Fire Could Be Seen For Miles Away....

A blaze in the crusher plant at Tennessee Aluminum Processors took firefighters about an hour to extinguish on May 24, 2012, officials said. There were no injuries.

The fire started about 9:40 a.m., Mt .Pleasant Fire Chief said. As firefighters arrived at the scene, a thick plume of black smoke could be seen from several miles away.

“Apparently people could see it (smoke) all the way from the 43 bypass, so we were getting calls from spectators and the company at the same time,” E911 Director said. Mt. Pleasant Fire Department responded and called for mutual aid from the Maury County Fire Department, he said. The Maury County Office of Emergency Management also responded.

Fire Chief said the crusher plant building is about 100 feet by 200 feet in size and is about 75 yards from the nearest structure.

The fire ignited in a cardboard-only dumpster that had been placed just a few feet from the crusher plant, Fire Chief said. He speculated that some other material that could have sparked the fire was mistakenly placed in the dumpster.

The building sustained damage to part of its roof and to three of four exterior walls. There was nothing flammable inside the building so no interior damage occurred, the chief said.

TAP immediately evacuated employees from the crusher plant when the blaze began, he said. The fire was extinguished inside the building about 10:45 a.m. The dumpster that contained cardboard was still smoldering and was removed from the facility, he said. TAP restarted operations in the area affected by the fire shortly after it was extinguished, according to radio traffic.

It is imperative that your facility(s) have an emergency action plan. The APSB has visited several aluminium plants that fires occurred during the visit and evacuation was required. Remember it is not if your facility will have an emergency, but when!

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTools is a great resource. It can be viewed here:

Where at your facility is the evacuation map posted? Please comment.