BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota's chief boiler inspector says
a recent death in the western oil patch might have been prevented.
     Thirty-eight-year-old Richard Ries of Salem, S.D., died Jan. 27
in a boiler explosion near Keene. Chief boiler inspector Robert
Reetz with the state Insurance Department says  that it will be impossible to determine
exactly what happened, but investigators have determined some
contributing factors such as boiler valves with excessive wear.
     A rig manager declined comment. The Occupational Safety and
Health Administration is looking into Ries' death.
     His widow, Cathy, says she thinks the oil patch is too
dangerous. She says her husband had planned to work there for just
two years to make some extra money. She says family is helping her
and the couple's two junior high-age children.
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