Explosion Forces Apartment Evacuation

An apartment complex was evacuated and two people were hospitalized early Saturday morning after an explosion in what authorities believe was an illegal drug lab.

A hospital emergency room later had to be shut down for more than six hours when one of the men involved in the explosion walked in and contaminated the facility, authorities said.

The 31-year-old man drove himself in his own car to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, arriving at 2:30 a.m., police said.

About 30 people who were exposed to the man at the hospital had to be decontaminated in a series of three showers, said Rick Kuss, deputy fire marshal for the Puyallup Fire Department.

The man, who was not immediately identified, sustained burns over 5 percent of his body. He was taken to the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, where he was treated and released.

The emergency room at Good Samaritan reopened at 9:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the City of Auburn Fire Department’s Hazardous Material team worked inside the Sumner apartment where the explosion took place. Police, who believe that methamphetamine was being manufactured, cordoned off two streets and evacuated about 40 residents of the Elm Valley Apartments.

Three policemen and one firemen who were exposed to the toxic chemicals at the apartment had to be decontaminated.

“We think it’s a clandestine lab,” said Lt. R.W. Clary of the Sumner Police Department. “Everything is consistent to that.”