NORTH LYNNWOOD, Wash. -- A huge propane tank exploded at a construction site north of Edmonds Thursday, injuring five workers, two with apparent life-threatening injuries, Snohomish County Fire District 1 said.
All five workers were transported by paramedics to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for the fire district. Four were admitted and one has been released.
Hynes said the explosion was reported at 11:10 a.m. in the 6300 block of Picnic Point Road, where workers are building a water-treatment plant for Alderwood Water and Wastewater District.
Contractors estimated about 60 workers were at the site when the explosion occurred as a 1,000-gallon propane tank was being loaded onto a truck to be removed from the site, Hynes said.
"About 300 gallons of propane remained in the tank. The tank shifted during the loading process and a valve snapped, expelling the propane," Hynes said. "The truck driver told firefighters he yelled for everyone to get away from the truck, but the propane immediately ignited and exploded."
More than 50 firefighters from Fire Districts 1 and fromLynnwood, Mukilteo and Snohomish County Airport Fire departments responded.
"The propane tank, truck and the ground surrounding it were in flames when firefighters arrived. An adjacent construction trailer was burning. We also had fires in two two-story buildings that are under construction," Hynes said.
Firefighters had the fires under control by about 1 p.m., but crews continued to battle small brush fires in a wooded area behind the site throughout the afternoon.
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire.
Copyright 2012 - KCPQ/KMYQ-TV, Seattle
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
