The investigation is ongoing for a home explosion that happened in central Lubbock early last week. Two painters were inside the house and both were taken to UMC with severe burns. The wife of one of the men is now looking for answers.
Although the lacquer paint being used is extremely flammable, she said both the men were always very careful to turn off the electricity and gas in the homes they were working in.
“My heart skipped a beat,” said Esther Martinez, wife of Gabriel Monje. “All I got was ‘This is Robert, this is Gabriel’s friend. He just got in an accident, a work accident. They’re taking him to UMC,’ and the line cut.”
That’s the phone call Esther Martinez received moments after her husband was injured in a home explosion. He’s now recovering in the hospital after suffering from more than 30 percent burns on his body.
“They’re saying that his face and his right side will make a real good recovery,” Martinez said. “They’re still thinking about the left side because that’s the side that burned more,” she said.
The painters were working with lacquer paint, which is extremely flammable. There is still no official cause for the explosion but the fire marshals on the scene said it’s likely the paint fums found an ignition source which caused the explosion.
“It’s hard, it’s frustrating because you want to know exactly how it started but there’s not much you can do about it except wait and pray for his recovery and find out exactly what happened,” Martinez said.
And although this has been challenging, Martinez said her husband is on the road to recovery.
“I didn’t want to cry in front of him and soon as I saw him he held my hand and put a thumb’s up letting me know he’s okay,” she said. “I told him he’s going to be fine.”
Her husband has gone through multiple surgeries since the explosion including skin graphs on a majority of his body.
A painter with 40 years of experience said that although explosions caused by paints don’t happen often, he said it’s definitely a danger of the job.
“You got to make sure you’re careful and not to make a mistake,” said Steve Matthews, who owns his own paint company. “It can happen to anyone and that’s the sad part.”
Matthews said that lacquer paint is used because it works the best and is the most efficient for priming raw wood.
Family friends set up a GoFundMe page to help with the cost of medical bills and future physical therapy.
CLICK HERE for the GoFundMe page.
