Grim recovery, probe at Xcel power plant

Sheriff's office to team with CBI in investigation

Alan Gathright, Chris Barge and Tillie Fong,
Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, October 4, 2007

GEORGETOWN — Recovery workers are removing the bodies of five workers found dead after a chemical fire yesterday.

The five employees who died and four who escaped all worked for RPI Coating of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., Clear Creek undersheriff Stu Nay said.

A recovery team removed the first body at 3:45 p.m. today. They will be turned over to the Clear Creek County Coroner for identification and autopsies.

Officials have not identified any of the dead.

The survivors were treated at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver and released yesterday, hospital spokeswoman Bev Lilly said. She did not know the extent of their injuries or their identities.

The workers were confirmed dead at 8:10 last night after three paramedics and a flight nurse were escorted into the pipeline by a Henderson Mine rescue team.

The undersheriff said the workers' bodies were found about 1,400 feet up from the bottom end of the pipeline. The fire was 2,500 feet from the entrance below.

The workers had few alternatives to escape, Nay said.

"The only option they had to get out was to go back through the fire ... or try to climb" up the pipe rising at a 55-degree angle. Nay said the bodies were not together when they were found.

At one point an Alpine Rescue team intended to rappel into the pipeline from the top, but could not because smoke from the fire was still pouring out.

Because the four workers who escaped told authorities the trapped men were above the fire, rescuers rigged a fan to blow fresh air down the pipe, hoping it would push the fire down and away from the trapped workers.

Nay said the workers wore painting suits, which were not fire-retardant, and particle masks and there was no sign of firefighting or other safety equipment.

He said the cause of the blaze had not yet been determined. Teams from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will assist in determining the origin and cause of the fire.

Xcel spokesman Tom Henley referred all investigative-related questions to the sheriff's office, but spoke highly of his company's contractor.

"We always ensure that our workers are working in a safe environment," Henley said. "However, again, these were contractors and they are experts in this industry. And that's why we hired them.

"So we feel very strongly that they are the correct people to ensure that their people are working safely."

Henley said the maintenance work on the pipeline began in early September and was expected to be completed by early November.

Nay said authorities were frustrated at the pace of reaching the workers yesterday, but said any delays were because of safety concerns. Given the uncertainty over the air quality and the potential of a deadly backdraft, rescue crews had to be cautious.

"We still have to make sure that the safety of the rescuers comes first," said Nay. "I mean, that's cold. But we can't afford to have somebody else hurt and complicate the problem."

At the time of the fire, which was reported about 2 p.m. yesterday, the plant was shut down for routine repairs on the 4,050-foot underground pipeline, or penstock, that delivers water to turbines that generate electricity.

The nine-member crew was in a 12-foot-diameter pipe applying an epoxy paint when the fire began.

Xcel spokeswoman Ethnie Groves said last night the fire was caused by some sort of equipment, but she did not elaborate.

The pipe rises at 2-degree angle for 1,500 feet, and then rises at a 10-degree angle for another 1,500 feet.

The pipe then changes dramatically, rising at a 50-degree angle for 1,000 feet, before rising straight vertically for the final 50 feet to the upper reservoir.

The trapped workers were in the crease between the 15-degree pipe and the 50-degree pipe about 1,500 feet from the entrance.

Rescuers sent an air pipe and air masks down to the workers about 40 minutes after the fire broke out, but they now think it was too late.

"We don't believe they accessed that," Nay said. "I think they were probably incapacitated at that time."

The victims breathed in chemicals and smoke for 45 minutes before a crew at the top of the pipe was able to get clean air to them.

"We want to express our deepest sympathies to the families, friends and co-workers of those who died," said Tim Taylor, president and CEO, Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company, shortly before 10 p.m.

"Certainly, we'll be working closely with the authorities to investigate what happened," Taylor said.

Fox58 News in Bakersfield, Calif., reported four of the nine workers involved in the accident are from Bakersfield.

Before the grim discovery, Georgetown Mayor Thomas Bennhoff said the accident was a matter of great concern within the town.

"Whenever something like this happens that's far away, your heart goes out, and you pay attention," Bennhoff said. "But when it happens next door, it has more of an impact. Our eyes are up on the mountain, and our hearts are up there, too."

Dozens of emergency crews from several counties rushed to the Cabin Creek plant to help with the rescue and blaze.

Rescuers from Clear Creek, Summit, Gilpin and Jefferson counties, as well as Georgetown and other agencies provided assistance.

West Metro Fire sent 11 firefighters, six with "confined space" expertise and four who are hazardous materials technicians.

Photographer Ahmad Terry and staff writers Lynn Bartels, April Washington and John C. Ensslin contributed to this report.