One killed, 25 injured, in Milwaukee blast, fire

[krispos42]

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- At least one person has been killed in a Wednesday morning explosion in downtown Milwaukee, the medical examiner's office says.

The explosion rocked an industrial complex, injuring about 25 people, some seriously, flipping cars and spewing debris into the sky, officials said.

An employee said the blast may have started in a large propane tank.

<more>

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/06/milwaukee.fire.ap/index.html

[HereSince1628]

1. Local station says Big blast at Falk....that's not far from Brewer Stadium

located in the Menominee Valley industrial area.

Falk is one of the industrial landmarks in the history of Milwaukee

Update: Helicopter view looks like acres were flattened

[saigon68]

9. Its bigger than an IED in Iraq-Nam

[gasperc]

2. sadly, this is called Tuesday in Iraq

kidding aside, horrible tragedy. I hope the injured all survive

[HereSince1628]

3. Update: 3 now confirmed dead n/t

[HereSince1628]

4. Link:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=538906

[Jimbo S]

5. I work three miles from there

aerial views make it show a bomb went off.

Investigators are theorizing a 170,000 pound propane tank was the culprit.

No way everyone could have made it out alive.

[krispos42]

6. 85 tons of propane? Flaming Pintos, Batman!

That smarts! It's a miricle that ONLY three people were killed!

<edit: used wrong death toll :-( >

[uppityperson]

7. company has had safety violations in past, info here

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=538906
The federal government has fined Falk twice for safety violations in the last five years, records from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration indicate.

In March, 2004, the agency assessed a $1,875 penalty against the company for air contamination involving silica crystalline quartz dust. The case was settled with a $950 payment, records indicate.

In December 2003, OSHA assessed a $4,500 penalty for a violation involving powered industrial trucks. That case was settled with a $2,700 payment.The industrial-truck violation was classified as serious - meaning that the problem could have caused death or serious injury and that the company knew of it or should have known. The potential for injury from the air-contamination problem was not serious.

The corporation's long history in Milwaukee has included a fire that destroyed the business in 1889 and an explosion that killed one worker and injured 11 others in 1964. In 1992, federal investigators cleared the company of wrongdoing in the 1991 death of Hugo Schulz, an employee from Brookfield, who was killed when a 1,000-pound clutch fell on him. OSHA found that Falk hadn't violated safety standards in the fatal accident, but the agency proposed a fine against the company for an unrelated violation that turned up in the investigation of Schulz's death.

[uppityperson]

8. bunch of pictures at this link. Wow.

http://www2.jsonline.com/site/photographerphotos/gallery.aspx?catid=343

[undeterred]

10. 3 fatalities, 37 to hospitals

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- At least three people have been killed and dozens others injured in an explosion and fire at a manufacturer in Milwaukee's industrial valley.

Mayor Tom Barrett also says an unconfirmed number of people are missing. Fire Chief William Wentlandt says the search of the rubble and debris from a flattened warehouse continues at the Falk Corporation complex. Aerial video shows at least two dozen vehicles were strewn around the debris field of about two and a-half blocks.

Other buildings at the Falk complex were damaged by the blast. Falk employee David Mays says the company began to evacuate workers after a leak occurred in one of six large propane tanks behind the building called the annex. He and others were outside when the explosion happened. The force of the blast knocked Mays to the ground.

Barrett said at an afternoon news conference that 37 injured people had been transported to area hospitals. They included one man critcally injured by a blast to his chest.

Police Chief Nan Hegerty says a preliminary investigation shows the explosion and fire was an accident. Hegerty says there's no indication it's related to any criminal activity.

http://www.wkowtv.com/index.php/news/story/p/pkid/25467

[uppityperson]

11. I REALLY hate this sort of stuff "accident"

often it is used to calm fears of "criminal activity" "terrorism" bs. Like something blowing up, or an airplane just falling apart, by accident means it is ok!?! end of rant. grumble.

Thank you for the update

[undeterred]

12. Well, nowdays they have to say it.

Accident actually freaks me out worse- I live in Wisconsin and work at a manufacturing plant which makes diesel engines. (I do computer support.) I happened to stay home today, so I heard about this as soon as it happened. And all day I was thinking, wow, this could happen where I work just as easily. They are very big on safety, but when you work with hazardous materials in large quantities, there's always a risk. I'd hate to work at a place where this happened- it would be very hard to get back to normal again.