A representative from Platte County Sheriff’s Department has said that the fire was reported at approximately 6:30 pm on 29 November, located reasonably close to Kansas City International Airport. The dispatcher had no additional details.
The owner/operator of the pipeline was not immediately available but it has since been reported that it belonged to Mid-America Pipeline Co.
The Kansas City Fire Department has said that the pipeline carries ethane and propane.
A spokesman for Kansas City International, Joe McBride, has confirmed that the blaze did not affect flights at the airport and it was not near the airport’s property.
Fox 4 News has reported: “The explosion was not expected, but planned for according to a spokesperson for the pipeline company. Its system is designed so that a backup of gas will not build up on either side of the dead pipe to avoid a worse disaster.”
“A spokesperson for Mid-America Pipeline Co. says it has a right-of-way agreement with landowners and specifically routes the equipment away from population centres to mitigate damage in case of an explosion like this.
