Jared Ammons was known as “a loving husband, devoted father, cherished son, and caring brother,” according to an online fundraiser.
LONGVIEW, Wash. — A father set to attend the ultrasound for his third child never arrived on Tuesday after he was killed in the implosion of a tank at Nippon Dynawave in Longview.
Jared Ammons, who has been identified as one of the victims, was known as “a loving husband, devoted father, cherished son, and caring brother,” according to an online fundraiser.
He is survived by his wife and two children; the family also has a third child on the way.
Jared went to work early the day of the implosion so he could accompany his wife Mackenzie to a prenatal appointment, an attorney for the family said. When Jared didn’t arrive, Mackenzie went to the appointment with her sister and saw their unborn child for the first time on an ultrasound.
“He went into work early that day so that he could get off early and go for the first ultrasound and see his baby. He didn’t come home,” said attorney Simeon Osborn.
Ammons worked at the mill where an approximately 600,000 gallon chemical tank storing white liquor — a mix of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate that is used in the papermaking process — imploded around 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, but officials are still working to determine why.
Osborn said Jared had told his wife about “dangerous conditions” at the mill, and more families are coming forward with concerns.
The KING 5 Investigators found the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries cited Nippon Dynawave four times between 2019 and 2025 for safety violations. They also have an active investigation into a complaint about a salve on an ammonia tank not involved in the implosion.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said its team would be investigating to “determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from happening again.”
Nippon Paper Group in a statement said Wednesday that it was offering its “deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.”
A spokesperson said in a news briefing on Wednesday that they would fully cooperate with the investigation.
On Thursday, officials announced that eight workers are confirmed dead and three employees are still missing. Ammons is among the victims, whose loss has rocked the small community.
“His loss has left an unimaginable hole in the hearts of everyone who knew him,” the organizer wrote.
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