OSHA Joins Investigation Into Deadly Fire At Weld County Tank Battery
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Federal investigators are on the scene of an oil and gas site east of Windsor where a man was killed in a fire. The man was killed on Wednesday evening.
A total of 40 firefighters responded to the fire at a Great Western tank battery at County Road 66 and Hillcrest Drive at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Two of the 10 tanks in the battery had caught fire.
"We found a worker on top of one of the tanks," said Windsor/Severance Fire Chief Chris Kazian.
On Thursday, the investigation ramped up. Teams from the numerous agencies gathered at the scene, trying to determine what touched off the blaze. The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission joined OSHA, the Weld County Sherriff's Department and Windsor/Severance Fire and Rescue looking into the cause.
Susan Fakharzadeh, a spokeswoman for Great Western Operating, told CBS4's Rick Sallinger, "The well has been shut from a production standpoint since yesterday evening and what we want to do is maintain a safe environment so we can get in and see what occurred."
What's believed to be the victim's truck was towed from the scene. The name has of the man who died has not yet been released by the Weld County Coroner's office. While the oil facility is self-operating, workers come by for inspection, cleaning and maintenance.
"This is a really tough situation for the family it's a tough situation for the 150 employees at Great Western which are feeling this loss," said Fakharzadeh.
She said this is the Denver-based company's first fatality.