Two contract workers were injured after an explosion and fire Monday at the Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant in Springfield, MO, the Springfield Fire Department said in a release. Fire crews responded to the municipal facility at about 4 p.m. Describing the incident as a “low order explosion with flash fire,” officials said a digester tank at the facility received damages and partially collapsed. 

A group of three contractors were reportedly performing work on the digester tank at the city-owned facility when the explosion and fire occurred. 

“They were working on the roof of this digester that had been emptied out,” Springfield Fire Battalion Chief Heith Aldridge told the Springfield News-Leader. “Apparently, there was a pocket of methane gas that was enough that, while they were working, it caught fire.”

The blast prompted the workers to jump from the top of the 15-ft tank. Two of the contractors received non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to an area hospital for treatment. 

An investigation into the cause of the incident has been opened by the Springfield Fire Marshal. 

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