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From: Nigel Brooks
Date: 3/3/2005
Time: 2:46:54 PM
Remote Name: 4.166.81.87
You're right about the cause of the explosion. I was assigned to do the investigation for the PX (I was an investigator with VRE). The actual reason for the explosion was as follows: The water heater had been malfunctioning and the contractor Pacific Architects and Engineers told the snack bar manager (a sergeant if I recall) that the thermostat was not working correctly and the relief valve was broken and needed replacing. PA&E had no immediate replacement so the manager instructed them to remove disable the thermostat. The explosion resulted because there was no thermostat to shut down the boiler and no way to relieve the pressure from the heater.
I got there the next day from Saigon and the PA&E people immediately lawyered up (they were Vietnamese but PA&E provided their corporate counsel).
It was a tragic accident that could have been averted.