Fatal Conn. Gas Blast Followed Worker’s Frantic Last-Minute Evacuation Call

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Working in These Times

By Lindsay Beyerstein

A worker put out a frantic last-minute radio call to evacuate the Kleen Energy Systems plant just before a massive explosion tore through the facility on February 7, killing 5 workers and injuring 27 others.

Someone issued the last-minute evacuation warning after monitors picked up a sudden spike in airborne natural gas, according to the Hartford Courant, which broke the news today, citing unnamed workers and investigators. (The story is a first-rate piece of investigative journalism that I strongly encourage you to read in full here.)

It's not clear who gave the warning. One of the men watching the monitors was killed and the other was severely injured. The monitors themselves were damaged in the blast, but investigators hope they can still read the chips inside them.

Workers told the Courant that that they'd been smelling gas all day. The smell was so bad that some complained of dizziness and others left the building of their own accord. At the time, workers expressed alarm that welding and other work continued despite the pervasive smell of gas.


An aerial view of emergency crews at the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Conn., where an explosion took place on February 7. (Photo by Douglas Healey/Getty Images)


Read more: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5593/kleen_energy_blast_followed_frantic_last-minute_evacuation_warning/

---

Mods: This is LBN. according to the Hartford Courant, which broke the news today. (The story is a first-rate piece of investigative journalism that I strongly encourage you to read in full here.)

[Demeter]

1. Well, They Paid the Ultimate Price for Greed

Lack of safety and concern for the workers left them with nothing but a big hole in the ground.

[flying rabbit]

2. Looks like a case of

get it done now, we have a schedule to keep.