Welding on Fuel Tank Causes Explosion and Fire
On Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 4:20 p.m., the Lee's Summit Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 13000 Block East 99 Street near S. Noland Road. Several callers reported an explosion and black smoke coming from a building and a man on fire. The building is located at the border with Kansas City, MO, and units from the Kansas City Fire Department and Raytown Fire Protection District also responded.
When KCFD arrived, black smoke was visible from a large metal barn that stores underground utility equipment and houses several horses and other livestock. Employees near the building at the time of the explosion were assisting the man who had been on fire and removed the livestock.
KCFD firefighters entered the building and extinguished a fire involving a pickup truck and a diesel fuel transfer tank for a pickup truck. The patient was treated and transported by LSFD ambulance to a metro area trauma center. The incident was under control by 4:43 p.m.
The fire was contained to a pickup truck, fuel tank, and other nearby equipment. The area and structure around the fire received heat and smoke damage.
The investigation determined that the fire and explosion occurred when the employee was welding on an approximately 100-gallon diesel fuel transfer tank from a different truck to repair a leak.
After the smoke cleared from the building and no other hazards were present, the livestock could return to the building. There were no other injuries reported to people or livestock.