Fremont industrial plant explosion that killed 3: Here's what we know so far

Here's what we know so far: 

Authorities recovered the bodies of 3 people killed after the explosion 

The body of a plant employee, identified as 32-year-old Dylan Danielson, has been recovered by first responders, according to Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg. Following the discovery of the plant employee, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they have recovered the bodies of two young girls.

The names of the children have not been released.

The plant had previous OSHA violations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected Horizon Biofuels in 2012, after receiving a safety complaint.

The search resulted in $12,000 in penalties initially but was reduced to $6,000, according to agency records.

They found that Horizon Biofuels failed to ensure that equipment couldn't be energized while employees were working on it — known as lockout/tagout procedures — through processes or employee training. 

The report also states that the employer failed to ensure that areas around working machinery were kept clean in order to prevent fire hazards, such as failing to ensure wood dust didn’t accumulate around a milling machine. 

For more in-depth coverage on the violations, click here.

Wood pellet plants are prone to explosion

A 2018 report from the Environmental Integrity Project said at least eight of the 15 largest wood pellet facilities in the U.S. have had fires or explosions. The most recent of those explosions happened this Tuesday.

In 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a safety advisory that said spontaneous combustion of wood pellets is “not common, but also not unprecedented.”

“There are a good number of plants that have had four or five fires or explosions,” said Patrick Anderson, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “It’s pretty endemic to the industry, especially combustible wood dust explosions.”

In the last year, wood pellet facilities in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Arkansas and Portugal have had fires.