Milwaukee – An explosion that may have started in a large propane tank flattened an industrial warehouse near downtown Milwaukee on Wednesday, killing at least three people and injuring 46 others, authorities said.
The fiery blast at the Falk Corp. factory flipped cars, hurled debris into the air and forced the evacuation of dozens of workers at the plant, which makes large industrial gears and couplings.
Burning rubble was spread over several blocks.
“It sounded like when I was in Vietnam, incoming mortar rounds,” said worker David Mays, 61, who said the blast knocked him down and turned over his car. “But I’m OK,” he said, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Fire officials had not determined the cause of the blast, but Mays said the company began to evacuate workers after a leak occurred in one of six large propane tanks. He said he and others were outside when one of the tanks blew up.
Firefighters searched through wreckage for hours before accounting for the plant’s more than 700 workers.
“Had they not been evacuating the employees that were in that building, the death toll would have been much higher,” Police Chief Nan Hegerty said.
Company spokeswoman Linda Mayer said she did not know how many people were in the plant at the time.
Machinist Jim McGraw, 53, said a co-worker warned him about a minute before the blast that he could smell gas, but McGraw did not think much about it because the building normally smells of solvents and other chemicals. Then the explosion knocked him down.
“I didn’t know what it was at first, just a loud bang,” McGraw said. Later, doctors pulled a piece of glass from his skull.
As many as 120 firefighters and paramedics responded to the fire, along with hazardous-materials crews. The flames were largely extinguished within three hours.
Mayor Tom Barrett said the company had a clean safety record.
The dead were identified as Curtis J. Lane, 38, of Oconomowoc; Thomas M. Letendre, 49, of Milwaukee; and Daniel T. Kuster, 35, of Mayville.
