Fire Suppression Tank Explosion Leads To 26 Injuries, Evacuation, At Seminole Classic Casino In Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD (CBSMiami) – A minor explosion rocked the Classic Seminole Casino on State Road 7 in Hollywood just before 10 a.m. Monday.

“There was a big explosion in the wall.  It got dark and there was smoke.  People started running,” said Rainier Hernandez, who was gambling at a slot machine when he heard the boom.

According to the casino,  a fire suppression unit was being tested and when it was reconnected there was a rupture.

“It happened in an area where there is a lot of equipment.   When the rupture happened it damaged that area and injured some people in that confined area.  But part of that wall out to the main casino also blew out and that caused injury to some people in the casino,” said Seminole spokesman Gary Bitner.

Fire rescue treated 20 people on scene and transported six people to the hospital.  As of 5 p.m. four people had been treated and released,” according to Bitner.

A patron took cell phone video which showed one of the walls of the casino partially blown out by the blast.

Hernandez says he thinks he was hit with some of the fiberglass from the wall.

Seminole and Hollywood fire rescue along with the state fire marshal will figure out what caused the blast.

The casino is expected to reopen at 8:30 p.m. Monday.