3 Janitors Cause School Blast Trying to Freeze Gopher; 19 Injured
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CERES, Calif. — Three janitors trying to freeze a gopher to death caused an explosion Monday that injured 19 people, most of them students, at an elementary school, officials said.
The Fowler Elementary School janitors were blown out of a utility room when one of them tried to light a cigarette after spraying the rodent with a freezing solvent used to clean gum and wax off floors.
Two janitors remained hospitalized Tuesday in stable condition. Sixteen pupils near the explosion had been treated for minor injuries.
The gopher survived and was later released in a field.
Jeff Davis said he and the other janitors were trying to kill the animal, which a student had found on the school grounds and brought to them.
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