Three workers were killed Wednesday morning in an explosion at a Falk Corp. plant warehouse in Milwaukee.
Employees Daniel Hufter of Mayville, Curtis Lare of Oconomowoc and Thomas Letendre were killed in the blast.
According to an ABC news report, five employees remain hospitalized—three in critical condition—at Froedert Hospital with injuries including internal and intracranial bleeding and blast injuries to the chest. The number of injuries was 46 as of press time.
The one-story warehouse, located in Menomonee Valley, about a half mile from Miller Park, was 150 ft. by 512 ft. long and was completely destroyed in the explosion, said Brian O'Connor, lieutenant and public information officer for the Milwaukee Fire Department.
""We transported 37 people from the scene. Injuries ranged from minor to serious, and five people were treated at the scene and refused transport to the hospital,"" O'Connor said. ""There were cars in the parking lot that were destroyed. There was some damage to the other buildings in the complex, but the fire was just in the original building. It was definitely severe.""
Workers discovered a propane leak early Wednesday morning and began to evacuate prior to the blast, lessening the number of serious injuries and fatalities that may have been, said the ABC report.
The explosion shattered windows on the south side of National Avenue a mile away.
Six above-ground 30,000 gallon propane tanks were in the warehouse and Falk Corp.'s safety track record has been very good, the ABC report said.
William Quirk, an employee at the Miller Brewing Company located on 39th Street about a mile from the Falk building, said he heard the explosion.
""The building I'm in faces the North, and at 8:05A-A-—I'm on the second floor, and it sounded like bowling balls fell on the floor of the third floor,"" Quirk said. ""My brother lives on 20th and Ramsey and he thought something hit his house. And my wife was at McDonald's on College and 13th and she heard it.""
Quirk also commented on the traffic upset that occurred due to the explosion.
""The traffic was horrendous, the 35th Street Viaduct that goes across the valley was shut down because they didn't know if the explosion affected the structure,"" Quirk said. ""A lot of the on-ramps were closed, but 94 stayed open.""
Further investigation is now in the hands of the state fire marshal and the police fire investigators to determine the explosion's cause said O'Connor.
Mike Oemichen, international customer service manager for Rexnord, Falk Corp.'s parent company, said succession plans, including those of rebuilding the Falk facility and compensating its employees, will be discussed in future press conferences and releases.
""The investigation is ongoing, it does not appear there is any criminal activity or terrorism activity,"" Eileen Force, spokesperson for Mayor Barrett, said. ""It just appears to be a very tragic accident.""
