Two scalded as steam line explodes

Two workers were critically injured yesterday when a steam line exploded near the White House, city authorities said.

The workers were burned when a steam line burst about 9 a.m. at 17th and H streets NW in front of the New Executive Office Building, rescue officials said. One worker suffered burns to 90 percent of his body.

“One worker was in the manhole, and the other was working around the hole,” D.C. fire department spokeswoman Kathyrn Friedman said. “When the pipe ruptured, the force of the steam sent the first worker out of the hole and lifted the other one.”

The workers — Frank Stotmeister, 51, of Fredericksburg, Va., and Joseph Hudert, 56, of Glen Burnie, Md. — were taken to the Washington Hospital Center, Metropolitan Police said.

A third person, Edwin Reyes, 30, of Hyattsville, was treated for minor injuries at George Washington University Hospital and released, police said. Mr. Reyes had tried to help the workers immediately after the blast.

The incident occurred northwest of the White House complex, but “the White House was not affected at all,” said Michael McGill, a spokesman for the General Services Administration (GSA) who called the explosion an accident.

Mr. McGill said yesterday afternoon that D.C. police concluded their investigation, but GSA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be looking at the situation for several days.

Anti-globalization protests this weekend against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which are about four blocks from the accident site, could slow the GSA investigation, he said.

D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said the “superheated” steam that erupted from the manhole can reach between 900 and 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Inhaling superheated steam can cause severe respiratory injuries, he said.

Witnesses said the two workers were lifted several feet off the ground.

The blast cut off hot water to about a half-dozen government buildings in the area but there were no evacuations, Mr. McGill said, adding that lines to the affected buildings would be rerouted. The various steam lines are used to provide both heat and hot water.

Potomac Electric Power Co., which has distribution lines under the area, initially received word that the incident involved one of its manholes, company spokesman Bob Dobkin said. The company was not involved in the steam line rupture.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.