Officials: 3 injured in explosion improving
Garage building is ‘a complete loss’
Three people injured in a massive tanker truck explosion at a Westmoreland County commercial garage appeared to be out of immediate danger by Saturday afternoon, according to an emergency official.
“As of right now, all three are in moderate condition. They’re still at the burn center” at UPMC Mercy, said James King, assistant chief of the East Huntingdon Township Fire Co. and emergency management coordinator for that community. He said one of the victims was in critical condition but has improved.
The investigation into the cause of the Friday afternoon explosion continues and likely won’t be complete until sometime next week, he said. On Saturday morning the state police fire marshal was working with experts from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and the Department of Transportation, plus the garage owners Grammer Industries Inc., Assistant Chief King said.
He said the explosion on the 1500 New Stanton Ruffsdale Road had no effect on the two nearby residences. No one was evacuated.
The garage building is “a complete loss,” he said. “We tore the whole building apart yesterday and covered it up with foam.”
The garage is located roughly 2½ miles from the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate 70 interchange in New Stanton.
Its owner, Grammer, is based in Columbus, Ind., and bills itself as “the premier provider of safe, dependable bulk hazardous transportation services in the United States.” It specializes in “anhydrous ammonia, liquefied petroleum gases, carbon dioxide, nitric acid, cryogenic liquids and other bulk hazardous materials and liquids,” according to its website.
“Grammer’s immediate focus is on the well being of all involved, as well as assisting the first responders and authorities involved in performing their respective functions,” Grammer CEO Bart Middleton wrote in a statement issued late Saturday morning. “It is too early in the investigative process for additional comments at this time, but please keep our employees in your thoughts and prayers.”
Grammer has been growing. Last month, the company bought LiMarCo Logistics, of Houston, according to news releases. In April, it acquired former North Carolina-based Sterling Transport, a liquid natural gas and dry bulk goods trucking company.
In a December release, Grammer boasted “350 tractors, 850 specialty trailers and over 500 drivers and owner-operators.”