Overview

• Just before noon on July 29, a massive explosion ripped through the Horizon Biofuels facility in Fremont, Nebraska, causing structural collapse and intense fires.
• Officials confirmed on July 30 that two children under 12 and a 32-year-old plant employee died and their bodies were recovered by recovery teams.
• Fire crews and Nebraska Task Force One battled smoldering fires through the night and rain, using structural assessments to guide safe recovery efforts.
• The Nebraska State Patrol maintains a three-mile security perimeter while the State Fire Marshal’s Office investigates a likely wood-dust explosion in the plant’s elevator tower.
• Horizon Biofuels, a major regional producer of fuel pellets and animal bedding, is under heightened scrutiny over combustible dust risks following a 2014 plant fire.