Three Indiana men – Stoney Powell, 45 and Roy Mathis, 60 of Wheatfield, and William Decker, 48 of Scottsburg – were killed near Searcy, Arkansas on Wednesday, May 14 in an explosion at a fuel storage facility. The three men worked for the Kentucky-based firm C&C Welding. Losing a loved one is difficult in any circumstance, but it must be especially painful when your love is killed so far away from home. An Associated Press story reports that the storage facility is owned by TEPPCO Partners LP (NYSE: TPP) and the firm’s spokesman Rick Rainey noted:
“the explosion occurred just before 2:30 p.m…..[and] the tank had been previously cleaned and workers were preparing to install a new gauge on it. [I]t was not immediately clear whether the workers were inside or outside of the tank at the time of the explosion.”
Other brief news is provided at KATV coverage and ArkansasMatters.com.
Offer a moment of silence for these men and their families.
The Pump Handle 
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May 16, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Mike Crill Missoula,Mt
Sorry to hear about the deaths. It reminds me of a safety film I watched about entering a tank from the top. The tape showed what not to do.And as they filmed it, it became obvious that the employees sent into the tank were of Mexican descent. The first worker was lowered into the tank from the top and about half way down he passed out and fell to the floor. Another employee went down to retrieve the other worker and he also passed out. So then it showed two guys with metal cutting saws who began to cut through the out side of the tank. You can guess what happened next. Yep, Kaboom. The moment the saw made it thou the tank metal, the whole tank blew up killing not only the two inside but the two outside. The film sank in as this was 20 years ago and it is a shame the whole world could not see such a film/lesson. Bless the family in this time of loss.
February 14, 2010 at 1:39 am
Lacey
my uncle was roy i miss him so much and so does all my family he was amazing uncle
August 22, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Chelsea L. Pace
My uncle was William Decker. R.I.P. Uncle Hubert. I miss you soo much. </3
September 22, 2010 at 3:10 am
Michael Badger
I worked with all of these guys in Wisconsin.. I’m sorry to all the families and I knew how wonderful they were.. You never think something like this could happen so close to home.. Bill was my bud they all use to call him my dad since I was the younger one and looked like him but they all were great guys..