Duty Death: Eric Hosette - [Clinton]
End of Service: 05/01/2019
By John Rohlf
Clinton Herald
CLINTON, Iowa — Clinton Fire Chief Mike Brown confirmed the death of Eric Hosette in an explosion at Clinton’s Archer Daniels Midland plant Saturday. A second firefighter was in critical but stable condition in Iowa City Saturday night.
Brown said a fire call came in at approximately 5:45 a.m. Saturday. What firefighters thought was a stabilizing incident turned into an explosion.
Brown said the call was unusual in that two separate shifts responded to the ADM fire.
“First shift got there and somewhat stabilized the incident,” Brown said. “And they traded off shifts at seven in the morning like we do every day. And about 8:45, what we thought was a stabilizing incident, there was an explosion.”
Hosette, a lieutenant who had been on the Clinton Fire Department for 12 years, was taken to Mercy Medical Center where personnel did everything possible to revive him, Brown said. Hosette did not survive.
Clinton firefighter Adam Cain, 23, was found after the explosion, Brown said. Cain, who has served on the Clinton Fire Department for almost two years, was flown to Iowa City where he was critical but stable as of Saturday evening, Brown said.
Brown was hopeful he would have good news Sunday morning on Cain’s condition.
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“It’s going to be a long process,” Brown said. “The investigation’s going to take a long time. The healing’s going to take a long time. And we’ll just continue to let you know information as we get it.”
Brown said crews were on scene late into the afternoon Saturday, and an investigation would begin at daylight Sunday.
Clinton City Administrator Matt Brooke said ADM worked closely with the city. Brooke said the incident will be investigated.
Saturday morning’s incident took place at the third silo at ADM, Brooke said. As of Saturday night no firefighters were on shift. Camanche, Davenport and Fulton, Illinois are assisting.
ADM employees discovered smoldering material in one of the silo storage bins at the loading facility in Clinton at about 5:45 a.m. Saturday. Jackie Anderson of ADM’s media relations department said ADM immediately contacted the Clinton Fire Department for assistance.
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While firefighters were on the scene, a couple of hours after the initial call, an explosion occurred in the silo, killing one firefighter.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these brave firefighters,” Anderson said. “They put their lives in danger every day, and it’s hard to express how much we appreciate their selfless help in a time of need. We greatly appreciate the quick response, bravery and dedication of all of the emergency responders today. We are deeply saddened at the turn of events. We are investigating the cause and assessing the damage to our facility.”
Copyright 2019 Clinton Herald
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