One dead, one injured in MagneGas explosion

TARPON SPRINGS -- An explosion at an industrial facility owned by MagneGas Corp. in Pinellas County has left one worker dead and another seriously injured.

A 6,000-square-foot warehouse at 150 Rainville Road in Tarpon Springs was the site of the accident Thursday, which remains under investigation by local police and fire officials. It has left the young plasma gas technology company shaken.

Killed in the accident was Michael Sheppard, 29, of Safety Harbor. Injured was Eric Newell, of Largo, who was taken by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital where he is listed in stable condition, according to the Tarpon Springs Police Department.

“Our deep sympathy goes out to the immediate family, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all friends,” MagneGas spokesman Shepard Doniger says, in a prepared statement. “We are grateful for the efforts and immediate actions of the emergency responders. We are working closely with responders and local officials to determine the cause and circumstances surrounding the accident.”

The explosion happened just after 2 p.m. at the warehouse that a subsidiary of MagneGas purchased in 2007 for $700,000, according to property records. The facility was built in 1986, and MagneGas had long outgrown the space. Company officials previously announced plans to move to Pinellas Park later this year.

“Our top priority is to the health and safety of these people who, as we said, are considered family,” Doniger says. “We have strived to create a culture of safe, compliant operations. We take this matter very seriously, and are dedicating all the necessary corporate resources to assist in the investigation.”

MagneGas, which trades on the Nasdaq using the symbol MNGA, talked to the Business Observer earlier this month about future growth plans, including one proposition it says could revolutionize energy harnessed from coal burning.

“The gas we get is super-powerful,” Ermanno Santilli told the Business Observer. “When it is oxidized, we're talking about reaching temperatures up to 10,500 degrees, comparable to 6,400 degrees in acetylene. The higher the flame temperature, the better the combustion.”

The company announced earlier in the day Thursday that it plans to expand its gas and welding supplies sales into northern Florida, through an equal joint venture with Suwannee Ironworks. Using a recently acquired subsidiary, Equipment Sales and Services Inc., MagneGas expects to enter markets stretching from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, as well as from Gainesville to southern Georgia.

MagneGas reported a loss of $7.2 million, or 23 cents per share, in 2014 on revenue of $1 million, compared to a $6.3 million, or 29 cents per share, loss the year before on revenue of $989,000.

Updated to include names of the victims in the explosion.