EXPLOSION: Evans Head man taken to hospital

PARAMEDICS and fire crews attended the scene, and a man was taken to hospital after an explosion.

AROUND 3pm residents in Evans Head heard a loud bang.

A man at Bottlebrush Drive had been grinding an old 40 gallon drum to make a fire pit and it exploded.

Ambulance and Fire and Rescue crews attended the scene and the man was taken to hospital with injuries to his hand.

The explosion was caused by fuel fumes inside the drum and the vapours ignited from the spark of the angle grinder, Evans Head Fire and Rescue captain Ralph Lohse said.

The explosion blew apart the owner's Colorbond fence and knocked pot plants onto the road.

Captain Lohse said anyone thinking of doing the same should wash out the drum first to remove old oil and fuel and leave some water inside the drum.

Fire pits have become popular in backyards, this incident is a warning of the dangers of using a grinder on these old drums with remnants of fuel still inside

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A drum exploded at Bottlebrush Dr in Evans Head when a man was angle grinding it to make a fire pit. PIC: Evans Head Fire and Rescue