobody got killed. It could have been a lot worse — I mean the building could have collapsed on all of us. I mean we are all very, very lucky to get out of there.”
The St. Louis fire department said it is still trying to identify the source of the explosion.
