APRIL 16, 2015
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
One worker survived the explosion at a southeast Omaha rail
yard that killed two men Tuesday afternoon.
Dallas Foulk, 40, and Adrian LaPour, 44, died while cleaning
a tanker railcar near South First and Hickory Streets. Foulk was exiting the
car and was blown off the railcar by the explosion, and LaPour was trapped
inside when the ladder blew out.
A third worker was atop the railcar and wearing a harness,
which prevented him from suffering any serious injuries when he too was blown
off, said Scott Allen, a spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and
Health Administration.
That worker’s name has not been made public.
“Many workers are injured or die on the job when just a few
simple steps could have saved their lives or prevented injury,” Allen said.
OSHA officials were at the scene of the explosion Wednesday
to investigate the company involved, Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services.
OSHA investigated the company in 2013 and accused it of
eight serious violations. As a result, Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services paid
nearly $7,000 in penalties.
On Wednesday, officials of Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services
issued a statement saying their thoughts and prayers were with the families of
their “two valued employees.”
“We are working in full cooperation with authorities to
discover details about the accident,” the statement said.
Omaha fire officials have not declared what caused the blast
or what chemicals were in the tanker.
Battalion Chief Tim McCaw, a spokesman for the Fire
Department, said that when crews arrived they couldn’t rush into the tank for
fear that the mixture of gas and air inside was flammable and would lead to
another explosion.
Based on witness accounts, firefighters knew that LaPour,
stuck inside, was dead; they later spotted his body.
The teams ventilated the tank until they determined it was
safe to go inside. LaPour’s body was retrieved at about 7:30 p.m., more than
six hours after the explosion.
Crews were called to the scene, 120 Hickory Street, at 1:11
p.m. Witnesses later told officials a large explosion had blown one man to the
ground and left one trapped inside.
Foulk, the man found on the ground, died a short time later
at Creighton University Medical Center. His and LaPour’s relatives could not be
reached Wednesday.
Results of the autopsies on the two men are pending, McCaw
said.
Source: http://www.omaha.com