1982 — Jan 19, Water heater explodes, Star Elementary School cafeteria, Spencer, OK– 7
— 7 Combustion Safety, Inc. “Hot Water Heater Explodes in Elementary School.” 2011.
— 7 NewsOK. “Smooth reunion brings hugs, kisses…as Star students return.” 1-29-1982.
— 7 News OK. “Star Elementary: 20 Years Later…” 1-20-2002.
— 7 NewsOK. “Valve installed wrongly, maker says.” 2-1-1982.
Narrative Information
Combustion Safety: “Explosions from even simple, relatively obscure, equipment like hot water heaters can be destructive and/or deadly. The aftermath with its tragic consequences, however can serve as warning to all of us involved in operating and maintaining equipment. Shedding light on the underlying causes behind the explosion at Star Elementary School provides an opportunity to review our own testing, repair and preventative maintenance schedules.
“It was shortly after noon, in a busy school cafeteria, in the small town of Spencer, Oklahoma. Children were seated at tables, enjoying lunch when their secure little world was torn from them. A concrete wall, which separated the lunchroom from the kitchen, blew in, as an 80-gallon water heater exploded, and launched itself skyward. The children seated nearest the wall were crushed and killed as concrete and steel were propelled from the epicenter of the blast. It was a horrific scene. In all, seven were killed and 36 lay injured.
“How the day started.
“The first employees arrived at the school at 7:00 AM. They included the cafeteria workers who noticed that the domestic hot water was much hotter than normal. The custodian was called and the gas water heater was shut down, to await the arrival of a technician. The technician’s fix was to replace the gas valve, and relight the water heater. The technician returned within the hour and noted that the water heater seemed to be working normally. The cafeteria workers were not so satisfied. They soon noticed that the water temperature was again much too hot, and getting hotter. They placed another call for service, which tragically went unanswered. At 12:13 PM the explosion ripped through the school.
“How did this happen?
“The Chief Boiler Inspector for Oklahoma dug deeply into the accident. He noted the water heater sat in disrepair for three or four years. The controls had been tampered with; the safety valve was in the wrong place; and the temperature probe had been removed. Oklahoma’s boiler inspection law covers high-pressure steam boilers but not smaller equipment such as water heaters.
“This meant that the school system itself was responsible to determine what would constitute adequate inspection, maintenance and repair of the water heater.
“When the technician replaced the faulty gas valve, a used valve was installed. This valve was also faulty. It may have been faulty when stored, or it may have deteriorated in storage. The valve may or may not have been a suitable replacement part for the particular water heater, even if it had been functioning correctly. When the valve failed, it apparently did so by hanging open allowing the burner to stay on continuously, superheating the water and over-pressurizing the water heater’s tank. Once this occurred a relief valve should have opened to allow fresh cold water to flow into the tank while removing pressure and temperature from the vessel. Only then could the tank’s contents have reached a safer condition. The relief valve never worked. Temperature and pressure continued to rise. Ultimately the water flashed to steam as the tank ruptured. The tank landed 135 feet from where it sat seconds before.
“Could this have been prevented?
“This was an accident that could have been prevented if the proper procedures and inspections had been put in place. There was either no preventative maintenance schedule, or if there was one, it was ineffective. Critical safety items were installed incorrectly, disabled, and/or never tested. Controls were tampered with and sensing probes removed. New repair parts were not used and the condition of the used replacement gas valve was not known. After installation, the functioning of the gas valve may not have been adequately confirmed, to ensure it was cycling properly. The technician doing the work may not have inspected the entire unit to make sure that the safety relief valve was installed correctly, let alone verify its operation….” (Combustion Safety, Inc. “Hot Water Heater Explodes in Elementary School. Seven Dead, 36 Injured.” 2011 modification.)
Newspapers:
Jan 19: “Spencer, Okla. (AP) – An explosion tore through an elementary school Tuesday and authorities said as many as 30 children were injured. There were unconfirmed reports that a gas leak sparked the blast. Students were being evacuated at the time the explosion occurred and several Oklahoma Natural Gas Company trucks were on the scene. Ambulances and law enforcement officers rushed to the scene of the blast at the Star Elementary School in Spencer, just east of Oklahoma City….” (New Mexican, Santa Fe. “30 hurt in school blast.” 1-19-1982, A11.)
Jan 20: “Spencer, Okla. (AP) – An explosion that killed five children and a teacher in an elementary school cafeteria was caused by a water heater that malfunctioned and built up a mighty head of steam a few hours after being repaired, officials said.
“A cook in the elementary school kitchen turned on a tap around lunchtime Tuesday, but the faucet only coughed steam, Oklahoma City fire department spokesman Phil Cooksey said. The cook went to report the problem, he said, and minutes later an explosion ripped through the kitchen wall, blowing off part of the roof and raining glass, metal and concrete blocks on children in the cafeteria.” (Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “Oklahoma blast kills 6.”1-20-1982, 1.)
Jan 21: “Spencer, Okla. (AP) – Nineteen people remained hospitalized Wednesday — two of them critically injured — after a water heater exploded at an elementary school, spewing rubble that killed five children and a teacher by breaking their necks.
“Agents from the state fire marshal’s office were examining the wreckage of the Star Elementary
School kitchen and cafeteria, hoping to learn what caused an apparent steam buildup that made the 75-gallon heater explode during the lunch hour Tuesday. One fire inspector, who asked that his name not be used, said two safety valves in the water tank, located in a storage area of the kitchen, must have failed in order for the explosion to have occurred. He said the thermostat should have turned the tank off when the water temperature reached 195 degrees. If it failed, a pressure-release valve should have opened to discharge the steam when the temperature reached 212 degrees. “I can’t figure out how two safeties failed at the same time without someone interfering with or tampering with” them, said the inspector. “There was an extreme amount of heat in the bottom of the water heater before it went. The metal had turned blue from the heat,” he said. He estimated the temperature at 1,400 degrees.
“Besides the six who were killed in the accident, 35 people were injured. Of the 17 still hospitalized, one student and the cafeteria manager were listed in critical condition.
“The northwest corner of the cafeteria was razed by the blast that rained concrete blocks, glass and metal scraps on screaming children. Venetian blinds dangled in broken windows and cafeteria tables and chairs were splintered by hurtling concrete blocks.
“Damage from the explosion was estimated at $100,000 and the one-story brick school has been closed at least temporarily.
“Investigators and food service employee Florence Hardy spent much of Wednesday morning in the storage area of the kitchen as the officials tried to learn all they could of the moments before the blast. “The whole effort is complicated by the fact that school personnel were working on it (the water heater),” said Phil Cooksey, Oklahoma City Fire Department spokesman. “They’ll have to ask them what they did to it.” Oklahoma City public school officials were unable to say Wednesday what the repairmen had done to the heater when they worked on it.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “19 Still in Hospital After School Blast.” 1-21-1982, p. 6.)
Jan 29: “It was all smiles today at the new Star Elementary School…. It has been 10 days since the Star family had been together.
“A water heater exploded Jan. 19 during lunchtime at the Star cafeteria. Five children and one teacher were killed in the blast, and a sixth child died Thursday….” (NewsOK.com. “Smooth reunion brings hugs, kisses It’s all smiles as Star students return.” 1-29-1982.)
Feb 1: “The installation of a relief valve at least partly responsible for the water heater explosion Jan. 19 at Star Elementary did not meet national standards and plumbing codes, says an official of the company that manufactured the valve. The temperature and pressure relief valve also was not installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions which require the valve’s heat-sensing probe to be immersed in the tank water, said Joseph F. Keegan, of Lawrence, Mass., vice president of sales for Watts Regulator Co. The water heater exploded at the Spencer school and 34 persons were injured. A teacher and six children died.
“State fire marshal investigators have discovered the probe was removed from the valve at least 30 days before the explosion. Removing the probe and incorrectly installing the valve eliminated the safety means necessary to allow the valve to operate and prevent the explosion, Keegan said. Examination of the plumbing revealed the valve was incorrectly installed in an elbow pipe. Because the heat-sensing probe extends three inches below the valve, the probe was probably removed so the valve could be installed in the elbow pipe, Keegan said. Such an installation isolated the valve from the tank and violated the plumbing code, he said. The valve is designed to sense excessive water heater temperatures and prevent temperatures from exceeding 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The valve discharges the overheated water and allows cooler water to enter the tank, he said. The person who removed the probe rendered the valve useless, and tank temperatures increased enough to cause an explosion with the equivalent force of two pounds of dynamite, Keegan said.
“Such a tragedy should prompt inspections of all water heaters to ensure they are properly provided with all safety features, he said. National standards and local codes all prescribe the safety parameters for water heater inspections.” (NewsOK.com. “Valve installed wrongly, maker says.” 2-1-1982.)
Feb 2: “The main pressure relief valve on all water heaters in Oklahoma City public school buildings will be replaced in light of the Star Elementary explosion, Superintendent Tom Payzant said Monday night. More than 250 water heaters of varying sizes are located in the district’s 100 buildings, and replacement costs will be $24 to $48 per valve, the superintendent and his staff said. Payzant announced the unprecedented maintenance action after telling the Board of Education that an inspection of city schools following the Jan. 19 blast at Star detected 16 water heaters and 36 boilers needing repairs due to suspected safety hazards.
“Investigators already have determined that a heat sensor had been removed from the pressure-temperature relief valve on the 80-gallon tank that exploded at Star, killing six students and a teacher and injuring 30 others. Also, manufacturers of the relief valve said that the mechanical device was installed at the incorrect location on the tank, and the removal of the water temperature sensing element eliminated “the means to prevent an explosion . . . with the equivalent force of two pounds of dynamite.”
“Officials also believe the failure of pressure release systems helped cause a water heater explosion at Oklahoma City’s Willow Brook Elementary School in 1977. The Star and Willow Brook blasts were “very similar,” although no one was hurt in the Willow Brook explosion.
“Payzant said school maintenance officials have not bee able to determine from records who removed the temperature probe from the pressure release valve and when. The Republic brand water heater which exploded at Star is believed to have been installed in 1973. The temperature-pressure release valve was purchased from the Watts Regulator Co., of Lawrence, Mass., in 1976 or 1977. It is believed that it replaced a piece of original equipment on the Star tank.
“Payzant admitted to the school board and about 30 Star parents attending the Monday night meeting that “a great number of maintenance repairs need to be done in our school system.”
“Holes in a steam line caused problems at Northwest High School on Monday and, over the weekend, the John Marshall High School gymnasium was flooded with four inches of water, school officials reported.
“Payzant told the Star parents that no final decision has been made about the school’s future. To reopen the school at NE 23 and Douglas would entail rebuilding the cafeteria and replacing all natural gas lines at the school. Star students are attending classes in portable classrooms at nearby Rogers Middle School….
“…Star parents vented frustrations by questioning how the Star “tragedy” could have happened. “Not much is done to fix up the schools. The really dangerous ones remain open,” contended Mike Winters. Shirley Stoneking said parents “are afraid to talk with” school administrators. But no more, the woman asserted. “The Star explosion also shattered the apathy of our community,” Mrs. Stoneking said.
“Before the explosion, Star was targeted for closing if the district’s $32 million building bond issue is approved by voters on March 2.” (NewsOK.com. “Schools Plan Heater Valve Replacements.” 2-2-1982.)
Sources
Combustion Safety, Inc. “Hot Water Heater Explodes in Elementary School. Seven Dead, 36 Injured.” 2011. Accessed 6-4-2013: http://www.combustionsafety.com/secured/pdf/safetyalerts/star_spencer_lesson.pdf
Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “Oklahoma blast kills 6.”1-20-1982, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=84305431&sterm=spencer+school
News OK. “Star Elementary: 20 Years Later Heater explosion still haunts Spencer.” 1-20-2002. Accessed 5-19-2017 at: http://newsok.com/article/2779122
NewsOK.com. “Smooth reunion brings hugs, kisses It’s all smiles as Star students return.” 1-29-1982. Accessed 6-4-2013 at: http://newsok.com/smooth-reunion-brings-hugs-kisses-its-all-smiles-as-star-students-return/article/1971976
NewsOK.com. “Valve installed wrongly, maker says.” 2-1-1982. Accessed 6-4-2013 at: http://newsok.com/valve-installed-wrongly-maker-says/article/1972282
Titusville Herald, PA. “19 Still in Hospital After School Blast.” 1-21-1982, p. 6. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=102179944&sterm=spencer+school