4 injured as foundry explosion rocks Tacoma

An explosion at a foundry in Tacoma was burning for several hours while firefighters were working to cool additional tanks to keep them from blowing up.

The blast occurred at the Atlas Foundry at 3 p.m., and firefighters arrived shortly after to find that a tanker truck that was delivering propane had exploded. A propane tank on-site then caught fire, according to Dan Crotty, assistant fire chief at the Tacoma Fire Department.

According to The Associated Press, the driver of the truck was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said he was in critical condition tonight.

Three others, all Atlas employees, were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. A nursing supervisor said one suffered facial burns and was in stable condition, while the other two suffered leg and knee injuries and would likely be discharged tonight.

Witnesses miles away felt the explosions and said they saw flames shoot up as high as 1,000 feet in the air. A Tacoma Police officer, who happened to be nearby, said "it looked like the atom bomb, like the mushroom cloud."

Deputy of chief of the Tacoma Fire Department Jolene Davis said windows in nearby industrial buildings were blown out by the blast, and the axle from the propane truck that exploded was found on Highway 16, at least four blocks from the site. The Department of Transportation has dispatched a crew to inspect the Nalley Valley viaduct to see if it was affected.

Highway 16 is closed from Interstate 5 to Union Ave., she said. Crotty said a perimeter around the foundry, stretching from South M Street to Pine Street, and from South Tacoma Way to Center Street, was closed and evacuated.

The events started when a delivery truck, loaded with 8,000 gallons of fuel, exploded at the foundry, causing a nearby propane to catch fire. The propane tank did not explode. The foundry has two propane tanks on site; one holds 20,000 gallons, the other 14,000. At the time of the explosion, Kessler said, it was estimated that the tanks were both about half full.

A fire still burning at the foundry is from the propane tank that is venting gas. Crotty said the first firefighters that arrived aimed high-powered hoses at the other propane tanks on site too keep them cool.

"That's the best we can do at this time," he said.

Until conditions improve, no firefighters are allowed into the immediate areas. He said the first firefighters to arrive took considerable risk by getting close enough to train hoses on the tanks.

Multiple witnesses said they heard two explosions, but Kessler said there was only one. She said a possible explanation is that the tanker truck had a double-trailer.

Steve Lawson, a salesman at the nearby Titus Will car dealership, said he went outside after he heard the explosion to see flames shooting up to 1,000 feet in the air and as wide as 300 to 400 feet. He said it was like a bomb going off in Iraq. His wife, Carla, he said, called him afterward to say she had just driven by after the explosion. She said the road was still hot and was radiating through the floor boards of her car.

The foundry is located at 3021 S. Wilkeson St. in the Nalley Valley, an industrial area, with homes on the surrounding hills. The foundry, which traces its history back to 1899 when the company made iron castings for the Northwest logging industry.

Tricia Duryee: 206-464-3283 or tduryee@seattletimes.com Seattle Times reporters Linda Shaw and Susan Gilmore contributed to this report.