Fourth of July BBQ Explosion Seriously Injures Four in Hialeah Gardens

Every July 5th, Americans wake up to news of Independence Day partiers severely injured when patriotic explosions go wrong; out in California's Simi Valley, 28 people were hurt when a fireworks show blew up on the ground near a crowd of spectators. The worst accident in Miami on this Fourth...

By Tim Elfrink

July 5, 2013

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Every July 5th, Americans wake up to news of Independence Day partiers severely injured when patriotic explosions go wrong; out in California's Simi Valley, 28 people were hurt when a fireworks show blew up on the ground near a crowd of spectators.

The worst accident in Miami on this Fourth of July didn't come from fireworks, though. Four men in Hialeah Gardens were seriously burned when their BBQ grill exploded.

The men were cooking on a custom-made brick oven and grill when a gas tank started leaking, police tell the Miami Herald.

The leak caused an explosion which left all four men with second degree burns, including Luis Fabian Chirino, the 68-year-old who owns the house.

Chirino was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital along with 31-year-old William Hernandez, 46-year-old Guillermo Valdez and 53-year-old Juan Chirino, a Hialeah Gardens spokesman tells the Herald.

Luis Chirino was listed in critical condition, but all four men are expected to survive.

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Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

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