2 views of Tacoma propane explosion fireball
TACOMA WASHINGTON
OCTOBER 6, 2007
An explosion heard miles away sent a ball of fire over the historic Atlas Foundry Saturday afternoon, shutting down a major highway and cutting power to the city's industrial area.
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Four people were taken to a hospital - the driver of a propane truck and three employees of the foundry - after two propane tanks exploded around 3 p.m., said The News Tribune newspaper.
The driver of the propane truck was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said he was in critical condition Saturday evening. The three other injured men were listed in stable condition at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma.
UPDATE:
The initial explosion happened while a delivery truck loaded with about 8,000 gallons of propane exploded at Atlas Castings and Technology near the intersection of Interstate 5 and State Highway 16 around 3 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses reported hearing the blast as far as 10 to 15 miles away. An electrical substation was damaged in the blast, knocking out electricity to about 13,000 Tacoma Power homes and businesses. A large two-axle portion of the tanker truck blew more than 150 feet into the air and landed in flames on the Highway 16 overpass, along with parts of the truck cab and other debris. The truck driver, identified as Charles McDonald, 64.
Propane truck driver from Atlas explosion dies
The News Tribune
October 14th, 2007
The propane delivery driver who was burned over 75 percent of his body in the explosion at the Atlas foundry died this morning... Charles "Chuck" McDonald, 64, survived for about a week after the Oct. 6 explosion, but hadn't communicated with his wife, daughter and son during that time. An attorney for the family had said he was medically paralyzed and breathing only with the aid of a respirator... something went horribly wrong causing his 8,000-gallon tanker truck to explode... the hose or connection between McDonald's truck and the larger, stationary tanks suffered a "catastrophic failure" and the escaping gas was ignited by a furnace inside the nearby foundry.
