May 14, 2009 The Pump Handle 2Comment

Three Indiana men – Stoney Powell, 45 and Roy Mathis, 60 of Wheatfield, and William Decker, 48 of Scottsburg – were killed near Searcy, Arkansas on Wednesday, May 14 in an explosion at a fuel storage facility.  The three men worked for the Kentucky-based firm C&C Welding.   Losing a loved one is difficult in any circumstance, but it must be especially painful when your love is killed so far away from home.  An Associated Press story reports that the storage facility is owned by TEPPCO Partners LP (NYSE: TPP) and the firm’s spokesman Rick Rainey noted:

“the explosion occurred just before 2:30 p.m…..[and] the tank had been previously cleaned and workers were preparing to install a new gauge on it.   [I]t was not immediately clear whether the workers were inside or outside of the tank at the time of the explosion.”

Other brief news is provided at KATV coverage and ArkansasMatters.com.

Offer a moment of silence for these men and their families.

2 thoughts on “Fuel tank explosion in Arkansas kills 3 workers

  1. Sorry to hear about the deaths. It reminds me of a safety film I watched about entering a tank from the top. The tape showed what not to do.And as they filmed it, it became obvious that the employees sent into the tank were of Mexican descent. The first worker was lowered into the tank from the top and about half way down he passed out and fell to the floor. Another employee went down to retrieve the other worker and he also passed out. So then it showed two guys with metal cutting saws who began to cut through the out side of the tank. You can guess what happened next. Yep, Kaboom. The moment the saw made it thou the tank metal, the whole tank blew up killing not only the two inside but the two outside. The film sank in as this was 20 years ago and it is a shame the whole world could not see such a film/lesson. Bless the family in this time of loss.

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