"50 treated after explosion...." 2 workers still in hospital

Incidents can occur without warning. How you respond immediately after the incident can result in several outcomes including,  but not limited to: being safe, receiving an injury, being killed. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog posts incidents not to place blame on the aluminum company nor the injured worker(s), but for the hope that awareness of these accidents brings education and prevention from recurring.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a recent story that reinforces the need for effective emergency evacuation plans. This post includes four (4) different media articles of this incident. Hopefully the reader can gain further knowledge by reading the four different articles.

Here is the first article:

Two employees suffered significant burns one morning during the week of January 12, 2014 after an explosion at an aluminum plant located in the Southeast United States.

The explosion and fire were reported at the multi-building facility near the heart of downtown at 9:40 a.m. local firefighters with assistance from two nearby fire departments were able to quickly contain the fire, according to the local Fire Chief.

People in the County Courthouse Annex, about half a mile away, say they felt the building shake.

“The explosion occurred around a piece of machinery in what they consider Plant 1,” the local Fire Chief said. “That area of the plant takes blank material and gets any imperfections off of it and then collects the debris from that. There was an explosion at a machine. We did have two workers that work directly with that machine; they were significantly injured.”

The two men were flown 35 miles to the closest hospital with a burn center and dozens of others were treated at the scene.

“Just from the excitement -- the smoke and the volume of people that work in the plant -- we have triaged and treated on scene about 50 personnel,” the local Fire Chief said. “None other than the two that were flown out have been sent for further treatment at this time. So (it was) mainly precautionary, smoke inhalation-type things.”

The fire was isolated to the one building and that particular machinery, the local Fire Chief said, and power was maintained at the plant’s other buildings. Police and County Sheriff’s deputies blocked off roads around the facility.

“It did not spread throughout the plant and so very aggressive firefighting operations kept it contained,” the local Fire Chief said. “We’re working on some hot spots. We’ve got to get some debris and material out of there and then we’ll get in there and see exactly what took place.”

The incident comes four months after firefighters battle another fire at the plant. That September incident occurred at the facility’s aluminum-casting area and no one was injured.

The aluminium company is one the city’s largest employers with about employees. The company specializes in manufacturing aluminum as well as metal stamping.

“It’s obviously a very significant incident from our standpoint but, as of right now, things have gone well,” the local Fire Chief said. “Our thoughts and prayers are, of course, with the two fire victims from the initial explosion.” 

Here is the second media article of the incident.

OSHA has launched an investigation into the explosion that erupted during the week of January 12, 2014 one morning at the aluminium plant in the Southeast United States. Investigators continue working at this hour to figure out what caused the blast that sent two people to the hospital with severe burns.   Officials still haven't released the names of the victims, but we know one of the victims was flown to a burn center that morning. The other worker is in critical condition right now at another burn center. Doctors said he's in ICU surrounded by family and being treated for major burns and could remain in ICU for several weeks.   It was an explosion that literally shook Foley's satellite courthouse.   "It was just a huge boom and I came out and saw the big huge cloud of smoke," said a female witness.   "We thought it was the roof over the courthouse but then we looked across the parking lot and it was the aluminum plant over there," said another male witness.  

Fire officials say just after 9 a.m. an explosion and fire broke out in one of the buildings at the aluminium plant in an area where aluminum is cut and shaped.   More than 50 workers were treated on the scene and two were airlifted with burns.   One of the injured worker's doctors who specializes in burn surgery at the burn hospital and has been working with the victim since he arrived.   "First thing you want to do with any patient involved in a major burn is treat them as a trauma patient first. So we want to know if they have any associated injuries. Once that's done we focus on resuscitating them and that happens as soon as they hit the door with warmed IV fluids," said the Doctor.   And it's a team effort at Burn Center, the only facility of its kind in the region.   "It's not just the physicians it is nurses, it's our therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapy, dietary, social services, social workers, so it's a whole team approach. The family also needs a whole team to support them," said the Doctor.   OSHA is working to find out if any OSHA standards were violated. The group must complete its investigation within six months.

Here is the third media story of the incident.

An explosion at an aluminium company in Southeast United States literally shook the community one morning during the week .

“The people who were closest to it said a fireball went through the, through the roof,” the  risk manager for aluminium company said.

That described fireball and loud boom made for a scary morning for employees of the aluminium company.

“I actually went up to the door to see in, and you couldn't see five feet in front of you. The smoke was too thick. Black, great black smoke,” the  risk manager for aluminium company said.

The explosion happened near a machine just before 10 a.m. in plant one. That’s where aluminum is shaped.

“We did have two workers that work directly with that machine,” the local Fire Chief said. “They were significantly injured.”

One worker was taken by helicopter directly to the closest hospital with a burn center for treatment. The other was taken to another hospital before heading to the hospital with a burn unit as well.

People nearby said the explosion was so powerful, it even shook the satellite courthouse across the street.

“First we thought someone had run into the building with their car and then one of the other ladies said go check and see if it was (aluminium company),” a male courthouse employee said. “And so I ran out the back door, and sure enough, (aluminium company) was on fire.”

“I was in the court negotiating a settlement with my client, and all of a sudden we heard this loud boom. We thought maybe there was a wreak outside,” an attorney said.

A resident who lives near the plant and says the explosion shook her windows.  “Could see smoke coming out the top of building number one I knew something had to be bad because of that kind of explosion and yeah, it scared me,” the local resident said.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion. The aluminium company  employees about 275 people. The company specializes in manufacturing aluminum as well as metal stamping.

Here is the fourth media story of the incident.

Two people are seriously hurt after an explosion in Southeast United States this morning. The aluminium company operates five metalworking plants at its campus.    The fire and explosion was at "Plant One" where aluminum is cut and shaped. Investigators say one of the machines exploded. They're still trying to figure out why. Two people with serious burns were taken to a local hospital burn center.    Fifty others who work in the building were checked and treated at the scene.    

The explosion shook the nearby County Courthouse Annex. A witness said "When you see all the tragedies and things on TV and all the terrorism and things like that, it makes you wonder. And after we saw the explosion and all that, we realized we saw the smoke billowing out of the aluminum plant. You expected people to come running out and all that. We didn't see that. But the smoke was gushing out of there." 

Just four months ago, firefighters battled another fire at aluminium company. That happened in September at the facility's aluminum-casting area.    That time, no one was hurt. 

The explosion that occurred with such ferocity that the "fireball went through the roof". The sound could be heard kilometers away. Buildings two kilometers away shook because of the force of the explosion. Have no doubt this was a large explosion. Two workers were severely burned. While another 50 workers were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and other issues and required no further medical attention.

Various news videos have explained that after the explosion, all of buildings at the aluminium company were promptly evacuated. The APSB would like to commend the aluminium company on successfully carrying out the emergency evacuations of all of the buildings without any injuries. There is no doubt that this aluminium company had practiced emergency evacuations. 

When was the last time your company practiced an emergency evacuation? 

If you can not remember instantly, then it was too long. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has some useful information pertaining toward workplace emergency evacuations. It can be found here.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays that the two injured workers recover fully (both physically and mentally). Surviving from a devastating burn requires more than just physical healing. Burn survivors, and their family members must also deal with the psychological, mental, and even spiritual impacts of this life-changing injury.

A great resource for burn survivors is the Burn Prevention Network which provides burn injury prevention education to and advocacy for those at greatest risk. Their primary service area is in Eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States, although many of their programs and products are utilized worldwide. Here is their link.

To the co-workers of the injured, emergency medical service personnel (ambulance, fire department, etc.), relatives of the injured, etc. if you are offered counseling, please accept it. What you have seen, what you have heard, what you have experienced can have lasting effect if left untreated.

The following ongoing signs and symptoms may be an indication of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):

·                     Flashbacks (e.g., recurring scenes, pictures, and conversations)

·                     Nightmares and/or sleep problems

·                     Difficulty concentrating or communicating

·                     Feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, depression, or crying a lot

·                     Fear of being alone or only wanting to be alone

·                     Frightening or recurring thoughts

·                     Feeling numb as though you're on "automatic pilot"

As we have learned previously the physical scars may fade overtime, while the mental scars last much longer.

The National Institute of Mental Health has some useful information about PTSD here.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD has some great information here.

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