Four hurt in University of Idaho blast are improving

MOSCOW – Three University of Idaho students who were injured in a rocket fuel explosion Thursday night were upgraded to good condition Friday. A fourth student was released from Gritman Medical Center.

The university declined to identify the students Friday. Jodi Walker, director of communications for UI, said it’s likely the university will not release the students’ names, at the request of their families.

Moscow Police Chief James Fry said all four students are males. He and Capt. Roger Lanier said police are deferring to the university to provide any additional information.

The explosion was reported about 9:50 p.m. Thursday in a parking lot near the university’s steam plants along Sixth Street. A group of individuals had gathered to test rocket fuel designed for model rockets, part of an experiment run by the Northwest Organization of Rocket Engineers, a UI student club. A faculty adviser reportedly was in attendance, said Dan Ewart, vice president of infrastructure for the university.

“The group is sanctioned,” Ewart said. “The event, we’re investigating.”

The experiment involved a galvanized metal pipe about 8-12 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, Ewart said at a press conference Friday morning. The pipe contained an unknown type of fuel and had been placed on top of a wooden pallet. The fuel was then ignited in an unknown manner, resulting in an explosion that destroyed the wooden pallet.

Fry said the students’ injuries included burns and wounds from shrapnel.

One student was taken to the hospital in critical condition Thursday night, Ewart said at a news conference late Thursday. The other three had been listed in stable condition. No other information about their conditions was provided.

As of Friday morning, all four students had undergone surgery and were recovering at Gritman, Ewart said. At least one of the students injured was wearing protective gear that covered his face, Ewart said Friday. Three of the four people injured are engineering students.

The Moscow Police Department and Moscow Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene in minutes, Ewart said.

There were no reports of damage to nearby buildings or property related to the explosion, Ewart said.

Fry said no criminal investigation of the incident is underway. A chapter of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting police in their probe of the incident.

Moscow Police Capt. Tyson Barrett said at Thursday night’s news conference that federal involvement is standard procedure in incidents of explosions, as they have the “technical expertise” to investigate the matter.

UI officials also “will be conducting a thorough review of this incident,” Ewart said. The university issued alerts to students via email and text messages. Ewart said the campus was safe as of Thursday night. Classes continued Friday as planned.

It is not known how long each agency’s investigation will take. Lanier estimated additional information could become available as soon as early next week.

“Even though we don’t think this is anything more than an accident, you still have to go through the motions of finding out exactly what did happen,” he said.

Other details – including whether the university approved the experiment and why it was held on a Thursday night on campus – were not available Friday.