FORT WALTON BEACH -- A 28-year-old employee working at Air
Conditioning Engineers on Fourth Street was rushed to the hospital
Friday morning after a small tire exploded in his face, according
to emergency workers.
"He was putting air into a dolly tire and for some reason the tire
failed," said Fort Walton Beach Battalion Chief Danny Fureigh. "It
had a two-piece rim.
"It pretty much exploded," Fureigh added. "One piece of the rim and
part of the tire hit him in the face."
The impact pushed the man's glasses into the bones
around his right eye, which might have protected his eyeball,
Fureigh said.
Part of the rim also hit outside of the patient's orbital
area, he said.
Rescue workers called a trauma alert on the patient and tried to
get a medical helicopter to fly him to a trauma center, but no
helicopters were available.
"We could not hold up treatment," Fureigh said.
The patient was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with
a possible orbital skull fracture, Fureigh said.
He added that the tire was a six-inch tire for a common
household dolly.
The accident happened at about 7:30 a.m.
The person who answered the phone at Air Conditioning Engineers
said no one would comment on the accident.