Rick Shaw - Missing after plant explosion in TX

[TBF]

Family of missing worker at plant explosion fear he died

By MIKE MORRIS
Copyright 2010 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 9, 2011, 5:20PM

Family members of the contract worker missing after an explosion and fire at a Chambers County natural gas plant on Tuesday afternoon said they fear he may have died in the blast.

Mark Shaw confirmed his brother Rick Shaw, of Baytown, is the worker missing after a pipeline failed at the Enterprise Products facility 35 miles east of Houston yesterday shortly after noon and produced a towering fireball that burned for hours. Rick's truck is still parked outside the facility, Mark said.

"It's not looking good," Mark said. "One of the workers that was working with him said he was in the middle of the gas cloud when it happened, so I don't really think he got out. It was a big fire."

Mark said Rick is divorced with two daughters, ages 13 and 9.

"He's always working real hard, working double-time and overtime shifts for his kids so he can take them places," Mark said. "His two kids are like his world."

After receiving word of the incident, most of the family met at Mark's mother's home, he said, dispersing shortly after 1 a.m. Mark said he then went to the plant to seek information from the company, but left unsatisfied.

"I was up all night. I didn't sleep at all," he said. "They're not giving us any information at all."

More here - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7419912.html



ETA - another story with more details about the plant explosion/fire:

man unaccounted for in Mont Belvieu plant blaze
Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:40 pm by chron.com Energy in Accidents, Refining, United States

MONT BELVIEU — A fire set off by a midday explosion at a natural gas plant burned on into the night Tuesday, with company officials uncertain how long it might keep going. They could not rule out the possibility that the blaze was being fed by gas products stored in underground caverns, which if true could keep it burning indefinitely.

No one was known to be injured in the incident, which began shortly after noon at Enterprise Products’ west storage facility and produced a smoke plume large enough to be seen on National Weather Service radar. However, a contract worker who may have been in the vicinity of the explosion had not been accounted for.

The Enterprise plant, 35 miles east of Houston, processes and stores liquids that are separated from natural gas. Emergency workers were making no attempt to extinguish the fire, preferring to concentrate on keeping adjacent portions of the plant as cool as possible. The fire was believed to be fed by gas in one of the facility’s pipelines. Nothing that is burning is toxic, said company spokesman Rick Rainey.

Rainey said eight to 10 workers are normally in the facility. All the workers got out safely save for the one who had not been located, he said. The man, a maintenance contract worker employed by Turner Industries, still had not been found as of 7:45 p.m. Rainey said company representatives are in touch with the man’s family but did not release further details about him...

link: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/02/08/1-man-unaccounted-for-in-mont-belvieu-plant-blaze/

[TBF]

1. Kicking for a worker and his family. RIP, Mr. Shaw. nt

[butterfly77]

2. Where is rick perry...

he is missing too. I didn't see him during the blizzard,the superbowl no comments,the explosion, the 27 billion dollar debt,he said he wanted to be the leader of this country,then he said he wanted to secede,where is he?

[TBF]

3. Rick Perry? He was out celebrating Ronald Reagan's birthday ... nt

[PDittie]

6. Speaking at CPAC on Friday

Book tour, RR birthday, palling around w/teabaggers around the country. Meanwhile there are rolling blackouts in Texas AGAIN THIS WEEK because somebody at the grid couldn't get the pipes wrapped.

Did I mention that Rick Perry is running for president in 2012?

[TBF]

7. I didn't know about this week's rolling blackouts -

we are south of Texas and haven't had a problem yet. Sure is cold out though.

[butterfly77]

10. I thought he gave that up...

[Lint Head]

4. As long as we depend on fossil fuels for energy and producing plastic products

there will be explosions that kill and maim.

[TBF]

5. Update to story - Missing worker's remains found after plant explosion.

My condolences to his family.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7419912.html

[rasputin1952]

8. Mine too...

how sad...:(

[Starry Messenger]

9. RIP.

How horrible. :(