Fuel truck explodes at Mack Alford Correctional Center
STRINGTOWN, Okla. – A tanker truck delivering gasoline to Mack Alford Correctional Center exploded at a fueling station Friday on the medium-security prison’s grounds.
The explosion happened just after noon Friday at Oklahoma Correctional Industries (OCI), but thankfully no one was injured.
Staff and inmates working at OCI were moved away from the area.
“It’s a blessing that no one was hurt in this accident,” ODOC Director Joe M. Allbaugh said. “This was a violent explosion.”
The explosion blew debris onto the median of U.S. 69, the highway that runs along the prison’s east side.
An unidentified official examines debris from Friday, May 10, 2019’s explosion of a tanker truck at Mack Alford Correctional Center in Atoka
State authorities and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, including ODOC’s Director of Environmental Health and Safety, are investigating what led to the explosion.
Multiple local fire departments, emergency crews, and law enforcement responded to extinguish the blaze and assist with the scene.
A firefighter holds a firehose on the cab of a tanker truck that exploded just after noon Friday, May 10, 2019, at Mack Alford Correctional Center in Atoka. No one was injured in the explosion, which blew debris over on to U.S. 69 next to the medium-security prison for men.