4 Injured in Explosion at Oklahoma Business

Authorities say four men suffered burn injuries on Jan. 12 in an explosion at a business in south Edmond, Okla.

Edmond Fire Department Maj. Kelly Lewis told reporters at the scene that one man suffered third-degree burns and the others suffered first-degree burns in the blast at Nov Tuboscope about 9 a.m.

Their names were not released, but Lewis said all are employees of the company.

“The cause of the explosion is undetermined. I really don’t have any information if it was a chemical explosion, a gas explosion or even a dust explosion,” Lewis said.

Lewis said there was no fire when firefighters arrived and if one did occur, it had gone out. He said investigators were waiting for the area to cool down before trying to determine what sparked the blast.

Lewis said the company uses chemicals to treat oil pipelines for corrosion, but said it did not appear any chemical escaped the business and that no evacuations were ordered.

Traffic along the street in front of the company was shut down for a brief time.

A phone call to the company was answered by a recording that said the company is unable to take calls.

Ricky Trussell, the manager of Transformation Fitness across the street from Tuboscope, said the blast apparently occurred moments before he arrived for work.

“I was probably right down the street. I had stopped at a gas station,” Trussell told The Associated Press.

“As I was walking into the facility the first police car with the sirens was coming down the street. I looked around to make sure he wasn’t coming in here,” Trussell said.

Trussell said a firefighter came to the fitness center and assured him there was no danger.

“It wasn’t a concern. Just the nature of their business,” Trussell said of Tuboscope. “They wanted to over-respond rather than under-respond.”