Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ― Several explosions and a large fire rocked an industrial company near downtown Dallas Wednesday morning.

The business, Southwest Industrial Gases, Inc., is a welding supply company. It went up in flames at about 9:30 a.m.

The company is located at 538 S. Industrial Boulevard. That's near the I-30 and I-35 interchange. Both highways and many other roads in the area were closed. Traffic was backed up for miles in several directions.

In a news conference, Dallas Fire officials said the cause of the fire was a malfunction. Lt. Joel Lavender said that several acetylene tanks on a truck were being filled. A connector broke, which caused several of the cylindrical tanks to overheat.

Lavender said acetylene can self-ignite when it is under pressure. The overheated tanks caught fire, and the flames then spread.

The owner and manager of the company tried to cool the tanks with water, but the fire spread too quickly. Both men were burned. A Parkland Medical Center official identified the burn victims as 50-year-old Randal Bibb and 56-year-old Daniel McMurry.

Dr. Brett Arnoldo, a Parkland burn surgeon who treated the men, said both men were awake and talking when they arrived at the hospital. At noon, they were listed in serious condition.

The driver of truck jumped from the cab when the fire started. He hurt his back and was taken to Methodist Hospital. An official at Methodist Hospital says the man was treated and released.

Lavender added that the company has been in business for more than 30 years, and this is the first incident there. "It's very sad to have the first problem be like this." He emphasized that no one was at fault, and that it was purely an accident.

Lavender also said that the business did not have fire sprinklers, but added that sprinklers would not have made any difference.

As the fire spread, several tanks of acetylene, helium, oxygen, and other gases could be seen exploding and throwing large pieces of shrapnel throughout the area.

Jacqueline Bell, with Dallas County Health and Human Services, says there are certain health risks associated with directly inhaling acetylene. According to health officials, symptoms of inhalation exposure are dizziness, dullness, headache, nausea and vomiting. Bell says, "Unless you were directly at the scene, effects to skin or eyes are minimal."

Field investigator Jim Kerlin of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality noted acetylene fuel burns clearly, so its smoke is not more dangerous than smoke from other fires. However, he noted there may be some concern based on materials the fuel could set on fire.

Police evacuated within a half-mile radius of the blasts.

Joel Lebovitz, who was in the area when the first explosions happened, said, "An unbelievable amount of shrapnel was flying through the air."

Pieces of shrapnel also landed on nearby roads, including Interstate 35E.

"I thought it was artillery. It was just coming just boom, boom, boom," said witness Tony Love, a former Army soldier.

Vanessa O'Brien said she was standing in a parking lot a few blocks away when she felt at least 20 vibrations from the explosion. "We felt the whole building move and the windows rattle," she said.

The flames ignited several vehicles at an adjacent business. The flames could also be seen spreading to a neighboring liquor store. Fire officials said flammable alcohol inside the liquor store would also be a concern.

By 10:30 a.m., the flames had consumed a large part of the business. Aerial video from Chopper 11 showed much of the building in charred ruins. Video from Chopper 11 also showed shrapnel and debris littering the area around the business, several parts of which were still in flames.

By noon, firefighters could be seen spraying foam on one of the buildings and several cars on the site.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals closed one of its offices a few blocks away. Staffers and animals were moved to another side of the building and animals recovering from surgery were taken to another facility, the group said in statement.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal government agency, said it was sending an investigative team from Washington, D.C. to Dallas on Wednesday. The group said it expected the team to be in town for two to three weeks.

At a noon news conference, city and county emergency management officials said they were still actively working the scene and expected to be for some time. Dallas Fire Rescue Chief Eddie Burns said, "Until we think it is safe we will not send our firefighters into the building."

Also at the news conference, Deputy Dallas Police Chief Vince Golbeck said that officials' first concerns are for the health and safety of the citizens. Golbeck said although the fire department has the primary responsibility for the scene, police officers were helping with evacuations.

More than 100 police officers responded to the scene.

Stay with cbs11tv.com for the latest information as this story develops.



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