Cause of explosion in Dudley vape shop which caused evacuation is revealed
An explosion in a vape shop in Dudley town centre which caused shops and a pub to be evacuated was caused by an aerosol canister, it has been confirmed.
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The incident at Amsterdamned on Wolverhampton Street happened around 3.15pm yesterday, sending glass all over the street and caused the road in the town centre to be closed for several hours while engineers checked the safety of the building.
The shop remained closed and boarded up this morning.
A 52-year-old man was taken to hospital with burns injuries not believed to be life-threatening after being seen staggering out of the shop following the explosion, with fire crews from Dudley and Brierley Hill called to the scene, as well as an ambulance from West Midlands Fire Service.
A local resident told the Express & Star: "I was sitting in my room around 3.15pm when I heard what sounded like an explosion and felt my floor move.
"I looked outside and saw glass everywhere and a man staggering out from the shop, which is called Amsterdamned. He got taken away by ambulance.
"We've only just moved in and this is really shocking as it's so near our home. We've been out ever since [it happened] as they're checking for gas."
The shop, which sells vapes and paraphernalia and also does personalised printing, remained closed on Thursday morning, with the windows and front door boarded up.
A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said: "Shortly after 3.25pm on Wednesday, we mobilised a brigade response vehicle and two fire engines from Dudley and Brierley Hill stations to Wolverhampton Street, Dudley.
"A small explosion from an aerosol canister on the ground floor of a three-storey commercial building caused damage to storefront windows.
"The road was closed while crews worked at the scene.
"Firefighters were assisted by police and ambulance colleagues. One man is believed to have been conveyed to hospital for treatment. Everyone else was accounted for and there were no further injuries.
"A structural engineer confirmed there was no damage to the structural integrity of the building.
"Crews left the scene at 6.34pm."
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We were called to reports of an explosion on Wolverhampton Street, Dudley, at 3.07pm.
"One ambulance, a paramedic officer and a HART paramedic attended the scene.
"On arrival, we discovered one patient, a man.
"He was treated for burns injuries that were not life-threatening, before being taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, for further treatment."
James Slater, customer operations area manager for Cadent, said: “We were called to an incident on Wednesday evening at Wolverhampton Road.
“Our engineers were on site assisting the emergency services with their investigations and, as routine in an incident like this, making sure everything associated with gas is safe.
“We’ve carried out a thorough check of the gas mains and service pipes in the area and can confirm they are sound and did not contribute to this incident”
