Use Of Flammable Gas On Tire Might Have Lead To Workplace Death

We now know more about an explosion that took place at a Kalamazoo workplace last week, leaving one person dead.

According to MLive, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety says that their investigation is still ongoing, but that it appears that 45-year-old Christopher Murdock had been putting the tire of a front loader on, in a process involving flammable ether gas at the Holland Pallet Repair in the afternoon of August 1. Investigators believe the tire exploded, leaving Murdock with serious injuries; he was later pronounced dead.

Ether, and other flammable substances, are sometimes used to reseat tubeless tires in a process that causes a small explosion to take place, as demonstrated in the YouTube video below.

MI-OSHA is investigating this accident as well, with their report expected to take several weeks or even months.