Explosion and huge fire at gas plant in Wichita, US

KWCH12
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 09:07 UTC

Two people have been transported to a hospital in Wichita following an explosion and fire at the Tenawa Haven Gas Plant. Reno County Emergency Manager Adam Weishaar said they only suffered minor injuries.

Crews were called to the fire on Kent Road around 1:15 p.m. on Thursday. Weishaar said they were met with heavy smoke and flames as well as some explosions. A two-mile radius around the plant was evacuated, and crews began working to knock out the fire.

Units from Burrton, Colwich, Mt. Hope and Burrton have been called in to assist with the fire. K-96 will remain closed for the next several hours to allow firefighters to transport water to the fire.

Weishaar said the Reno County Commission signed a local disaster declaration to allow for state resources to come in and assist with the fire fight.

Gas to the plant has been cut, but the fire is not out. Crews will remain on the scene to monitor the fire. Weishaar said that at this time, there is no risk to public safety.

Update: USD 312 Haven Schools says it is keeping students in place while firefighters work to respond to the fire and explosion at the gas plant in town. The district said parents can come to pick up their students, but students will be bussed as normal when the time comes.

Firefighters are responding to a large explosion and fire at Haven Midstream (formerly the Tenawa Haven Gas plant), northwest of Wichita.

Reno County dispatchers say K-96 is closed east of Yoder and east of Haven.

The City of Haven says it is absolutely imperative that people avoid the area.

Those within Haven City limits are not being evacuated at this time. Evacuations at the Haven Steel plant.

Comment: Also today a huge fire broke out at an ammonia agricultural plant in Salinas, California:

Huge Salinas fire has potential for explosion of hazardous material

A massive fire that broke out in Salinas has prompted a shelter-in-place order. Because of concerns about a possible ammonia leak, it is too dangerous for firefighters to approach the Taylor Farms facility, so the fire is being allowed to burn.

Some Salinas residents are being evacuated from their homes and others have been told to shelter in place due to a huge and potentially dangerous fire at an agricultural processing plant that broke out Tuesday.

City officials warned that there is a possible ammonia leak at the Taylor Farms facility which could cause an explosion and the release of a plume of hazardous material. Taylor Farms makes packaged salads.

Because of the risk, firefighters have pulled back from the plant and were letting the fire burn.

"The fire progressed to the point that it poses a significant risk for a potential explosion of ammonia that is located in the plant. For that reason, we pulled back our units to a safe area and have begun evacuation notices for the immediate area around the plant," said Sam Klemek, Deputy Fire Chief and Incident Commander, in a statement.

Information about which areas are being evacuated and told to shelter in place can be found on emergency messages from Salinas.

Residents in the shelter-in-place area have been told to keep their windows shut and pets indoors while turning off heating, ventilation, and fans.

There are no reports of injuries.

Just four days ago: Gas explosion in Russia kills 2, chemical explosion at factory in India kills 6, manhole explodes in NYC