Explosion at Grand Mound marijuana processing facility sends worker to hospital
A butane explosion at a marijuana processing facility in Grand Mound sent an employee to the hospital with burns Wednesday.
West Thurston Fire responded to the explosion at Footprint Biosciences, located at 6400 210th Ave. SW, just after 8:30 a.m., according to the department.
A build-up of butane gas, which is used in the extraction process, found an ignition source, West Thurston Fire Operations Chief Robert Scott told The Olympian. The explosion blew out one wall and ignited a fire inside the roughly 600-square-foot building, Scott said. Firefighters arrived to find flames coming from under the building where it had blown out.
A 51-year-old man who works at the facility was in the room where the explosion occurred and suffered burns to his legs, arms, face, and head, according to Scott. He was treated at the scene and drove himself to the hospital.
Crews were able to knock down the fire quickly, then went inside and extinguished what residual fire was left, Scott said. The fire was limited to the building, according to Scott.
Riverside Fire Authority, South Thurston Fire & EMS, East Olympia Fire District 6, McLane Black Lake Fire Department and Tumwater paramedics also responded to the scene, according to a West Thurston social media post.
Reached by phone Thursday, Josh Haney, who owns Footprint Biosciences, told The Olympian the explosion was a result of operator error.
Haney said the building was designed to blow out the way it did, in accordance with standard safety measures written into fire code and the state’s Labor and Industries operational code, so gas and fire can escape, protecting workers and equipment inside.
The damage from water used to extinguish the fire was more extensive than damage caused by the explosion itself, he said.
A Washington state Department of Labor and Industries investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to L&I spokesperson Tim Church, and Scott said West Thurston Fire is assisting. Investigators have six months to complete that process.
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