On the One Year Anniversary Emergency Responders Reflect on the Husky Explosion

"That initial call we immediately knew it was something serious."

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The husky explosion will go down in Northland history, especially for the many emergency responders who are now grateful for how things turned out.

“That initial call we immediately knew it was something serious,” said Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger.

Multiple police, fire and disaster response crews from both Minnesota and Wisconsin sprang into action moments after Husky explosion.

Our role there was to secure the perimeter and make sure fire and medical could get through.”

No emergency responder expects to be faced with such a chaotic event.

“The secondary fire and product touched off and that started off the rest of our day,” said Chief Panger.

But with consistent training and building relationships with large refineries like Husky, the Superior fire Department says they were ready for the challenge.

“We have been working on that for six years, I think this incident was really a test of how we’ve done with that partnership and cooperation with these businesses,” said Chief Panger.

Both Superior Fire Chief Steve Panger and Superior Police Chief Nick Alexander say overall they are pleased with how the incident was handled.

But reflecting back on that day, both can agree there are still some areas for improvement.

“We had so many resources accumulating here at the department where we weren’t prepared yet to give them assignments. That’s another area that we can pre-plan a little better for. Have maps and things readily available so when we send people out who aren’t familiar with our city, then we can get them with the tools they need to do their job,” said Superior Police Chief Nick Alexander.

The emergency responders also say the incident highlighted the importance of sharing information and keeping open communication with all agencies.

“I think again trying to hone how you get in touch with folks and staff to bring them in and make sure the right people are at the table,” said ER physician Elisabeth Bilden.

Chief Panger tells us they also send firefighters to Texas every year for training specializing in events like the Husky explosion.

Going forward the Superior fire department and Essentia say they both will continue working with Husky on preparations in the event of an another emergency.