Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg addresses the media during Wednesday’s news conference at the Fremont Rural Fire Department. Behind him is FRFD Chief Carl Nielsen. To the right of Nielsen are Fremont Fire Department Chief Todd Bernt, Fremont Deputy Chief of Police Jennifer Birkhofer and Dodge County Attorney Pam Hopkins.
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The Tuesday explosion at the Horizon Biofuels plant that killed three people has been ruled an accident by the Nebraska State Fire Marshal.
The office said a dust fire led to the explosion at the plant that manufactures wood pellets and animal bedding.
The explosion just before noon Tuesday killed Dylan D. Danielson, 32, of Columbus. His body was recovered Wednesday at the scene. Dodge County Attorney Pam Hopkins has ordered an autopsy be performed. The bodies of two girls were recovered Wednesday night, but officials are not releasing their names.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release Thursday afternoon stating that the site of the explosion has been stabilized and has been turned over to the appropriate authorities for continued assessments.
DCSO said there is still smoldering inside of the concrete tower that potentially will cause smoke. Due to the construction of the tower, those hot embers will not be able to be extinguished. Fire crews will respond back to the area for significant changes; however, the public may see smoke from the tower.
The Fremont Rural Fire Department and the DCSO are continuing to monitor the smoldering.
The only road closure that is still in place is Union Street from Cloverly Road to just north of the Horizon Biofuels property. All businesses that were previously affected by the road closures are back to operating in the area.
The DCSO said it would like to thank all the agencies who responded to the tragedy, including Fremont Police Department, Fremont Fire Department, Fremont Rural Fire Department, Saunders County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, Nickerson Fire, North Bend Fire Department, Hooper Fire Department, Arlington Fire Department, Waterloo Fire Department, Valley Fire Department, Cedar Bluffs Fire Department, Scribner Fire Department, Mead Fire Department, Dodge County Emergency Management, Nebraska Game and Parks, Fremont Department of Utilities, Fremont Rural Fire Auxiliary, the City of Fremont, Nebraska Emergency Management, Nebraska Task Force One and the Governor’s Office.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) remains at the scene and — by law — must complete its investigation within six months.
