The ConAgra explosion that rocked the heart of Garner nearly six months ago has claimed another life.

A spokesman for the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill made the announcement that 55-year-old Curtis Ray Poppe of Stony Point died November 19. Poppe, who was a contractor working at the ConAgra plant, had been a patient at the Burn Center since the explosion occurred on June 9.

"On behalf of the town, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we wish them the very best," said Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams.

Poppe, along with about 300 ConAgra employees were inside the Slim Jim plant when an explosion tore through the packaging area causing the roof to collapse followed by several small fires and an ammonia leak.

Dozens of employees were sent to various hospitals and three employees - Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of Dunn; Rachel Mae Poston Pulley, 67, of Clayton; and Louis Junior Watson, 33, of Clayton, were killed.

Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CBS) said "the explosion occurred during the installation of a new natural gas-fired industrial water heater located in an interior utility room of the plant. An employee of Energy Systems Analysts, a firm under contract to ConAgra, was purging a new three-inch gas line in preparation for commissioning the heater. Purged gases were vented directly into the utility room. Although a number of individuals noticed the smell of gas, purging was continued intermittently over several hours, eventually leading to the accumulation of natural gas above the lower explosive limit (LEL). Combustible gas detectors were not used during the purging operation to monitor the concentration of gas within the utility room."

The CBS stated that about 18,000 pounds of ammonia were released from the plant's refrigeration system as a result of the explosion and subsequent emergency response activities.

Poppe was employed by Energy Systems Analysts, Inc., a company located in Hickory and owned by his brother, Dean Poppe. Both Poppe and Energy Systems Analysts were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by two workers that were injured in the explosion. According to the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors Web site, neither Energy Systems Analysts nor Poppe were licensed in North Carolina to install, connect or manipulate pipes which deliver natural gas.

Clean up

Before the disaster, the Garner plant was the only production site in the world which produced Slim Jims. Since that time, ConAgra has reallocated its Slim Jim production to their plant in Ohio as well as using additional contractors.

Due to the investigation and work of various regulatory agencies, the debris from the aftermath of the explosion has not yet been cleaned up.

Mayor Williams said the plant would shut down on Dec. 23 for three weeks in order to start demolition.

"This is not to say they are going to rebuild, but they are going to start clearing the debris," he stated.

More dismal times

Meanwhile, ConAgra employees were told in September that the company would be cutting the workforce by at least 300 this month as a result of the explosion. A couple of weeks ago, those employees were handed pink slips.

Williams, who expressed sadness over the layoffs stated, "Entering the holiday season, I thought the timing was bad with the layoffs but I respect their business decision."

He also said members of the Garner Town Council recently met with ConAgra officials to discuss economic development and putting people back to work.

ConAgra has not asked for any aid from the town.

"If they ask, we would consider some type of help," said Williams.

In the meantime, Williams said he hoped ConAgra employees would be put back to work.

"I've talked to one employee who said he was called back to work until the end of the year, but that's just for one month," he said.

Last week Gov. Bev Perdue signed Executive Order 31 which will hasten unemployment benefits for those who were laid off. The order simply means that the affected employees will not have the standard one-week waiting period before they can begin collecting unemployment benefits.

State law permits the governor to waive the “waiting week” for the victims of a major industrial disaster.

“Already in the midst of tough economic times, the ConAgra disaster was a major blow to hundreds of North Carolina families,” said Perdue in a press release. “Speeding up unemployment benefits will help these families get back on their feet faster.”