ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

PEPCON disaster

The pepcon disaster was a really big explosion that happened in a place called Henderson, which is in Nevada. There was a company there called Pepcon that made some chemicals that are used in rockets, like the ones that NASA sends to space.

One day in May 1988, there was a fire that started in the Pepcon factory. The fire was so big that it caused a lot of smoke and flames that could be seen from far away. The people who worked there tried to put out the fire, but it was too big, and eventually, it caused a really big explosion.

The explosion was so loud and powerful that it was felt in many nearby towns. It shattered windows and cracked walls, and made a huge cloud of dust and smoke. Some people were hurt, and some buildings were damaged, but thankfully not many people were killed.

People were really scared and confused, and they didn't know what was happening. It took a while for the firefighters and other emergency workers to get there and start helping people. They had to be very careful because there were still chemicals burning and exploding, and they didn't want anyone to get hurt.

After the explosion, they had to clean up all the wreckage and chemicals that had spilled out. It took a long time and a lot of effort, but eventually, they were able to make the area safe again.

In the end, the Pepcon disaster was a really scary and dangerous event that reminded everyone how important it is to be careful when working with these kinds of chemicals.