Flash Fire Sends Three Workers to the Hospital...(UPDATED)

Last week in the Midwest United States a flash fire occurred early in the morning at an secondary and primary aluminum scrap recycling plant . The facility's processing capabilities include mechanical shredding and screening, sorting, baling, and shearing.

Three workers were burned. One worker's injuries were so severe that the individual had to be flown by helicopter to a burn unit. The worker is in critical condition. The other two workers were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. They have since been released.

The local fire department was called at 5 AM about the flash fire.

"It was a machine they were working with and it was pretty instantaneous, Fire Chief said. "We're working on putting it all together now."

He said the flash fire was out before responders arrived. There was no damage to the building, just minor damage to the machine that caused it.

"It's a real quick flash and it's done with," he continued.

A nearby employee who witnessed the fire — described it as similar to a lightning strike in that the fire quickly “flashes” then immediately extinguishes itself

“It appears the worker was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” the Fire chief said.

The news video state that the worker was operating a grinding machine that malfunctioned. Could the flash fire be an electrical arc flash? 

Please comment.


UPDATE: Injured worker has been upgraded to fair condition.