Othello explosion kills one, injures three

Witnesses describe chaotic event

OTHELLO — An oil tank explosion killed one man and injured three other people Wednesday, including the co-owner of a local oil company near Othello.

Workers for Ulrich Industrial Coatings Co. were sandblasting an oil tank and applying an epoxy coating when it exploded in flames about 1:15 p.m. at the Lawrence Oil Co. site, the Tri-City Herald reported.

Investigators are reportedly suspecting a faulty electrical venting fan as a cause of the explosion.

"We have not confirmed what created the spark that ignited fumes in the tank but we have suspicion it was caused by a portable fan being used to suck fumes out of the tank," Police Chief Steve Dunnagan said. "It was the closest electrical device at the time of ignition."

Ulrich employee Michael Taylor, 60, of Woodburn, Ore., died in the explosion, according to Dunnagan.

One of the injured was John Lawrence, who co-owns the Lawrence Oil company with his brother, Dunnagan said. Lawrence was reported in stable condition on Thursday.

One of Lawrence's employees, Juan Quezada, 49, of Othello, and Daniel Martin, 25, an Ulrich employee from McMinnville, Ore., also were listed in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

All of the men were outside of the tank when the explosion happened, Dunnagan said.

Two women working across the street at Flamingo Trucking Inc., described the event as chaotic.

"We were working in the office," employee Delia Flores of Moses Lake said. "We heard a loud explosion."

The building shook, the lights flickered and windows rippled, she described.

She and her co-worker Aime Swett of Othello rushed outside to see what happened. Initially they thought something hit the roof or a semi-truck hit their building since the business is a trucking company.

Swett said she began to realize what happened as several truck drivers near the business were pointing across the street.

After the smoke cloud cleared upward they saw the devastation.

First they saw the fallen cylinder, then the trucks on fire and finally the people having their burned clothes ripped from their bodies.

"Immediately chills go up and down your body," Swett said. "We heard there was a fatality."

"It brought back memories," Flores said.

She flashed back to the memory of her brother she lost to an industrial explosion.

"Your heart goes out to the family," she said. "Your main concerns is how the others are. It's an ugly feeling."

She worried for the safety of her other family members who were working near the explosion. Luckily one of them was out for lunch at the time.

The accident was being investigated by the state Department of Labor and Industries and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Three state investigators arrived Wednesday afternoon, Labor and Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said.

It may take up to 30 days for Adams County Fire District No. 5 to receive a report from L&I, Fire Chief Clyde Fought said.

He suspects the equipment used to work on the tank will be tested and Ulrich employees will be interviewed.

Lawrence Oil is expected to be back in service today, he added.

Yesterday investigators were working to remove the damaged tank from the accident site, Fought said.