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MASSIVE EXPLOSION
Four workers injured in blast; fire destroys several buildings, cars
| Tuesday, Feb 6 2007 11:35 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jan 9 2008 7:31 AM
ELK HILLS
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A massive fire at a gas pipeline rupture in Elk Hills that sent four workers to the hospital Tuesday afternoon was reduced by Wednesday afternoon to a relatively small flicker, officials said.
All of the injured worked for PSN (Production Services Network) at an Occidental Petroleum site and three were released from hospitals within a few hours, PSN spokesman Tony Shelton said.
The fourth, Gary Puryear, was initially airlifted to Kern Medical Center and later transferred to the Frenso Burn Center where he was in fair condition Wednesday, hospital officials confirmed. His wife, Viola Puryear, said he suffered first- and second-degree burns on his back.
The other three, identified by the Kern County Fire Department as Sam Morris, Richard Thompson and Gordon Hilton, were treated at San Joaquin and Memorial hospitals.
Zeffrey Lucas, President for PSN in the U.S, said: “Our thoughts are with our employees who have been affected by this incident and with their families. The health and safety of our people are our greatest responsibility. We will offer every support to Occidental to determine the cause of the event and to return to regular operations in a safe manner."
Kern County firefighters were on scene Tuesday and Wednesday at the blaze which began at 2:30 p.m. with a rupture in a gas pipeline that was part of a rack of gas pipelines near Gate 3 off Elk Hills Road, according to Susie Geiger, a spokeswoman for Occidental of Elk Hills.
Fire officials said there were seven pipelines in the area. It was unknown Wednesday what caused the rupture, officials said.
Field production facilities such as wells, compressors and a gas processing plant that fed gas to the lines were 95 percent shut down by 9 p.m. Tuesday, Geiger said.
An assessment of damage may take some time to determine, but much of the assessment wouldn't begin until after the flames are completely out, she said. No estimates were provided Wednesday.
Kern County Fire Capt. Benny Wofford estimated the flames would be out by Wednesday evening.
The fire burned into several small buildings — a singlewide trailer, an older structure made of wood and another small trailer — and several cars, destroying them all, according to fire Capt. Doug Johnston.
Shortly after the incident, Viola Puryear went to Kern Medical Center to see her husband, Gary Puryear.
“He was doing pretty good when I spoke with him,” she said today.
She said her husband was working for Manpower, a temporary employment service that had sent him to the Elk Hills field where he was working in a trailer doing data entry, when the explosion occurred.
Viola Puryear said the couple’s car was destroyed in the fire.
Wofford said one fire engine and a hazardous materials unit remained on the scene Wednesday to ensure safety in the area as residual fuels burn off.
He said the latter is there to monitor the levels of gas in the atmosphere but stressed there is no danger to homes as there are no homes in the immediate area.
Although “it's not a safe area to go into at this time until we can extinguish the flames completely,” Wofford said, “at this point we look at it as a very stable situation as far as the fire department is concerned.
Kern County Fire Capt. Doug Johnston said 10 to 11 people were working at the site at the time of the explosion. Everyone was evacuated. Cal/OSHA sent two investigators from its Concord office to the scene, according to Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer.
The California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil and Gas district deputy Randy Adams described the facility as a gas processing plant.
Adams said that a division representative was sent to the scene.