A Halifax man was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after fumes inside a 45-gallon drum exploded in his face around 10:30 Thursday morning.

The barrels were empty, but there were fumes inside the drums.

"The homeowner was cutting burn barrels," said Bill Grimes, the fire captain on the scene. "When the grinder hit it, it exploded the vapours."

"On the side of the drums, there was a warning sign and it appears it used to be full of acetone," said the CBC's Preston Mulligan from the scene.

Grimes said the man had a significant cut down his forehead from being hit by a piece of the barrel.

Neighbours called emergency responders who found the man on the scene. He is expected to recover

Sounded like 'dynamite'

Nearby, the man's neighbours on Old Sackville Road were startled by the sound.

"I was sitting in the house, and it was just like someone set off a couple of sticks of dynamite," said Beverly Welton. "The house vibrated, the chair."

"I thought it might have been a propane tank," said Joyce Grace. She ran from her house looking for the source. "I've never heard anything like it. It was that loud."

"I don't know how anybody could have — if they were close to that — how they could have survived it," said Welton.

"I was really worried about him. Hopefully things will turn out ok."