Oklahoma Asphalt Plant Explosion Kills 1, Ignites Fire

An explosion at an asphalt plant in Ardmore, OK took someone’s life this morning. The Oklahoma plant explosion occurred around 10 AM at the Asphalt Express Enterprises facility and ignited a fire, but it is unclear at this moment whether the fire is under control. Authorities at the scene say that all employees are accounted for, and there were no serious injuries apart from the single fatality.

“As of right now we confirmed there were no injuries. No one was transported from the scene to the hospital with injuries,” said Ardmore Chief of Police Kevin Norris. While it’s fortunate no one else was injured, our clients’ experience tells us that living through an explosion can leave psychological injuries, even if there are no physical ones.

Aerial photo showed enormous plumes of black smoke rising from the burning plant, which is located roughly 90 miles south of Oklahoma City. DEQ and OSHA are already investigating the cause of the explosion.

The ID of the deceased will likely be kept confidential until the family can be notified, as it should be.

About Asphalt Express Enterprises, LLC

According to the Asphalt Express website, the company specializes in the transportation, storage, and sale of “bulk liquids,” which includes asphalt, oil, and other industrial products. Their resources includes a trucking terminal, a tank farm, and a recently built rail terminal. The company was founded in 2005.

As a fairly young company, Asphalt Express doesn’t have much of a history. However, their assets are older than the company, as they were purchased in 2005. Though the rail terminal is new, the tank farm and other transport facilities are older; as of this writing, it’s unclear how old.

What we know for certain is that plants and factories often suffer from overused, defective, and out-of-date equipment that endangers the lives of workers and the surrounding community. Whatever caused this explosion, our experience as explosion lawyers tells us one thing: it was likely preventable, and the people at fault need to be held accountable.

Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased. We will be following this story as it develops, and we hope the cause of the explosion is addressed as quickly as possible.