(The following article by Courtney Brummer was posted on the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil website on February 16.)
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Vapors from an unknown source are believed to have ignited sparks from a grinder, causing an explosion that killed one man and injured three others in the Union Pacific Railcard Tuesday.
Union Pacific employee Daniel J. Weinert, 46, of Omaha was killed in the explosion. The names of the three workers who were injured have not yet been released.
John Bromley, a spokesman for Union Pacific, said the names of the injured are being withheld pending notification of family members.
The three who suffered “minor” injuries, Bromley said, were taken to Alegent Health Mercy Hospital for treatment.
The explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. in the Heritage Park maintenance building of the rail yard, located at 1100 Ave. G.
A witness, who asked not to be identified, said he could hear the explosion and screams from his office a little more than a block away.”I was in the office when I heard a loud ‘boom,'” the witness told reporters at the scene. “It shook the building. I thought it was just a big rail car moving; sometimes when they hit they make loud noises.”
The Council Bluffs Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the incident. Fire Marshal Jeff Hutcheson said preliminary investigation indicates that Weinert may have been operating a portable grinder when sparks from the grinding ignited unknown vapors from an unknown source.
An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death was scheduled for this morning.
The building is used to repair and restore rail cars for the Union Pacific Railroad, Bromley said. This is the first time in 25 years, if not longer, that a fatality by explosion has occurred.
Council Bluffs police investigators as well as officials with the Council Bluffs Fire Department, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Union Pacific and a HAZMAT team were called to the scene to investigate.
Bromley said that so far it appears work was being done on a new fuel tank that had never been used and never had contained gas.
“It was straight from the manufacturer,” he said.
Workers on the ground floor were using a grinder to shave off excess metal on the passenger car onto which the tank was going to be installed when something sparked and caused the explosion, Bromley said.
The force of the explosion threw the tank to one side of the room and damaged the side of a passenger car. While he was unsure how often this type of work is done, Bromley said that the crew who worked in the Heritage Park building were exemplary in their safety practices.
“They are very talented at what they do,” he said.
UP officials brought in support counselors to help employees deal with the tragedy. Employees were also allowed to go home, Bromley said.
Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Bob Brietzke said officers were dispatched to the scene and the injured workers were transported to the hospital immediately.
He added that the inside of the building sustained some damage.
“It was quite an explosion,” he said.