SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) A 23-year-old Kansas City, Mo., man is dead after an explosion at a Johnson County, Kan., excavation and tree removal company.
Shawnee Fire Marshal Corey Sands says his department received a call around 9:30 a.m. Monday about an industrial accident at Rieke Grading. When fire crews arrived they found Nicholas Jerde dead and evidence of an explosion.
Sands says Jerde was using an acetylene torch to open frozen valves on a vacuum truck when it ignited vapor inside the truck’s tank.
The Occupational Safety Health Administration was called to investigate the incident.
