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Dairy employee seriously burned in workshop fire Wednesday
An employee of Oppeyedke Dairy on Beet Dump Road was flown to the Salt Lake City Burn Center after he suffered second- and third-degree burns over the upper half of his body following an explosion and fire at a dairy garage/workshop Wednesday morning.
The employee had not been identified by authorities as of Thursday morning, as they continued their investigation of the blaze that destroyed the 148'-48' building, causing an estimated $150,000-$175,000 damage, including the contents of the building.
Fire Chief Phil Gridley said the initial investigation, which has not been finalized, indicated that the employee was replacing a fuel pump in a vehicle in the building.
"On the newer vehicles fuel pumps are inside the gas tanks. You have to take gas tank off to get to the fuel pump. He put the tank into a pit, but when you take the fuel tank off, the building is going to get fumes in it," Gridley said.
It's believed that at some point, the dairy employee lit a cigarette, triggering an explosion in the building.
He managed to make it out of the building, where other employees nearby removed him from the fire scene.
A few minutes after the call came in at 9:59 a.m., rural fire department crews and equipment were on scene.
"The building was completely engulfed in fire when we arrived," Gridley said.
Ambulance crews arrived at almost the same time and the LifeFlight helicopter stationed at the Mountain Home Municipal Airport was immediately launched. "Having LifeFlight that close is a big advantage to our community," Gridley noted.
As the victim was being stablized and then flown to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, where he was stabilized and then flown to Salt Lake City, fire crews began attacking the blaze.
The building was used for a number of purposes, and Gridley believes some acytelyne tanks inside the building may already have exploded by the time they arrived.
But there was no question the fire was dangerous to the emergency responders.
Three above-ground fuel storage tanks were located 10-15 feet from buildings, with gas in one, one empty, and the contents of the third not known by fire crews on the scene a the time. The heat from the fire had caused the relief valves on the tanks to open and they were venting steam at the time. "Any time that a vent is releasing that means gas has built up, and you always wonder if it's going to fail," Gridley said.
In addition, on the west side of building, where the fire was most intense, there were three 160-gallon tanks filled with oil. Although the oil had not caught fire it was spilling onto the ground and boiling.
"Our first priority was that gas tank," Gridley said. Once we had that cooled off, we went after the structure fire."
When Gridley arrived, he anticipated he might need more resources than the 23 firemen and two pumpers he had available. Invoking mutual aid agreements, a city pumper was sent to the scene and the base fire department quickly sent a water tender. In addition, Gridley called for a city shop water tender and nearby TLK Dairy also showed up with a water truck, although by the time both of those vehicles had arrived the bulk of the fire had been knocked down and fire crews were able to shuttle water from a hydrant a quarter mile away that had been installed by the dairy.
The new rural pumper, which carries 2,000 gallons of water internally, was a "big help" Gridley said, especially since the rural department's regular water tender was out of service at the time undergoing maintenance work.
The main fire was put out in about 35 minutes, but crews remained on the scene checking for hot spots and monitoring the fire site for about three hours.
The fire also had triggered a small grass fire across the road, but that had been quickly extinguished when crews had first arrived.
County sheriff's department patrol officers temporarily closed Beet Dump Road while the fire was still raging. The road sees considerable traffic these days because it is used by base personnel exiting through the gate on that side of the base.
The employee's condition at the Salt Lake regional burn center has not been released as of Thursday.