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From a close call to a lasting memory
Man revisits Neepawa
50 years after helping avert ammonia disaster
By Eoin Devereux
An Alberta man’s drive through Neepawa recently turned into a journey through both his and our local history.
Brian Wood of Red Deer, stopped by the Banner & Press office on Monday, Apr. 27, hoping to uncover a few details from an incident that occurred back in 1976, which has stayed with him ever since.
On Sunday, May 23, 1976, a potentially dangerous situation unfolded when a railroad tanker carrying anhydrous ammonia ruptured a hose. The accident released the hazardous gas into the air. At the time, Wood and his co-worker Ken Church were employed at the local Co-op and found themselves unexpectedly at the centre of the emergency.
Wood recalled that he had just finished a long stretch of work when the incident occurred.
“I’d just actually been working, finished. I’d been up for 24 hours plus doing deliveries all across the local areas,” he said. “Suddenly the line popped off with quite a loud noise and we got our butts out of there as quick as we could.”
From there, Wood would become one of the key individuals on the scene in preventing what could have been a major industrial disaster. Wood said they immediately worked to alert authorities.
“We wanted to let the fire department know right away. So I sent one guy down to the fire hall and I pulled up on the far side,” he explained.
“I figured there was going to have to be an evacuation maybe. But the wind was just perfect, it just blew it straight down the tracks.”
Despite the danger, the situation required someone to act quickly to stop the leak at its source. Wearing protective rubber suits and oxygen masks, Wood and Church climbed onto the tanker and managed to shut the valve, preventing further release of the gas.
Wood admits the decision to step forward was not deeply calculated.
“Everybody was standing around and I said, ‘You know, hey, just put the stuff on me. I’ll go up.’ I did stupid things,” he said with a laugh. “I had spent five years in the military before. I said, ‘Hey, I don’t mind.’”
Their actions were later recognized in the May 27, 1976 edition of the Neepawa Press, which featured an article of the incident on its front page under the headline “Ammonia gas causes worry.” The photograph accompanying the story prominently included Wood.
While much has changed in Neepawa since 1976, Wood’s visit served as a reminder of a moment in our community’s history.
“I just wanted to come back and see it again. It’s something you don’t really forget.” Wood said. “It’s part of my story and part of Neepawa’s too.”
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