Incident Report Subject: Explosion Kills 1 Man, 3 Others Hurt Date of Email reporting Incident: Thu 09/10/2008 Report Detail: A massive explosion in Campbell Industrial Park has killed one man. Three others were rushed to the hospital in stable condition. It happened at Phillips Services Corporation near the intersection of Komohana and Kauhi. The explosion came from a tank that holds up to 9,500 gallons of oil and when it burst the oil was sent everywhere. "It was a big ball of fire," said Randall Ikuta, Island Demolition, who was at the scene when the tank exploded. One man, who may have been on top welding the tank, was thrown about 100 feet over a fence and into the neighboring property and landed in the back of a pickup truck. He passed away by the time paramedics arrived. Three other men were hurt and rushed to the hospitals in stable condition. Worker standing 50 to 100 yards away say their hair was singed by the explosion. "I was just here today, just to work on something. It's a one in a thousand, one in a million thing," said Ikuta. "The tank and the people were in several different areas. That's what we're trying to figure out, where they were at the explosion," said Captain Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department. Phillips Services Corporation takes used oil and processes it to recycle. Three of the men involved worked for private contractors, who were just there for the day. The fourth man worked for Bonded Materials Company which is located right next door. The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health department is investigating why it happened and to see if there were any issues with the equipment. The Honolulu Fire Department is trying to figure out how the tank exploded. The Honolulu Police Department is also looking into the explosion to determine if there was any negligence. --- HONOLULU
The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office on Wednesday released the identity of the worker killed in an explosion at a Campbell Industrial Park business Tuesday.Sean Miguel Norva, 23, of Waipahu, died in the blast. Norva died from multiple internal injuries, the medical examiner said.Investigators were on the scene of the explosion Wednesday at Philip Services Corp. in Campbell Industrial Park.A 9,500-gallon waste oil tank exploded when Norva was welding a metal footbridge near the tank. The blast threw Norva nearly 100 feet. Three others were injured.Welding near oil or gas tanks can be dangerous work. There are regulations that cover such work.Sam Dannaway, a fire protection engineer, said Honolulu fire codes require a permit for welding near oil tanks."Waste oil storage, when we're dealing with it in terms of looking safety items, we always consider it as volatile flammables unless its tested and proven otherwise because by nature of being a waste, you don't know what type of liquid has been dumped into a waste oil tank," Dannaway said.Officials said the tank that exploded held used fuel oil."We have to assume that the tank is going to contain flammable liquids, and if there's openings near the tank, there will be flammable vapors present," Dannaway said.Fire officials said the investigation will be meticulous because there was a fatality. They said there are multiple possible sources of ignition and they want to get it right.
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