Crime & Safety
Oxygen Explosion At Kaiser Building: Details, Photos
The driver of a big rig that exploded Wednesday at a Santa Rosa Kaiser Permanente building remained hospitalized Thursday.
SANTA ROSA, CA — More information was released Thursday about a hazardous materials explosion Wednesday at a Kaiser Permanente building in Santa Rosa that prompted authorities to close surrounding roadways, including U.S. Highway 101, and evacuate the medical complex. Assistant Santa Rosa fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said crews were dispatched at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday to multiple reports of an explosion at Kaiser Medical Office Building 5, 3925 Old Redwood Highway.
The first units arrived on scene in under six minutes and determined that the explosion happened as a big rig hauling a trailer full of liquefied oxygen was there to deliver the oxygen to an onsite tank at the back of Building 5, Lowenthal said.
The explosion resulted in major damage to the back of the trailer as well as equipment affixed to the exterior of the building.
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Debris from the blast also damaged numerous personal vehicles parked nearby, Lowenthal said.
Because of the hazmat situation created by the chemical explosion and ongoing leak, personnel with Santa Rosa police and fire departments, Rincon Valley Fire Protection District and AMR immediately worked to secure the area and evacuate the medical complex, Lowenthal said.
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Additionally, officers with California Highway Patrol and the Santa Rosa Police Department coordinated the closures of U.S. Highway 101 and Old Redwood Highway.
Once Santa Rosa Fire Department's hazmat response team secured the leaks and mitigated the hazard, the road closures were lifted.
The cause of the explosion remained under investigation Thursday by the Santa Rosa Police Department, Santa Rosa Fire Department and Cal OSHA.
"The driver of the tanker truck suffered significant injuries and remains stable condition at a local hospital," Lowenthal said.
The driver is employed by KAG Merchant Gas Group, LLC, which is contracted to transport product for Matheson Gas, Lowenthal said.
Photos courtesy Santa Rosa Fire Department
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