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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

University of Idaho to update safety protocols after rocket fuel explosion injured four students

Moscow police Chief James Fry, left, and Moscow Fire Chief Brian Nickerson, right, talk to a man in a parking lot April 13 at the University of Idaho, where multiple students from the Northwest Organization of Rocket Engineers were injured while testing a rocket fuel, in Moscow. (Geoff Crimmins / Associated Press)

The University of Idaho will update its safety and emergency response protocols following an internal review of a rocket fuel explosion that seriously injured four students last month, according to a report released Thursday.

The students were members of a school-sanctioned club called the Northwest Organization of Rocket Engineers. The blast occurred on the night of April 13 as they conducted an experiment involving their own formulation of rocket fuel in a parking lot on campus. A faculty adviser was present at the time.

The students were treated at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow and were able to finish the semester, said Dan Ewart, UI’s vice president for infrastructure. The report, which was drafted by a task force of a dozen faculty members and school officials, includes 14 recommendations for improving campus safety.

“We’re looking forward to implementing these and minimizing the risk of something like this ever happening again,” Ewart said. “Most importantly, we’re glad that our students are on the mend.”

According to the report, UI will revise language describing the role of club advisers, and keep a list of clubs that may participate in dangerous activities. Some students already must sign risk waivers, but the university will begin keeping those records in a central location, Ewart said.

He said the report is not meant to assign blame for the explosion, as no one involved appears to have willfully violated university rules. The club did not seek permission from UI’s public safety office before conducting the fuel test, he said.

The school also will develop a “fail safe” method for issuing emergency alerts across campus in a timely manner. The report says an alert on the night of the explosion was “significantly delayed” – sent to students’ cellphones nearly an hour after the blast occurred.

That first alert also “did not include adequate information,” the report says. The alert read, “Explosion occurred on Moscow Campus. Responders on scene. Avoid Area. More information will follow.”

Internal communication also was an issue, the report says. For example, several members of the president’s cabinet, including legal counsel, didn’t immediately learn of the explosion because not everyone was checking their emails after the explosion happened around 10 p.m.

Ewart said the school’s emergency response protocols now include a preferred mode of communication for each key official.