KOTA Territory NewsSafety system minimized Tuesday's pipeline terminal explosion

Safety system minimized Tuesday's pipeline terminal explosion

Katy Eisenbraun

The safety equipment at the Rocky Mountain Pipeline Terminal did it's job, keeping Tuesday's explosion on a smaller scale. 

Preiminary reports show that a section of a tank had low fuel causing excessive vapors to be present.  That factor along with heat from a fuel heater appears to have caused the explosion.

Captain Mark Kirchgesler of the Rapid City Fire Department says the flow of fuels shut down automatically after the system detected an error. 

The explosion at the Rocky Mountain Pipeline terminal located on I-90 between exits 60 and 61 started at about 2:15 PM Tuesday and was producing thick black smoke. 

Fire crews had the fire under control before 3:00 PM and were foaming the scene to prevent any flammable gas and diesel fumes from re-igniting.   There were no injuries.  Firefighters will begin their investigation into the cause Wednesday.

The fire was located at an interchange, which is a holding tank at the site where tanker trucks fill up with fuel. 

The terminal is where gasoline tankers fill up from the fuel pipeline which carries petroleum products from a refinery in Wyoming to Rapid City.

Tuesday's fire was not the only one the Rocky Mountain Pipeline has seen.  Kirchgesler says several years earlier a tanker truck tipped over and erupted into flames.