Nearby business rocked by Evansville explosion

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – Just over 24 hours removed from the Heritage Petroleum/WOC explosion, business along 7th Avenue and Franklin Street appeared back to normal, despite the damage still being evident. One employee who works next door is sharing what he felt and heard the day of the explosion .

The explosion occurred inside the Hercules building. The Evansville Fire Department says the explosion and fire took place in a portion of the building used as a maintenance shop. Investigators say an employee was using an igniting torch in an area with fuel on the ground causing a petroleum tank to explode.

EFD releases more information on 7th Avenue fire

Ryan Gates works next door at Ace and Sons Fence Company and says he and his co-workers initially thought their building was hit by a vehicle. "Yesterday, there was a handful of people that actually left because we weren't sure what was going on," explains Gates. "We told everybody, 'If you want to leave, or if you're more comfortable leaving, just go somewhere and we'll get back to you once things clear up'. And they had Franklin and 7th blocked off for probably, I'd say, an hour or two while they were cleaning everything up. So a lot of people went home for the day, but today everything is back to normal."

Local crews worked with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to mitigate chemicals that had spilled out from water used to battle the fire. That spill was still evident in nearby Pigeon Creek the day after the explosion as rain washed petroleum products away. Evansville Police say the man who was injured in the explosion was treated and released from the hospital.