SIMI VALLEY : Worker Burned in Explosion Released
A Rocketdyne employee was released Tuesday from the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, after treatment for burns he suffered in a July 26 explosion that killed two of his co-workers at the aerospace contractor’s plant near Simi Valley.
“I feel in pretty good shape, for the shape I’m in,” said Lee Wells, 62, of Newbury Park.
Wells said doctors grafted skin from his thighs onto his arms and an ear that were badly burned when 10 pounds of rocket propellant ingredients exploded on a test stand at Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory two weeks ago.
The blast killed Larry A. Pugh, 51, a Thousand Oaks engineer, and Otto K. Heiney, a Canoga Park engineer who had been standing closer to chemicals.
Wells said Tuesday his memories of the explosion are “pretty doggone foggy. All I could remember was I was over at the sidelines and then I felt the impact and I was on the ground.”
Wells said he still suffers a little pain on his thighs, from which healthy skin was taken to replace the burned skin on his arms.
Rocketdyne officials are investigating the explosion and said they expect to announce findings next week.
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