Explosion at Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood injures several
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Several people were injured after a piece of fire suppression equipment burst at the Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood on Monday morning, sending debris and fiberglass flying below, city and Seminole Tribe officials said.
Authorities said six people were taken to local hospitals with mostly minor injuries. Another 20 refused transport but were treated on-scene in the parking lot with minor ailments such as scrapes, bruises or eye irritation.
Tribe spokesman Gary Bitner said maintenance was being done to the fire suppression equipment in an equipment room behind a casino wall. They were done servicing the system, and when they turned it back on, a line connecting to the tank ruptured.
“It had been reconnected with a gas canister,” Bitner said. “It’s actually fire suppression equipment that uses gas to put out a fire.”
About 100 people were at the casino at the time of the explosion, which witnesses said caused a large boom.
Ad“It was an extremely loud explosion,” said one man who was inside. “Like a transformer burst. It was a very loud sound. You see all those fibers falling from the drywall.”
The casino is located at 4150 North State Road 7, about a half-mile south of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
The facility opened in 1979, billing itself as the nation’s first large-stakes bingo hall. It now offers slot machines, table games and high-stakes bingo.
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