Oklahoma meth lab explosion claims the life of 53 year old man
November 6, 2008
Terrence Scott Wood, 53, is the latest meth lab cook to lose his life in Oklahoma, as the result of a meth lab explosion on the 1200 block of South Darlington Avenue in Tulsa. The October 19th fire orginated in the garage behind the residence, where the meth lab chemicals were being stored. However, firefighters found a working meth lab in another part of the residence, which had an exterior wall pushed out nearly eight inches from the force of the chemical explosion. As a precaution, a neighboring family was evacuated after the explosion to insure they would not be harmed by the toxic fumes or any additional explosions that might occur.
When firefighters rescued 53 year-old Terrence Wood from his Tulsa home last month, rescuers found him lying on a couch with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to over 65% of his body. Wood’s death is the second death in Oklahoma this year, that is attributed to a meth lab explosion and fire. Several people were seen fleeing from the scene, according to news reports about the incident.
Meth lab deaths are nothing new to Oklahoma. In a 2004 Oklahoma report published by the Injury Prevention Service of the Oklahoma State Department of Health says that almost 3,000 Oklahomans were sent to burn centers as a result of a meth lab explosion in between 1988 and 2002. That approximately 2 people who were seriously burned because of a meth lab explosion and fire, every day for 4 years. Four hundred and thirty four of those people died as a result of the burns they suffered and/or the toxic smoke they inhaled from the meth lab fire.
Some of those meth lab explosion victims included:
A 41-year old man died when he and two others were cooking meth in a recreational vehicle and some
chemicals exploded. He was hospitalized for 14 days with burns over 66% of his body.
A 26-year old man was hospitalized for 14 days with burns on 30% of his body after the chemicals he
was using to make methamphetamines were placed in a tub to mix and the tub overflowed coming in
contact with a space heater.
A 39-year old woman died after sustaining burns on over half her body from a meth lab explosion. She
was cooking meth on a portable stove when the container that held the fuel cracked and the fuel ignited.
A 35-year old man was dropped off at an emergency room after he was burned in a meth lab explosion.
He was hospitalized for 21 days with burns on 60% of his body.
A 47-year old woman sustained chemical burns to her feet after being exposed to red phosphorus or
sulfuric acid in a meth lab.
A 22-year old female was hospitalized for 117 days after she was burned on 69% of her body during a
meth lab explosion in an apartment.
The report also says that 40% of the explosions happened between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m., which makes perfect sense for meth users, who can’t sleep due to the effects of meth. Meth users often stay awake for days without sleep. Making meth in the middle of the night, also helps them to avoid the possibility that neighbors will smell the toxic chemicals that the manufacturing of meth produces.
Seventy percent of the time, the burn injuries were caused when the victim’s clothing ignited.
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