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Show Taco Time worker hurt-in hurt-in explosion Bv MARK EDl)IN;T()N Staff Writer BOUNTIFUL A pressure cooker filled with beans and scalding water exploded Friday morning at a Bountiful fast food restaurant injuring the manager and scattering debris over a wide area. Brad Baldwin, a 22-year-old Bountiful resident who is the day shift manager of a Taco Time at 245 W. 500 South, was standing near the pressure cooker when it exploded. explod-ed. The 10:15 a.m. explosion caused a two-foot diameter lid on the cooker to shoot upward into the cooking hood over the deep fryer and scattered beans over a wide area, said Bountiful Police Lt. Bill Collard. Baldwin was standing off to the side when the mishap occurred. He suffered bums to his left shoulder, cornea, lips and face. Collard said the victim was transported by ambulance am-bulance to the University of Utah Bum Clinic. A clinic spokesperson said Baldwin suffered burns over eight percent of his body. Restaurant owner Bob Greaves said Baldwin's injuries could have been much worse if he had been in the direct path of the explosion. He said Baldwin's worst injury was to his shoulder "He was hit with some bean juice there. If we had got his shirt off a little faster he would probably be all right, but the stufl kind of cooked his shoulder," Greaves explained. ex-plained. SEE COOKER ON A-7 Cooker CONTINUED FROM A-l Baldwin's other bums were treated with cold water and turned out to be more superficial. "Brad seems to be doing pretty good," Greaves said. "He got some steam in his nasal passages that have given him the most pain, but he's coming along fine." Bountiful Police and the State Industrial Commission are investigating in-vestigating the accident. Collard said it was possible the lid on the cooker may have been worn to the point it was not or could not have been shut tight enough. "It's a possibility, but that lias yet to be determined,' he said. Greaves said his store has had grease fires and other mishaps, but never one of this magnitude. The explosion forced Greaves to close his restaurant for six hours to give employees time to clean up the debris. Aside from business lost during the hours Taco Time was closed, Greaves said the major damage was to a couple of filters. Baldwin is listed in fair condition and was expected to be released following an ophthalmology exam to determine the amount of damage to his cornea. |