Fan suspected cause of blast

OTHELLO, Wash. – State and federal safety investigators were looking at an electrical fan as the possible cause of an oil tank explosion that killed one man and injured three other people, including the co-owner of a local oil company, the police chief said Thursday.

Workers for Ulrich Industrial Coatings Co. were sandblasting an oil tank and applying an epoxy coating when the empty tank exploded in flames Wednesday afternoon at the Lawrence Oil Co. site, Police Chief Steve Dunnagan said.

“We have not confirmed what created the spark that ignited fumes in the tank, but we have a suspicion it was caused by a portable fan being used to suck fumes out of the tank,” Dunnagan said. “It was the closest electrical device at the time of ignition.”

Dunnagan identified the dead worker as Michael Taylor, 60, of Woodburn, Ore. He was an employee of Ulrich, which is based in the Portland suburb of Hillsboro, Ore.

One of those injured was John Lawrence, who co-owns the oil company with his brother, Dunnagan said. Lawrence was in critical condition Thursday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the chief said.

One of Lawrence’s employees, Juan Quezada, 49, of Othello, was in stable condition at Harborview, while Daniel Martin, 25, an Ulrich employee from McMinnville, Ore., was in critical condition at the Seattle hospital, Dunnagan said.

All of the men were outside the tank when the explosion occurred, the chief said.

The workers had apparently been venting fumes “so they could get in to clean sludge and do whatever they were going to do,” Dunnagan said.

Dunnagan said the Oregon company’s owner confirmed the dead worker’s identity.

Ulrich refurbishes tanks, installing specialty linings and coatings for petroleum, chemical and water tanks, according to its Web site.

The accident was being investigated by the state Department of Labor and Industries and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Dunnagan said.

Three state investigators arrived Wednesday afternoon, Labor and Industries spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said.