OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14301352
WATSON TRUCK & SUPPLY
HOBBS, NM—
Event description
NATURAL GAS EXPLODED IN AUTO PARTS STORE
Investigation abstract
THE PARTS STORE STAFF WERE JUST ARIVING FOR WORK. EMPLOYEE #1 WENT BEHIND THE CO UNTER TO DRINK SOME COFFEE AND SMOKE A CIGARETTE. EMPLOYEES #2 AND #3 WERE STAND ING IN FRONT OF THE COUNTER, IN THE LOBBY AREA, OF THE NEW PARTS STORE. THEY STA TED THAT A CIRCLE OF FIRE ENGULFED THEM. EMPLOYEES #2 AND #3 WERE BLOWN OUT THE FRONT DOOR. THE ENTIRE BUILDING WAS DEMOLISHED BY THE BLAST. LATER EXAMINATION A ND INTERVIEWS SHOWED THAT GAS HAD BEEN TURNED ON TO THE NEW PARTS STORE THE PREV IOUS EVENING, EVEN THOUGH THE GAS LINES HAD NOT YET BEEN CONNECTED TO THE NEW GA S HEATERS. THE GAS HAD APPARENTLY BEEN ERRONEOUSLY TURNED ON DURING MODIFICATION WORK GOING ON IN THE MAIN AUTOMOTIVE SALES BUILDING.
Victims (3)
-
#1 Fatality Age 45 M
- Nature of injury
- 5
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 16
- Occupation code
- 365
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1640
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 22 M
- Nature of injury
- 5
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 16
- Occupation code
- 365
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1640
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Hospitalized Age 34 M
- Nature of injury
- 5
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 16
- Occupation code
- 365
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1640
- 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.