Well Pad Explosion on Cherry Hill Road Near Wheeling Remains Under Investigation
Emma Delk Trending
CLEARVIEW -- Two workers were hospitalized after a gas well explosion late Sunday on Cherry Hill Road outside Wheeling.
Residents in the area said they were awoken by a "loud boom" and "flames going 30 feet in the air" after a gas tank at the Franz Thoman well pad exploded. The explosion's cause is not yet known, according to Ohio County Emergency Management Director Lou Vargo. He said the Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal and other state and federal agencies were on their way to Ohio County that day to investigate. Vargo had no information on the timeline of the investigation.
The explosion happened at around 11 p.m. Sunday, Vargo said. Though a drilling rig was at the pad, the fire was contained at the tank. One worker was immediately airlifted to a Pittsburgh-area burn center, Vargo said. Another was taken to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, and Vargo believed he ultimately was transported to Pittsburgh, as well.
Clearview and West Liberty fire departments initially responded, Vargo said. With well pads, water sources aren't readily available, Vargo added, so the tanker task force was called. The Wheeling Fire Department responded and supplied foam to fight the fire and the Ohio County Sheriff's Office helped with traffic control.
The fire was put out quickly, Vargo said, but responders stayed until around 2:30 a.m. Monday to make sure the fire didn't restart.
Jim Beasley, who is a resident of Oskar Place, a neighborhood located on a hill overlooking the gas well, said he woke up around 11:30 to emergency vehicles turning around in his driveway.
He recalled looking out his window and seeing "flames going 30 feet into the air."
"I was a little concerned," admitted Beasley. "When those explosions happen, gas can linger in the air, so I was worried about that."
Despite his house being one of the closest to the explosion, Beasley was able to remain level-headed in the situation, as his father had worked in the oil and gas industry. Though he did remain awake for another hour and a half to make sure there was no danger, he eventually went back to sleep.
"There were a lot of emergency vehicles going down the hill to the gas well," added Beasley. "Since no one told me to evacuate, though, I knew they had everything handled."
While other residents in neighborhoods nearby Cherry Hill Road were not as close to the explosion as Beasley, many were awoken due to the loud noise of the explosion.
Many living on Hill Crest Avenue, a neighborhood adjacent to Cherry Hill Road, went out into the streets to investigate what made the loud noise the night of the explosion.
Resident Clara Cottrell recalled hearing a "big bang" that woke her around 11 p.m.
"It felt like a car hit my house," she said. "Photos on the walls were shaking, I had no idea what was going on."
Even those not as close to the explosion recalled being frightened by the noise. Maryann Compton, a resident along GC&P Road who was in Clinton Hills at the time of the explosion, said she heard "a loud boom."
"We were all looking at each other asking, 'What just happened?'" recalled Compton.
Vargo reported that no homes in the surrounding area were damaged in the explosion, with residents corroborating this.
Managing Editor Derek Redd contributed to this report.