"NEWS: Major Propane Explosion in Milwaukee"

I don't usually post about breaking news events here on my blog, but this one hit rather close to home... This morning at about 8:07 AM, a massive propane explosion occurred about fifty blocks from where I live, leveling a large section of a one of Milwaukee's oldest and most productive industrial plants (Falk Corp., -- for those that live around here). Twenty-five casualties are confirmed at this point (no fatalities as of yet), and an unknown number of workers are still missing.

It's still too early to assess much else about the disaster, but it does appear to be an accident. The devestation, however, could have ripple effects for Falk industrial customers around the nation (possibly even putting an end to manufacturing for a while).

The concussion from the explosion could be heard and/or felt from as far away as Port Washington to the north (18-20 miles), Oak Creek to the south and Muskego to the west. A number of storefront windows within a 10-20 block radius were blown in, a large section of Milwaukee's Menomonee Vally has been evacuated, and numerous emergency agencies remain on the scene as they continue to secure and investigate the area.

Odds are, you'll probably hear about this on the national news.

There will be another local press conference at around 1 PM today, so I'll post an update here as anything new comes to light. In the meantime, though, please feel free to check out the local media page regarding the event:

"Explosion Rocks Menomonee Valley"

UPDATE - 1:30 PM:

There are now 37 injured, 3 confirmed dead, and many still missing.

"3 confirmed dead, dozens injured in Falk Corp. explosion"

A fellow Wisconsin blogger has also uploaded a video segment of the local media coverage to YouTube. This footage is from earlier this morning -- about the same time I broke the news here on my blog. It's not pretty. Pray for those who were at work there when the explosion took place. Many are still missing as rescue workers continue to search the debris.

UPDATE II - 5:30 PM:

The Milwaukee rescue teams have completed both a primary and secondary search of the entire disaster area, and have now accounted for all missing individuals. The total fatalities remains at 3, however the number of injured now resides at 46 (three of whom are in critical condition).

I look at the devestation this blast left behind, and I have to admit, there were a lot of very lucky Falk employees this morning. A gas leak evacuation was already underway at the time of the blast, however, had that not been so, the death toll could have been MUCH higher. In the end, emergency response teams, rescue workers, and the nearby community did an exceptional job containing what could have been a far deadlier event.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:27 AM  I   I  0 comments