The story begins with a furnace exploding, throwing metal everywhere. The explosion sets on fire the natural gas line servicing the furnace. Then the propane forklift that was parked in front of the furnace caught fire. Yes, a propane forklift.
But, this story has a great outcome, no deaths, no injuries. But, after you read the reports and watch the news report you'll be amazed that no one got hurt. APSB was amazed and very thankful that no one was injured.
Here is the first initial report:
NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WZZM) -- Emergency crews are on the scene of a boiler explosion at Cannon Muskegon Corporation in Norton Shores. The facility is located in the 2800 block of Lincoln Street near Norman.
Investigators says residents in the area report three large explosions and say they one could be felt from inside their homes.
We are told there were employees inside the building when the explosion happened but it's not known if anyone is hurt.
We will continue to follow the story and bring you updates as they become available.
The first report was that a boiler had exploded....
Here is the 2nd report:
Emergency crews say everyone is accounted for following an explosion at a Norton Shores foundry.
It happened around 5 p.m. Monday at the Cannon Muskegon Group, a facility that makes metal alloys for the aerospace industry and other customers.
Firefighters say there was an explosion in a furnace fed by a natural gas line. Ten workers were around the furnace when it exploded, but no one was injured and all of them made it out of the building safely. Twenty-five other people in other parts of the building were also evacuated from the plant.
Crews say the fire spread to the natural gas line feeding the furnace, but firefighters were able to shut off the line.
Workers say some molten metal spilled from the furnace. Firefighters are being careful not to spray the metal with water, as they say that could re-ignite a fire.
Here is another report:
Emergency crews are on the scene of a boiler explosion at Cannon Muskegon Corporation in Norton Shores. The facility is located in the 2800 block of Lincoln Street near Norman.
Investigators says residents in the area report three large explosions and say they one could be felt from inside their homes.
We are told there were employees inside the building when the explosion happened but it's not known if anyone is hurt.
We will continue to follow the story and bring you updates as they become available.
Here is last report:
No injuries are being reported after a foundry furnace exploded at Cannon-Muskegon Corp. this evening.
About 35 employees were inside the plant at 2875
Lincoln in Norton Shores, 10 of whom were near the furnace, when the explosion
occurred just after 5 p.m.
The furnace is located in the north end of the plant. An adjacent furnace was not involved.
The explosion sprayed molten metal all over the plant's interior, causing a fire to rage inside. Norton Shores Fire Chief David Purchase said firefighters could not enter the plant to attack the fire due to the molten metal and extreme amount of smoke.
The furnace is located in the north end of the plant. An adjacent furnace was not involved.
The explosion sprayed molten metal all over the plant's interior, causing a fire to rage inside. Norton Shores Fire Chief David Purchase said firefighters could not enter the plant to attack the fire due to the molten metal and extreme amount of smoke.
Firefighters finally made entry
to attack the fire around 6:10 p.m. They found flames burning around one of the
pouring pots, which burned through a natural gas line.
A forklift near the furnace also was on fire, but firefighters were able to cool its propane tank before it exploded.
By 6:30 p.m., fire crews were determining whether the fire extended to the roof area. All of the employees were accounted for at about 5:30 p.m.
Fire crews from Muskegon and Muskegon Heights are assisting the Norton Shores Fire Department at the scene. A canteen unit also has been requested at the scene.
Police are blocking roads in the area and attempting to keep people away from the smoke.
The final report talks about the forklift that was on fire.
A forklift near the furnace also was on fire, but firefighters were able to cool its propane tank before it exploded.
By 6:30 p.m., fire crews were determining whether the fire extended to the roof area. All of the employees were accounted for at about 5:30 p.m.
Fire crews from Muskegon and Muskegon Heights are assisting the Norton Shores Fire Department at the scene. A canteen unit also has been requested at the scene.
Police are blocking roads in the area and attempting to keep people away from the smoke.
The final report talks about the forklift that was on fire.
6 comments:
I noticed the snow in the area and feel that this might be a cause. I want to share my story as we experienced a similar accident about two decades ago! It is terrible! Luckily no one got hurt, exept for a newly operated eardrum. The furnace was loaded with ingot that was covered with snow/ice, (new operator misunderstand msg from foreman and loaded ingot stored outside in the snow in the charging container!) All the windows blew out and one wall was totally damaged. The sump was approx 5-7 metric tons @ 800 deg C, maybe 10" at its deepest. After the explosion there was total darkness and the dust made it impossible to see anything for a long time. The furnace was a top loaded round furnace charged with a overhead crane and container, and I think the open furnace lid reduced the force of the explosion. For a while we where sure that the crane operator was dead, but luckily the cabin took the pressure and molten metal. After this insident a strict and rigid policy for storeing scrap and ingot was established. Indoor for minimum 48 hours and recheck before release along with comprehensive training of all operators. A charging procedure was written down to charge in a way that frezze the sump with internal scrap and triming before charging 'unknown' scrap.
It was snowing, but that was not the cause. I believe the fire chief mentioned that one theory was that the furnace lining failed causing the molten metal to get to the copper tubing. The fire raged for well over an hour before it was safe enough for the fire department to enter. First thing they observe is a forklift on fire with a propane tank ready to blow. As well as the gas main on fire. All reports are that the fire department went above and beyond the call of duty on this and every call they respond to.
It appears that this facility is not an aluminum foundry. They produce nickel base superalloys, cobalt base alloys and stainless steels. Some of the basics still apply to good practices which include that the charging material be dry. I really couldn't tell from the reports what the exact cause might be, so until there is more information we really won't know. I do agree we need to use these types of events and coach our employees to follow the standard practices for a safe operation.
Thank you for your comments, there was one news video that mentions some possible root cause(s). But it mentions the name of a worker who was killed in an incident at that plant a few years ago. That previous incident involved a molten metal explosion.
APSB tries not to put blame on the injured worker nor the company. If there is an injury APSB will omit any references to the company or worker(s).
I hope the industry finds some of the posts to be useful lunch box topics.
A future post will be about evacuation procedures and drills.
Congratulations for the initiative to inform us about safety into aluminum plants which shall be observed due to the high risks in reactions of aluminum with water or even with natural gas from aluminum melting furnaces.
A follow-up article where they interviewed the Fire Chief noted that the explosion started when molten metal breached the lining, contacting a copper coil. Since these are Ni & Co alloys it is very likely these were induction furnaces. No further details given, but one can surmise that with the high temps involved, the coolant vaporized in the coil or the coil fractured allowing the coolant to contact the metal. The steam explosion spread molten metal and the secondary fires did the rest.
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