The Spring Hill Inn is just south of UConn’s Storrs campus. (Photo via airbnb.com)
Several people were injured in an explosion at the Spring Hill Inn in Mansfield on Saturday evening.
The explosion happened at around 5:10 p.m. in the Spring Hill Restaurant’s kitchen, according to the Hartford Courant.
Five to seven people were injured, including one who had to be airlifted to Hartford Hospital, according to NBC Connecticut.
State police said the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, according to NBC Connecticut.
The injuries and damage were confined to the kitchen, Mansfield Fire Chief Francis Raiola told the Hartford Courant. The fire marshal will be investigating into the early morning to determine the cause, he said.
The explosion took place around 20 minutes before a wine-tasting fundraiser for the Windham Area Interfaith Ministry was set to begin, according to the Hartford Courant.
The Spring Hill Inn is located at 957 Storrs Road. The road was shut down between Route 275 and Spring Hill Road on Saturday night.
University of Connecticut spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said the UConn Fire Department was called in to help, but that they were not in charge of handling the incident.
Third-semester Eastern Connecticut State University student Shannon Healy said she was volunteering at the inn right before the explosion.
“My roommate and I were volunteering at the inn where the explosion took place. We were sent home early (because) our assistance was not needed anymore,” Healy said.
Healy said she and her roommate smelled something “funny” while they were volunteering but that she didn’t think anything of it.
“We didn’t say anything and there were so many adults around and no one said anything, so I figured it was okay,” Healy said. “I’m just fortunate and grateful to be uninjured.”
Gabriella Debenedictis is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at gabriella.debenedictis@uconn.edu.