SAN DIEGO — Construction on a downtown hotel was suspended after a gas explosion injured 14 workers, but the Hilton tower still may open on schedule, the builder, Greeley-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co., said Tuesday.
A damage assessment report by city engineers found no apparent damage to the main structural concrete frame and the steel-braced frame at the area of the blast. The damage was primarily limited to the northwest corner of the building on the fourth floor and the mechanical room on the fifth floor, the report said.
The explosion Monday occurred in a fifth-floor boiler room where pipes feed natural gas into a water heating system.San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said an electrical spark or boiler flames could have ignited the gas cloud.
