"Fireball shoots up 20 feet at aluminum plant..."

Aluminum billet homogenizing furnaces are common throughout our industry. The furnaces can be fueled by diesel oil, nature gas, LPG and electrical energy. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a recent story that emphasizes one of the hazards associated with natural gas fueled homogenizing furnaces.

A malfunction in a heating machine lead to an explosion and fire at an east side factory early one morning during the week of August 17, 2014.

Fire units were called to MidAmerica Extrusions in Indiana in the United States shortly after 2 a.m. The factory specializes in heating up and molding aluminum. An oven that heats the aluminum to one thousand degrees reportedly malfunctioned and sent a fireball toward the ceiling of the plant.

Fire officials say the fire got sucked into a power air vent which caught a section of the roof on fire. Workers apparently tried to fight the blaze themselves at first, but called the fire department when they realized they could not reach the flames once they got into the ceiling.

Employees were evacuated and there were no reports of injuries. Damage to the factory has been estimated at $20,000.

Fire investigators say the process will be shut down until state workplace safety officials can inspect the equipment involved in the fire.

Another media story of this incident:

Officials say a malfunction in an aluminum heating machine caused an explosion and small fire at an Indianapolis factory.

No injuries were reported from the explosion about 2 a.m. Tuesday at MidAmerica Extrusions on the city's east side.

Fire officials tell Indianapolis television stations the heating machine malfunction sent a fireball through a vent to the factory's roof. Workers were evacuated from the factory and firefighters were soon able to put out the blaze.

Officials say the process will be shut down until state workplace safety inspectors check the equipment involved in the fire.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog congratulates MidAmerica Extrusions for safely evacuating their employees after the explosion. The APSB hopes that the damage can be quickly fixed at minimal expense.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has a great document regarding workplace evacuations. It can be found here:

Please comment.