Updated at 10:25 a.m. April 6 with confirmation of fourth death — The death toll has risen from this week's boiler explosion at a factory in the Soulard neighborhood.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said Clifford Lee, 53, died on Wednesday. Lee was inside the Faultless Linen Company when a piece of the boiler that exploded at the Loy-Lange Box Company crashed through the roof.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Lee was a new hire waiting to fill out paperwork.

Two others inside Faultless, Tonya Gonzalez-Suarez, 43, and Christopher Watkins, 46, died Monday. Kenneth Trentham, 59, died in the initial explosion inside the Loy-Lange Box Company.

One other person remains hospitalized.

Original story from Monday, April 3:

Three people were killed Monday morning after a boiler at the Loy-Lange Box Company in the Soulard neighborhood exploded, then flew more than a block before landing on another business.

St. Louis Fire Department Chief Dennis Jenkerson said one person died near the boiler at the box company, 222 Russell Blvd. Two others died at the Faultless Healthcare Linen at 2030 S. Broadway, when the boiler crashed through the roof.

“This was a large boiler. The piece that went through this roof here [Faultless] was the size of a full-size van, and this is all heavy-cast iron,” Jenkerson said.

He said four other people were taken to a hospital; two were in critical condition Monday morning.

Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say the Loy-Lange Box Co. have paid fines for violating workplace regulations three times in the past three years.

One in August 2016 for $3,741 after inspectors found holes in floors that prevented proper cleaning. Inspectors found damaged and defective equipment in November 2014, fining the company $6,566. And in February 2014, the company paid $2,450 for violating procedure protocols, like not properly training employees to check if machinery was powered down. It's unclear if any of the earlier safety violations involved the boiler.

Carl Littrell has worked at the Loy-Lange box company since 2002 operating the machines that print, fold and glue the company’s products. He was just starting his day when the explosion happened.

“It was first thing in the morning, we heard a loud boom and stuff started shaking and a light fell,” Littrell said. “I seen people going for the door so I went for the door. I was just startled by it happening.”

Emergency responders received a call just after the building explosion.

“This was a very hectic scene with three different buildings at the same time. It called for a lot of equipment, a lot of manpower to get this under control quickly,” Jenkerson said.

The Pioneer Industrial Company building at 400 Russell Blvd. also was damaged by an 8-foot long pipe. More than a dozen employees stood by as debris was removed from the roof of their building.

Jenkerson said the fire department’s investigative unit was on the scene and will be looking into the maintenance schedule of the boiler.

“It takes a licensed boiler operator to operate these things, so we’re going to be looking at all the records to make sure everything was up-to-date,” he said.

A couple dozen Faultless Healthcare Linen employees gathered in the parking lot of the nearby St. Louis Bread Co. Employees from both companies were directed by managers to not comment on the explosion. All the affected buildings were secured before 10 a.m.

On the south side of the Loy-Lange Box Company, about 15 employees gathered to watch recovery efforts by the fire department and console each other.

“No one wants to talk to you,” one employee yelled at a reporter asking for comment. “We just lost our friend.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.</s>St. Louis, MO (KTVI) -- Three people are dead and four were injured after a boiler exploded at a box company in Soulard. It happened shortly before 8 a.m. at the Loy-Lange Box Company located at 222 Russell Boulevard.

Bommarito Automotive SkyFOX Helicopter was over the scene.

According to St. Louis City Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson, a van-sized piece of the boiler went air born and crashed through the roof of Faultless Healthcare Linen, located at 2030 S. Broadway.

There are three confirmed fatalities.

Two people are in critical condition and two others are seriously injured. Jenkerson says it's unclear if anyone was working on the boiler at the time.

The St. Louis Fire Department says the explosion is affecting three buildings with debris. The Collapse Rescue Task Force along with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating.

Russell, east of Broadway, is blocked at this time. Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area.</s>April 4, 2017

 by Jim Suhr, The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—An explosion launched a van-sized boiler through the roof a St. Louis box company and slammed much of it down onto a laundry business across the street on April 4, killing three people and injuring four others, authorities said.

One person died in the blast about 8 a.m. at the Loy-Lange Box Co. and two others were killed when a large piece of the boiler crashed into the nearby Faultless Healthcare Linen building’s office area, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said.

The explosion appears to have been an accident, but investigators were trying to pinpoint what caused the cast iron boiler—estimated to weigh a ton to a ton and a half—to explode, Jenkerson said. The blast occurred in a largely industrial area of south St. Louis.

Two injured victims were in critical condition, and one was undergoing surgery, Jenkerson said. The injured include a linen company worker who was found pinned beneath the boiler, which Jenkerson said was roughly 4 feet in diameter and 10 feet long (1.2 metres in diameter and 3 metres long). The boiler was used to produce steam to power the box company’s equipment.

The boiler was still hot when rescuers arrived, the fire chief said, noting that the equipment travelled up to 500 feet (150 metres).

Though none of the victims’ names has been released, Faultless Healthcare Linen’s chief operating officer, Mark Spence, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the three victims there were new hires who were filling out paperwork when the boiler came crashing down on them, killing two and injuring the third.

“It’s emotionally overwhelming just to think what these poor people experienced,” Spence said.

A third building was damaged when a piece of pipe—about 8 feet (2.5 metres) long—linked to the explosion went through its roof, Jenkerson said. Other debris was found on the street.

Investigators will seek out and review the boiler’s inspection and maintenance records, though “it appears just to be a commercial accident,” Jenkerson said. Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene.

It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was working on the boiler at the time of the blast.

The phone rang unanswered at Loy-Lange Box Co., and an email message from The Associated Press to the company wasn’t returned. The company is described on its website as a “full-service corrugator and custom box manufacturer.”

—Associated Press reporters Margaret Stafford and Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report from Kansas City</s>ST. LOUIS — Three people were killed and four others injured when a boiler exploded in a building in an industrial area of south St. Louis, reportedly sending the boiler airborne and through the roof of a nearby building.

The St. Louis Fire Department said on Twitter that two of the victims sustained critical injuries in the blast shortly before 8 a.m. Monday at the Loy-Lange Box Co.

Fire officials say at least three buildings have been damaged by debris.

Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said part of the boiler housed in an office area went through Loy-Lange’s roof.

Jenkerson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the explosion seems to have been accidental and that investigators will review machine maintenance records.

No other details have been released, including whether anyone was working on the boiler at the time of the explosion.

The phone rang unanswered at Loy-Lange Box Co., and an email message by The Associated Press to the company wasn’t immediately returned.

The company is described on its website as a “full service corrugator and custom box manufacturer.”

Messages left with a fire department spokesman were not immediately returned.

Photo from KTVI shows the explosion at Loy Lange Box Company and where the van sized boiler part landed.</s>The explosion happened Monday morning at the Loy-Lange Box Company, a custom box manufacturer located in an industrial area of south St. Louis.A van-sized piece of the boiler went airborne and crashed through the roof of Faultless Healthcare Linen, located a block away, said St. Louis City Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson, according to KTVI TV.The fire chief confirmed three fatalities, one person at the box company and two at the Faultless Healthcare Linen building. Two of the injured victims sustained critical injuries, with one pinned under the boiler where it landed in the linen company. Two others had non-life threatening injuries.Jenkerson says it's unclear if anyone was working on the boiler at the time. It was housed in an office area of the building."Fire investigations is on the scene and they're pulling all the records [for the boiler]. We'll take a look at their maintenance schedules on all these boilers and we're also going to bring the building department in and take a look at that as well," said Jenkerson, according to KMOV.he added. "It takes a licensed boiler operator to operate these things."Jenkerson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the explosion seems to have been accidental and that investigators will review machine maintenance records.The Collapse Rescue Task Force along with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating."Right now all of the utilities have been shut down to all the buildings. The situation is under control, we're just trying to piece this thing all together," Chief Jenkerson said. "The scene has been controlled and were fairly confident of that right now, we're gonna go through the process of trying to piece this back together."</s>Three people were killed and several others seriously injured after a boiler exploded at a building in St. Louis, Missouri, sending a piece of equipment flying into the air and through the roof of another building, fire officials said.

The boiler explosion at the Loy-Lange Box Co. left one person dead in that building, authorities said at a news conference this morning.

After the explosion, a piece of the boiler was tossed into the air and pierced the roof of a nearby building, killing two people, officials said.

Two people were left in critical condition and two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the fire department said.

The mayor's director of communications described the piece of the boiler as "van-sized."

This story is developing. Please check back for more updates.</s>ST. LOUIS - Authorities say three people have been killed in a boiler explosion in a building in an industrial area of south St. Louis.

 

The St. Louis Fire Department said on Twitter that four other people also were injured, two critically, in the blast shortly before 8 a.m. Monday at the Loy-Lange Box Co.

 

Fire officials say at least three buildings have been damaged by debris.

 

No other details were immediately released.</s>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Three people were killed and four others injured Monday when an explosion launched a boiler the size of a van through the roof a St. Louis box company and slammed much of it down hundreds of feet away in a neighboring laundry business, the fire chief said.

One person died in the blast about 8 a.m. at the Loy-Lange Box Co. and two more were killed when a large piece of the boiler crashed into the Faultless Healthcare Linen building’s office area, Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said.

Investigators were trying to pinpoint what caused the boiler to explode at the building in a largely industrial area of south St. Louis, Jenkerson said.

Two of four survivors are critically injured, including a linen company worker who was found pinned beneath the boiler, which Jenkerson said was roughly 4 feet in diameter and 10 feet long (1.2 meters in diameter and 3 meters long).

He said the boiler was still hot when rescuers arrived and that it had traveled up to 500 feet (150 meters).

None of the victims’ names have been released.

A third building was damaged when a piece of pipe — about 8 feet (2.5 meters) long — linked to the explosion went through its roof, Jenkerson said.

While at least initially believing the explosion was accidental, Jenkerson said investigators will seek out and review the boiler’s inspection and maintenance records.

It was not immediately clear if anyone was working on the boiler at the time of the blast.

The phone rang unanswered at Loy-Lange Box Co., and an email message by The Associated Press to the company wasn’t immediately returned.

The company is described on its website as a “full-service corrugator and custom box manufacturer.”

Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene, OSHA spokesman Scott Allen said.

The agency’s online records show that Loy-Lange was cited last year for an unspecified “general requirement” and paid a $3,741 fine, half of what OSHA initially assessed. The company also paid a $6,566 fine in 2015, and a $2,450 fine the year before that for what OSHA classified as “serious” violations.

No details of those violations were listed in the online records, including whether any of them related to the boiler or other equipment.

The explosion happened in an industrial portion near St. Louis’ historic Soulard area, among the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Located near the Anheuser-Busch brewery and home to St. Louis’ yearly Mardi Gras festivities, Soulard features an eclectic mix of red brick townhomes, restaurants, shops and a sprawling farmers market.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>(ST. LOUIS) — St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says a boiler that killed one person when it exploded at a box company in St. Louis flew about 500 feet before crashing through the roof of a nearby laundry business, killing two more.

The boiler exploded Monday morning at the Loy-Lange Box Co. Four other people were injured and at least two are in critical condition.

A third person at Faultless Healthcare Linen was pinned under the boiler but fire department responders were able to free that victim.

Jenkerson says the boiler was a cast iron cylinder about 8 or 9 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, weighing about 1½ tons. He says it was about the size of a van.

A piece of pipe about 8 feet long pierced the roof of the nearby Pioneer Industrial Corp., but no one was injured there.
A boiler explosion at a Missouri box company in St. Louis's historic Soulard neighborhood kills three people and injures four others.