Ramsina Lee - Workers Inferno: The untold story of the Esso workers 20 years after the Longford explosion

Ramsina Lee, in this book has possibly for the first time not only described the events of the day but also meticulously documented in narrative form, the impact on the lives of some of those that were involved in one of Australias most prominent industrial disasters. The loss and suffering of the Longford workers and their families was profound. Only now, twenty years after the terror and trauma of that day has the subsequent loss and suffering been accurately portrayed.

Jim Ward
Longford Survivor

Ramsina Lee narrates the story of the workers who were on the shift during the tragic explosion at Esso Longford on 25 September 1998 including my late father John Lowery who was killed during the explosion. Her book describes the lives of regular loving families whose world was shattered because of the explosion and the subsequent further trauma of the harrowing experiences of the events that followed. It is a book that I will treasure and pass on to my children in remembrance of my father who died unnecessarily and could now have been enjoying retirement and my family. I hope this book is an impetus for major positive change in the area of work health & safety throughout all workplaces.

Shannon Lyons
Daughter of the late John Lowery

Ramsina Lee has very thoughtfully allowed the families of those affected by the Longford gas plant explosion to have a say. She tastefully weaves created scenes and settings with interviews of those directly involved, and their family members. The catastrophic personal events and tragedies of 25 September 1998, the immediate aftermath and the long lasting effects are felt in the heartfelt interviews. The intense love for lives lost and lives forever changed. The callousness of the big corporation and the blatant disregard for the scapegoat and their family. A champion for workplace safety and the preciousness of life and love.

Elizabeth Coleman Gray

In Workers Inferno Ramsina Lee has narrated the story of the events preceding, during and after the explosion at the Esso gas plant on 25 September 1998. My late father Peter Wilson was one of the two workers who were killed in the catastrophe. Whilst the surviving workers, their families and the families of the deceased workers experienced the poignant reality of the deaths and injuries that resulted because of the tragedy, there has not been an understanding or visibility by the community at large of the events of the day or the impact it had on the families. Ramsina Lee provides that missing piece. This book will form a part of the Wilson family history for my children and the children of my brothers Brett & Luc; lest our fathers story be forgotten.

James Wilson
Son of the late Peter Wilson

This book is a gripping and emotion-laden account of the tragedy that occurred at the Esso gas plant at Longford, Victoria, in September 1998. Ramsina Lee begins by delving into the happy but sometimes complicated family lives of many of the workers involved in the explosion. Then she describes the confusion, bewilderment and heroism of these workers as the breakdown of the gas plant causes the explosions and fires that rip through the workplace and change their lives forever. Finally, the emotional aftermath of the tragedy tears families apart, leaving a permanent human cost to be borne. I read Workers Inferno in one sitting, and felt the fears, emotions and bitterness of the workers and their families as an avoidable workplace tragedy that changed the course of human lives.

The message of the book is clear take workplace health, safety and training seriously so that workers can return home safely to their loved ones at the end of each working day.

Joe de Bruyn
National President,
Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association

Among other things this is the story of Jim Ward, the operator who Esso blamed for the disaster at the Longford Royal Commission. Essos tactic was patently absurd and the public reaction was so intense, that Esso dared not blame Ward at the subsequent jury trial. The companys explanation was a classic case of blaming the worker for what the jury found was actually a case of corporate crime. Workers Inferno is a beautifully written, almost poetic account - passionate, compassionate engrossing and unforgettable.

Andrew Hopkins
Emeritus Professor of Sociology
Australian National University
author of Lessons from Longford: The Esso Gas Plant Explosion

What can I say? Ramsina Lee has provided an account of an event about which I knew so little. Not just describing the horror of the events of 25 September 1998 at Longford, but more importantly bringing life, character and spirit to the men and families whose lives were irrevocably changed on that day. This is not an easy story to sit with, but it is compelling.

Jon Graham
Clinical Director,
Institute of Specialist Dispute Resolution (ISDR)
Investigator of Workplace Psychological Violence

Once in a while, a book comes along that is hard to put down. Workers Inferno is such a book. Ramsina Lee successfully tells the story of everyday workers in Australia, behaving responsibly in their everyday work, then suddenly finding themselves in an unprecedented situation, far beyond what they have been trained for, desperately trying to shut down a gas processing plant out of control. All the while feeling as if they might not survive. We meet them and their families as they cope with this disaster and its aftermath including the death of two workmates. It is sobering. This is a book for many blue collar workers, management and unions; most of all it is a reminder of the necessity to respect human life, in all aspects of life.

I unconditionally recommend this book to read as a milestone in the understanding of these areas.

Kathleen Prendergast

Published in Australia by Significance Publishing
Postal: PO Box 1799, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089
Tel: +61 411 282 350
Email:
Website: www.ramsinalee.com

First published in Australia 2018
Copyright Ramsina Lee 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing in Publication entry

ISBN: 978-0-6483100-0-6 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-6483100-2-0 (hardback)
ISBN: 978-0-6483100-3-7 (epub)

Cover photography by pixabay.com and shutterstock.com
Cover layout and design by
Book typesetting by Sophie White

Printed by Ingram Spark

Disclaimer
All care has been taken in the preparation of the information herein, but no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher or author for any damages resulting from the misinterpretation of this work. All contact details given in this book were current at the time of publication, but are subject to change.