MARCH 12, 2015
LENNOX, SOUTH DAKOTA
The State Fire Marshal is investigating an explosion that
injured two workers changing a hose on a truck outside of a Farm Gas Co-op in Lennox,
South Dakota company. The business
address is 622 W. 1st avenue, Lennox, SD.
Police Chief Orville Jorgensen says a leak occurred as the
Farm Gas Co-op workers were working on hoses and changing a gas line on one of
the business' bulk trucks Monday afternoon. 56-year-old Arne Erickson and 37-year-old Kris
Kuper were near an entrance when the explosion happened and the building caught
fire. While Jorgensen said the cause of
the explosion is not known at this point, authorities think the leak was
ignited by something inside the building.
The two men were just outside the door when the explosion
occurred and the building caught fire around 3:30 p.m.
The men were taken to a Sioux Falls hospital and later
airlifted to a Minneapolis burn center. Jorgensen says Erickson and Kuper are
recovering from second- and third-degree burns.
Jorgensen says it's still unclear what caused the explosion,
but authorities believe the leak was ignited by something inside the building.
He says the building's east side was destroyed in the fire.