An explosion involving liquid cattle feed in Callaway County, MO killed one man and left another with serious injuries. The explosion, at a farm on Friday, October 21, occurred as the product was being offloaded from a semi truck into a container at the farm on the 1900 block of County Road 231.
The operator of the truck, Stephen Fink, 45, of Macon died at the scene from injuries he sustained when a building at the farm collapsed in the explosion. Another man, whose name was not released, was airlifted to University Hospital with serious injuries.
It is not clear at this time what caused the explosion. Multiple agencies including the sheriff’s office, the state highway patrol, the North Callaway Fire Protection District and Callaway County EMS responded to the scene after the explosion was reported at 6:45 p.m.
Alcohol is added to some liquid feeds. The alcohol fumes can ignite, causing an explosion. This would make sense in this case because the explosion happened as the feed was being transferred to a larger container, most likely releasing fumes. If this is what happened here, it is not the first time.
The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri State Fire Marshall’s Office are investigating.
Sources:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/local/one-killed-in-callaway-county-farm-explosion/article_0f97c157-550c-5e26-b784-f56415dafa63.html
http://www.abc17news.com/news/top-stories/one-person-dead-in-farm-related-emergency-in-callaway-county/129426424
http://www.abc17news.com/news/top-stories/one-person-dead-in-farm-related-emergency-in-callaway-county/129426424