Felicia McDaneld submitted this photo taken during the explosion in Tacoma.
Posted on 10/06/2007 5:05:45 PM PDT by Ramius
TACOMA, Wash. - More than an hour after an explosion rocked the Atlast Foundry in Tacoma, Deputy Fire Chief Jolene Davis says firefighters are trying to prevent another propane tank from exploding.
Washington State Patrol told KING 5 there was a possiblity of two more explosions at the foundry, located at 3021 South Wilkeson in Tacoma, if they didn't bring the fire under control.
At 3 p.m. an explosion was heard miles away, and witnesses reported flames shooting into the sky.
Two people have been taken to the hospital with burns, but there are no confirmed fatalities according to Jeff Merrill, of Washington State Patrol.
The foundry is near the intersection of I-5 and Highway 16 in the Nalley Valley. Callers to KING 5 report lots of smoke, a weird smell and sirens everywhere.
Evacuations have not been ordered, but are still possible, Merrill said.
The Tacoma News Tribune reports "multiple" explosions that sent flames two stories high, and a "fireball" 1,000 feet tall. Atlas Foundry Director of Safety Evid Owen told the newspaper he thinks that a propane tank being filled exploded. Another tank was on fire and a third was expected to explode.
A KING5 reporter was not allowed within several hundred feet of the area.
Washington State Patrol said southbound I-5 traffic was stopped just north of the exit to WB SR16. Northbound I-5 traffic was stopped at 38th Street. Eastbound SR 16 traffic is stopped at Union Avenue. There is no information on when it will be reopened.
Photo submitted by KING 5 viewer
Tacoma foundry fire, explosion Caller Dave Damron told KING 5 he was getting out of his car when two explosions "rocked the neighborhood."
"I see a flaming gas jet, probably 25 to 30 feet in the air," he said.
Witness Katie Martin said she was stopped at S. 38th Street Exit off I-5 when it happened.
"All of the sudden 'boom,' this huge explosion, a huge mushroom of fire and it got so hot that I could feel it through my windshield," she said.
Alan Bouman, a worker at T & T Tire Factory a couple of miles away, said the blast caused lights to flicker and a door to sway open.
"Some of the guys outside asked if you heard that, heard the explosion," Bouman said.
According to it's Web site, "Atlas Castings & Technology is one of the premier foundries in North America producing high integrity steel castings for customers around the world. Atlas uses state of the art technology to produce complicated components with stringent metallurgical and quality requirements. Atlas is no longer just a foundry and has evolved into a manufacturer of major metal components."
More to come.
Felicia McDaneld submitted this photo taken during the explosion in Tacoma.
THAT’S a fireball!
Big ‘splosion in Tacoma, right at 5 and 16.
WA ping?
A local news station played some amateur video that looked like it caught the whole explosion. It was enormous.
Both I-5 and 16 are closed in both directions. May reopen soon, but they’re still talking about needing to control the fire to keep a couple of propane tanks from lighting off.
Traffic’s going to be a mess for a while. Glad I got on the road when I did. I went right through there a couple of hours before the ‘splosion.
Whoa...
Huh... watching it on NWCN now...
Whoa. No kidding? What a mess.
wow. seven posts and nobody’s blamed it on illegals yet.
that is, 11 posts, but hey, who’s counting.
Nah, illegals don’t usually blow up like that. It was probably a propane tank. :-)
NWCN says a propane truck was filling a propane tank and there was a guy welding nearby.
Ouch...that’s just...not a good idea!
The sign says “No Smoking”. Didn’t say a ~thing~ about arc welding!
‘splosions’ Ping!!
Ha! I just pinged SirKit and spelled it the same way as you, and I didn’t even seen your post! Looks right nasty, that’s for sure. We were watching a TV show last night called the “World’s Scariest Explosions”, or something like that. That’s the first thing I thought of when I read the article; especially about the possibility of more ‘splosions from the propane! Ironic, isn’t it, that this is a state of the art place, but what does them in is this plain-jane volatile gas? I hope it didn’t damage the operations too severely.
THIS was a HUGE explosion....we were out walking near our home, about 12 miles away, as the crow flies.....and we heard this, and wondered what was going on.....people near the explosion must have lost their hearing and been knocked around.
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