Worker Killed in Okla. Oil-Field Explosion And Fire
Source Tulsa World, Okla.
Sept. 05--An oil-field worker was killed and his co-worker was injured Wednesday when a holding tank exploded as they were moving its contents, authorities said.
The men, both in their 20s, worked for Cromwell Dozer & Backhoe, Creek County deputies said.
They were trying to replace an aging 12-by-12-foot oil-field tank six miles south of Bristow when a fire started and the tank exploded, deputies said.
Authorities confirmed that the men were not from the Bristow area but did not release their names Wednesday.
A welding rig was destroyed in the blast, and an oil-field service rig was heavily damaged, Sheriff John Davis said. Investigators weren't immediately able to determine whether the men had been welding at the time.
Bristow firefighters worked for 20 minutes to contain the blaze, which was in a wooded area near 281st Street and 337th West Avenue and three-fourths of a mile from the closest gravel road, they said.
The tank sat on Kay Mason's land. She said she's used to seeing workers riding four-wheelers to and from the site.
The explosion "shook my house a little bit, ... but I didn't think anything of it," Mason said.
Area residents told Deputy Daniel Brashear that they'd felt the blast from more than a mile away.
When he was dispatched from the Shamrock area, 21 miles northwest, he saw smoke billowing from the scene, he said.
"I didn't know what to expect," Brashear said.
Mason said she's aware of the risks of oil-field work and is concerned for the workers.
"It's crazy," she said.
Amanda Bland 918-581-8413
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