Welding mishap deadly

August 6, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WASILLA - A Wasilla man was killed Thursday afternoon in an explosion at Anderson Boats Alumaweld.

Mike Anderson, 48, owner of the business, was welding in his shop about 4 p.m. He was working on a 110-gallon fuel tank that sat below the deck of a 29-foot boat, according to Jack Krill Jr., chief of Central Mat-Su Fire Department.

The tank was 4 by 7 feet and tapered from 4 to 8 inches deep. The tank apparently held an ignitable mixture and ballooned into a round object from the force of rapid expansion, Krill said.

The tank didn't fragment because there was not enough force, and the tank had vent holes, Krill said, but the rapid expansion apparently caused the trauma that killed Anderson.

Anderson's death was difficult for the response crews, as many of them knew him as a good guy and a good friend, Krill said.

&#8220I got there in less than two minutes and the ambulance crew was right behind me,” Krill said. &#8220He was still in the boat when we got there, and we loaded him into the ambulance and were off the hospital within 12 minutes.”

Krill said he tested a 50-gallon tank on the boat under the assumption that it held somewhat the same mixture at the 110-gallon tank, and found it held a mixture of gas that was not safe for welding.

Jentry Crain, one of the Wasilla police officers who responded to the scene, said Anderson built the trunks on all the departments motorcycles. Anderson was with another man, whom Crain declined to name, saying the explosion hit him pretty hard - physically and emotionally.

&#8220They had taken safety precautions, but it wasn't enough,” Crain said. &#8220But the tank didn't fragment. If it did, there would have been more serious injuries.”

John Schiemann, a friend of Anderson's for 15 years, described Anderson as a &#8220bottom-line guy,” who looked for the end result. Anderson was from Oregon, and moved to Petersburg, where he worked in a cannery and learned to weld.

&#8220He was a very fine welder,” Schiemann said. &#8220He could put a bead done a boat that was straight and clean and pure.”

Anderson loved his son, Mitch, more than anything in the world, Schiemann said, and Anderson spent a lot of time reading to his son, determined that he would grow up to read and write well.

Anderson also was a man who loved the Little Su River, the Beach Boys and dancing. He could be kind of abrasive, but he had a lot of friends and was sentimental about them, Schiemann said.

&#8220We'll miss you, pal,” he said. &#8220That's what Mike called everyone - pal.”

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.