‘It could fall over’: Grady County officials raise safety concerns following oil rig fire

UPDATE 7/9/2024

News 4 received the following statement Tuesday evening from a Red Rocks Oil and Gas Operating spokesperson:

Yesterday at around 2 p.m., the Newby 2 Well near Bradley, Oklahoma, suddenly and unexpectedly ignited. Four men who are employed by two Red Rocks Oil and Gas Operating contractors were taken to a local hospital. Two of them remain hospitalized. While we continue to investigate, our prayers are steadfast with and for all affected by this tragic incident, especially the injured men and their families.

Red Rocks Oil & Gas Operating

ORIGINAL STORY

GRADY COUNTY, Okla. ( KFOR ) – Officials in Grady County say a fire at an oil rig that injured four people on Monday could lead to more damage in its aftermath.

Crews responded Monday afternoon to a site near Bradley after reports of an explosion. Grady County Fire Chief Rodney Gregory said the call led to a pretty large response from neighboring fire and EMS units.

“They were working on the wellhead with the workover rig duties,” said Gregory.

Gregory said that the kind of incident crews responded to was rare for his time in the county.

“In almost 30 years, this is probably the sixth or seventh one I’ve seen in this county,” said Gregory.

Gregory said Red Rocks Oil and Gas is the owner of the property, but requests for comment from News 4 were not immediately returned on Monday.

Gregory said the four injured people were all employees.

“We just hope that everybody’s okay,” said Gregory.

Gregory said Monday that he did not know how severe the victims injuries were but that they were well taken care of by medical crews.

News 4 confirmed with Grady County Emergency Management officials that three of the victims were seriously burned and a fourth refused medical help.

While News 4 crews were on the scene, a second fire started Monday, and Gregory said it was not intentionally set.

“The second fire was accidental due to heat from the equipment that was still there,” said Gregory.

Gregory said crews backed out of the area due to the risk of the rig’s oil derrick falling over, potentially putting more lives at risk.

“It could fall over,” said Gregory. “The pipe could fall over. There is good reason to keep everybody away from it.”

Gregory said he expects the rig to be monitored for days in case of other potential flare ups, but anticipates weekend rain did crews a big favor.

“All the rain helped a lot and [the fire] didn’t seem to be spreading and it shouldn’t go anywhere,” said Gregory. “Or at least, that’s our hope.”

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