Comments on: The PEPCON Disaster

By: JarvisLoop

JarvisLoop — Sun, 06 Feb 2022 03:05:18 +0000

Note to self: Finished.

By: Cpskon

Cpskon — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 08:16:30 +0000

I was in 4th grade at OK Adcock Elementary School in Las Vegas and on my way to the office when I saw the first plume and then noticed something odd. Several seconds later I saw a second plume forming and then heard an explosion and the ground shake like nothing I ever felt before.

I had formerly lived in San Diego a couple of years earlier and experienced 2 earthquakes, but I was not sure what to think.

I had office staff come out to see what was going on and after they saw what I did, I was immediately brought into the office and sat in a back room, away from windows, until they could figure out what was going on.

Shortly after then. I was escorted back to class and our school was ordered to keep all students indoors. No recess or lunch. We stayed in class until they let us out to go home. I honestly can not remember if we were let go early or at regular time. The news on the radio and tv stations were saying the plant exploded and to stay indoors that evening due to fears of hazardous chemicals in the air. The next day we were given the all clear and life went on for us.

I will NEVER forget that day…

By: der K

der K — Wed, 06 May 2020 21:04:23 +0000

Yours is my favourite webpage on the whole internet. I’m dropping by every day I can and have been doing so since the one-armed bandit article. During the years I’ve found plenty of entertainment following the curated links and reading the new occasional article. English is not my mother tongue, so I might not be the most qualified of your readers to say that the sentence ‘By the time he reached town and found his way to the hospital there were already hundreds of people gathered there awaiting treatment’ is not your very bestest. I think it would make for smoother reading if you got rid of one “there”. I’d suggest ‘people awaiting treatment’ but well…. And since I’m already here, I even have the feeling that it needs a comma.
I hope you and yours are ok!

By: AJ Cote

AJ Cote — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 17:04:02 +0000

Nice read down memory lane. As we are approaching May 4th 2018 I was remembering and thinking back on that incident 30 years ago while driving last night; I’m a truck driver. I was only 18, a dropout from high school, and working at the Wendy’s fast food restaurant on Boulder highway in Henderson. As I was washing dishes in the back the drop ceiling tiles above me suddenly raised with a rushed breeze. As I was looking up at all of the tiles floating out of their frame, I suddenly felt my body jolt from head to toe as if someone had shoved me in every direction all at once at the same time. Then I heard a loud ‘BAM!’ and the pregnant girl from the drivethrough window screamed loudly then I heard glass shattering as the drop ceiling tiles reseated themselves in the framing above my head. I walked around the corner to see everyone in a frantic commotion and then I heard the firetrucks. Everyone was talking at the same time and customers looked dazed. One of the storefront windows had shattered. JoAnn Bower, drive through window girl had mascarra running down here face and was clenching her arm unsure if it was ok. She was handing a customer cash when the blast had jerked her arm. After a few short minutes the manager told us we needed to clock out and leave as the store was now closed. An evacuation order was heard over the local radio so co-worker had offered me a ride-to-nowhere since I didn’t have a car. I remember a chemical scent in the air and as we headed down south Boulder highway towards Boulder City traffic was very busy. I was a bit confused but didn’t feel anything until we turned around and headed back towards Henderson. Then anxiety finally overwhelmed me with feelings of helplessness. There was a very large traffic jam on the way back from Boulder City. I fidn’t get back home at my friends house in Pitman until sunset only to find many houses had windows broke and structural damage. By the next morning many many homes throughout the entire valley had spray paint or card board signs thanking PepCon for the carelessness that led to the damage. The odd thing is, my step dad worked next door at Kerr McGee which also processed the same fuel at that time. He brought some home once approxiamately a couple years before the explosion. It was about a handful. The stuff was like white Play-Do. He had held a lit Bic cigarette lighter to it and chuckled, “See it don’t explode!” It had the same chemical smell that I breathed in the air that day. A couple days later I sculpted a snail out of it and a few days after that it had dried out, just as Play-Do would. It eventually crumbled apart and was thrown away in the kitchen garbage.

By: j70141

j70141 — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 21:36:26 +0000

“PEPCON lawyers responded quickly, attempting pin the blame on Southwest Gas company. The lawyers claimed that the natural gas fire occurred first, subsequently causing the ammonium perchlorate explosions.”

I was EXTREMELY surprised to see this comment in the article and can even provide some testimony about it. Southwest Gas was owned by the exact same person who owned the News Papers and other outlets, so they stayed FAR away from this portion of the story for a VERY LONG time.

I was exactly one mile away from the explosion that took place and saw the second and third explosions take place personally, and knew personally a young lady whose family owned the facility. Before this previous fire became known, she told me the story about the natural gas fire. Southwest Gas had been told about the leak that took place but neglected in their duties to come out and fix it. The natural gas ignited when a welding incident was taking place, but this was indeed a situation that Southwest Gas was directly involved in.

By: ccapriciouss

ccapriciouss — Wed, 10 May 2017 23:19:34 +0000

Am I wrong that there was only one explosion at the Nevada facility as well?

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 17:42:30 +0000

I was watching Engineering Disasters and saw the Texas City explosion. I was working at Pepcon when the explosion happened. Believe me I ran for my life and knew both of the people that died at the plant.

By: Ronald Taylor

Ronald Taylor — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 04:21:54 +0000

I was at the new plant in Utah what a mess I was there to do start up of two Dixon 900 hp boilers was there for 8 month’s what a desater it was built a office but forgot to add a restroom coast another 30-40 grand
Had alot of problems was getting feedback from the mile or so cable trays
Once they were in production they showed how dangerous this crap is.
After that it was time to go
Nice vacation place lol

By: sylvia garcia

sylvia garcia — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 22:25:46 +0000

Hi my name is sylvia and I am the owner of a property in henderson nv . Is there anything you can tell me about the lawsuit back in 2007..I was never notified of such lawsuit and if anyone can provide me any info in regards to this case I will appreciate it. Thank you……sylvia. cell phone 951 287 0258

By: kim

kim — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:39:37 +0000

Alan Bellows said: “lfsmith said: “The “though” or the “but” needs to be removed. Thanks for the great article.”

D’oh… thanks. That’s what I get for writing when I should be sleeping.”

i was there. i was12 & in school. iwas as far a
way as the people video taping. it was huge and frightning. i was down wind from the red smoke. the blast blew in the metal doors made the tiles fall and blew out windows. the roads were like something u would see in a movie. i have lots of flash backs from this day.