An explosion at the Love’s bulk plant southwest of Winslow on Wednesday, March 2, did some damage to the site and especially to the tanker truck involved, but no one was injured, according to a report to the Winslow City Council Tuesday evening provided by the Winslow Fire Department.
The event happened at about 4 a.m. and the explosion was loud enough to be heard by some in Winslow. The fire department responded immediately, even though the site is outside the city limits. It was quickly determined that there were no injuries and that the incident was accidental. All of the safety precautions expected appeared to have been working.
There were apparently fumes in the tanker truck which caught fire from a spark of some kind and blew out the west side of the truck. It also did some damage to another truck and other facilities. A piece of debris from the truck landed on the railroad track.
The driver of the truck was in a small shed on the east side of the vehicle, the opposite side from the one blown out, and was not injured.
The investigation and possible remedies to the situation are being handled by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The plant is currently closed and will not be reopened until such action is approved by those agencies.
