Two workers die from injuries months after Ohio orphan well explosion by Liz Partsch, December 23, 2025, Farm and Dairy
SALEM, Ohio — Two workers have died from injuries sustained at an orphan well explosion in Wayne National Forest in August.
Chris Pinkerton, 48, of Woodsfield, Ohio, died on Dec. 14 at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus from injuries he sustained Aug. 25 at the Farnsworth #4 well in Independence Township, in Washington County, Ohio. He was part of a crew from Monroe Drilling working to plug the well when it exploded.
Chris Starkey, 42, of Zanesville, Ohio, died Oct. 3 from his injuries. He worked for Formation Cementing.
According to an investigation report released by ODNR in November, the explosion was caused by a “kick” — a rapid influx of natural gas and crude oil into the well — that caused a blowout of natural gas and oil on the surface, igniting and engulfing the entire well site in flames.
ODNR suspects the oil and gas ignited when it hit a diesel engine from a water truck on-site. The agency is working on final recommendations from the incident, which in total injured six workers.
One of the injured workers was an Ohio Department of Natural Resources employee who was released from the hospital the day of the explosion, said Mike Chadsey, director of external affairs at the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.
The other three workers are still recovering from their injuries and are receiving treatment at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center, Chadsey said.
Less than a week after the explosion, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association worked with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio to set up the CARE Fund, Compassionate Assistance for Rig Employees. The oil and gas company raised almost $100,000, which will be divided among the workers and their families to pay for medical and other expenses. The fund is open indefinitely for people to donate.
According to Chadsey, the oil and gas organization also paid for fuel, meals and hotel expenses shortly after the incident so family members could be close to their loved ones who are recovering.
Chadsey said the oil and gas association’s safety training will adapt its next program to learn from the incident.
“We always talk about (recent events), whether it’s an incident of this magnitude, or what we often refer to as a near miss, and what are the steps we could have done differently? What could we learn from that process? What could be implemented? What do we do about our safety culture?” Chadsey said.
The ODNR investigation concluded that the cause of the explosion was the “contractor’s improper implementation of primary and secondary well control barriers that resulted in a loss of well control.”
Other factors that compromised the safety of on-site workers included failure to have a gas monitor, windsock or airmovers on site, crowding of equipment and having multiple potential ignition sources together. Additionally, the ODNR said on-site employees were not wearing protective equipment, including flame-resistant clothes.
Ohio has been ramping up its efforts to plug orphan wells in recent years, thanks to an influx of state and federal funding. The state is home to more than 20,000 orphan wells, which are abandoned oil and gas wells without a registered owner responsible for plugging them once their productive life is over.
As the industry looks to improve safety measures, family and friends remember the workers who died.
According to his obituary, Pinkerton was born in Marietta, Ohio, and enjoyed camping and hiking. He is survived by his parents, wife and five children.
Starkey worked as a field supervisor for Formation Cementing for over 22 years. He was a devoted member of the North Terrace Church of Christ and an animal lover. Above all, he was a “wonderful husband and father,” and a “very proud ‘girl dad,’” according to his obituary.
MORE: Six injured in orphan well explosion in Washington County
Aug 28, 2025 – According to Reno Fire Chief Jon Bradford, the orphan well was 2 1/2 to 3 miles back in the woods. Crews had to transport water to the fire using side-by-sides and four-wheeler brush trucks with fire pumps via a trail.
Bradford said with the help of six other fire departments — including departments from New Matamoras, Newport, Sardis and Marietta — crews were able to put out the fire within an hour.
The six injured employees were transported to a nearby hospital. Four of them were then airlifted via helicopter to other hospitals, Bradford said.
Farm and Dairy reached out to Monroe Drilling, but it declined a request to comment on the matter. Bradford says he’s aware there are a lot of orphan wells in the area, but that this was the fire department’s first time dealing with an explosion of this kind.
Ohio has been ramping up its efforts to plug orphan wells in recent years, thanks to an influx of state and federal funding. This includes $25 million in August 2022 and $57.7 million in July 2023, both through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The state’s orphan well program was established in 1977. So far, 19,000 wells have been identified and 2,300 have been plugged; the state estimates 36,000 orphan wells exist in Ohio.