105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #904474

BURN,OXYGEN,RESPIRATORY,LUNG,WORK RULES,FIRE,EXPLOSION,LP GAS,SMOKE INHALATION,CHEMICAL

Event
BURN,OXYGEN,RESPIRATORY,LUNG,WORK RULES,FIRE,EXPLOSION,LP GAS,SMOKE INHALATION,CHEMICAL
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
904474
Report ID
551800

Event description

Two employees killed, four injured in explosion and fire

Investigation abstract

Employees #1 and #2 were working on an LPG truck loading rack; Employees #3, #5, dead at the scene; they were so severely burned that they were identified throug h dental records. Employees #3, #4, #5 and #6 were admitted to St. Catherine's H ospital in East Chicago for treatment of lung damage as well as cuts, bruises, a nd abrasions. and #6 were in the control cabin attempting to load their trucks; and Employee #4 was approximately 100 yd away in his truck when the rack exploded due to the injection of oxygen into mercaptan. Employees #3, #5 and #6 attempted to escape through the flames, inhaling smoke, flame, and chemicals. Employees #3 and #5 su ffered respiratory damage and Employee #6 was burned on his back, arms, and shou lders. Employee #4, who left his vehicle and entered the fire to assist Employee s #3, #5 and #6 in escaping, and to put out a fire on Employee #6, suffered lung damage from inhalation of fumes and smoke. Employees #1 and #2 were pronounced

Victims (6)

  1. #1 Fatality Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    503
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1
  2. #2 Fatality Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    503
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1
  3. #3 Hospitalized Age 57 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    804
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1
  4. #4 Hospitalized Age 43 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    804
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1
  5. #5 Hospitalized Age 38 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    804
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1
  6. #6 Hospitalized Age 33 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    804
    Human factor
    6
    Environmental factor
    9
    Task assigned
    1

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.