Ross, ND — Two men were injured in a fire in Ross, North Dakota, on Friday, January 16, 2015. The accident involved two employees of Riverside Welding who were working at a well controlled by Oasis Petroleum.
The victims in the accident have been identified as 27-year old Kyle Stipcich and 30-year old Jonathan Henderson. Both men were inside a structure housing an oil treater, which is a device that helps to separate water and other particulates from oil after its extracted.
The treater caught fire, which set fire to the two men. Henderson was able to put out his flames by jumping into a snow bank. Three men nearby were able to Stipcich.
Henderson was taken to Trinity Hospital in Minot with burns to his upper body, face, and head. Stipcich was taken to the burn unit at Regions Hospital in St. Paul with burns to his lower body.
Officials say that there was no reported explosion, and that what caused the fire to start is currently unknown.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
There are a couple of things to look at here. I know a little about oil treaters, and one of the things I know is that they’re not designed to catch on fire. Was the machine defective? Had others who had previously worked on it done shoddy work? What happened? The second thing to keep in mind is that the two victims here weren’t employed by the Oasis Petroleum, which controls the oil well. It looks like they were sub-contracted out to do some work. If two Oasis employees had been injured here, they’d be eligible for workers’ comp, and that might be the end of it. The victims should still be eligible for workers’ comp, but that policy wouldn’t extend to Oasis, if they were found to be at responsible for the accident. The owner and maintainer of a property, especially one that’s worked on every day is responsible for maintaining a safe environment for those visiting, and they can be held responsible when they fall down on the job. So, the question is, what caused this accident?
— Grossman Law Offices
