Man Critically Injured In Farmington Apartment Complex Explosion

FARMINGTON, Utah – Police and federal agents were investigating an explosion at an apartment complex Thursday that sent a man to the hospital in critical condition.

Officers and firefighters were dispatched around 6 p.m. to the Avanti at Farmington Station apartments, 736 W. State St., and found a garage space blown open by the explosion.

“We had a male, an adult male victim, who was inside the garage when the explosion occurred,” said Farmington Police Chief Wayne Hansen. “Hopefully he will recover so we can get a little more from him as to just what led up to this.”

Hansen said investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene to aid the small town department.

It was unclear whether the explosion was the result of an accident or something more, Hansen said.

Residents of neighboring buildings said their apartments were rattled.

“It felt like someone dropped an iron clad bathtub on top of my apartment,” said Jacob Arellano.

Iris Steen said it sounded like a “bomb went off.”

“It literally blew a hole in the wall,” Steen said. “It had to be something fierce, you know.”

As investigators looked into the cause, neighbors were already forming their own opinions.

“Somebody said he was making fireworks, so I have a hard time believing that because they’re really not that kind of people,” Steen said.

Steen said she believed the injured man was a painter by trade.

“I don’t know if he was just mixing some paint stuff or whatnot,” she said. “It’s super hot, so it could have been from the heat.”

Hansen said the building where the explosion happened had been evacuated, and engineers and others were assessing the damage to the overall structure.

Neighbors were simply left in disbelief.

“It’s insane,” Arellano said. “You don’t think this happens in your own neighborhood — let alone an apartment complex.”