Investigation begins into cause of Garner plant explosion

Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' National Response Team surveyed the exterior of the ConAgra Foods plant on Jones Sausage Road, photographing the damage and taking notes to document the condition of the building. They also interviewed employees who were in the plant at the time of the explosion to get their accounts of the incident.

The 25 members of the team include explosives experts, forensic scientists, chemists and electrical engineers.

"At this point, we have no idea what has happened in there," said Phil Durham, the National Response Team's agent-in-charge.

The explosion at the 425,000-square-foot plant blew out part of a wall and punched holes in the roof. The blast sparked several small fires and ruptured ammonia lines in the plant.

About 300 employees were in the plant at the time, and dozens of workers and contractors were injured.

Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of Dunn; Rachel Mae Poston-Pulley, 67, of Clayton; and Louis Junior Watson, 33, of Clayton, were killed, and search teams pulled their bodies from the rubble Wednesday.

The Wake County Fire Marshal will lead the investigation of the explosion, and the ATF, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the State Bureau of Investigation and Garner police will assist in the effort.

Durham said investigators hope to enter the plant on Friday to begin inspecting interior damage so they can pinpoint the source of the blast and begin trying to find the cause.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said Wednesday that a preliminary review determined the explosion occurred in the packaging area of the plant, which makes Slim Jim beef jerky products.

Engineers from ConAgra and the ATF were assessing the safety of the building Thursday to determine how best to get inside without further damage.

"We won't let anyone in there until it's safe," Durham said. "We don't want anyone else to get injured in this process."

Search teams from North Carolina Task Force 8 Urban Search and Rescue tried to shore up walls and sections of the roof late Tuesday and Wednesday while searching for and recovering the bodies of the three workers killed in the blast.

Investigators want to disturb as little of the plant as possible to get the most accurate picture of the damage, Durham said. But cranes and heavy equipment will be used to brace walls and the roof as needed so investigators can move freely through the building, he said.

"It's very, very important to keep the (building's) integrity as is," he said. "We want to look at the actual blast effects."

The ATF team considers the plant a crime scene until investigators can rule the explosion an accident, Durham said.

Investigators plan to continue interviewing ConAgra employees Friday morning and afternoon at Garner United Methodist Church. Durham called the eyewitness accounts of the explosion valuable to the investigation.

"What they heard or what they felt ... helps us narrow down the actual location of the blast," he said.

Four ConAgra workers remained in critical condition Thursday in the North Carolina Jaycees Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Another worker was in fair condition, and two others were in good condition at the burn center.

One of the critically burned patients was identified Thursday as Anthony Elliott, but no other information about him was released.

Some of the patients underwent surgery Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Recovery from extensive burns typically involves several surgeries, rehabilitation and counseling, officials said.

ConAgra mechanics Josh Wagner and B.J. Sears laid a wreath outside the plant Thursday to remember his colleagues who were killed and injured.

"We love them and hate to see that they're not here," Wagner said. "We're all a family. ... We're here just as much as we're home, so it's our second home."

ConAgra has established a fund to assist Garner employees. The company contributed $100,000 to the fund and asked workers at its other plants and Triangle residents to donate as well.

Craig Chancellor, chief executive of the United Way of the Greater Triangle, which is coordinating the fundraising effort, said $10,000 had been donated to the fund in the first day.

"There's a tremendous outpouring from the ConAgra family and the entire community to help the victims," Chancellor said.

ConAgra officials said all workers would continue to be paid for an indefinite period, and the company plans to cover medical and funeral expenses for those workers who were injured or killed.

Childs said the company has loaded a tractor-trailer full of groceries and will distribute bags of food to employees on Friday.

"We want to be able to help them in small ways and big ways," she said.

The company has set up a toll-free hotline for employees and relatives to get updates at 1-866-484-9599.

ConAgra officials said they haven't decided whether to offer Garner workers jobs at other ConAgra plants, and they said it's too early to determine when the Garner plant might reopen.

Employee cars were towed from the plant's parking lots Wednesday to be stored at a secure location until employees could pick them up. Childs said most people had gotten their cars by Thursday afternoon.

A public candlelight vigil to remember the victims is planned for 8 p.m. Friday at Wake Baptist Grove Church, at 302 E Main St. in Garner. Clergy from several area churches will be in attendance.