Every facility has regular schedule production shutdowns for
maintenance activities. Many facilities schedule a maintenance shutdown during
the end of the year. A few days ago an incident occurred that shocked the
Aluminium Plant Safety Blog. Here is the story:
On
December 30, 2016 firefighters from fifteen fire departments fought a fire at a
company in the Midwest USA that produces aluminium parts for the
aerospace industry.
Only
two people were reportedly inside the building work on the floors when a large
explosion went through the building.
A
local pilot was able to give an aerial view after the explosion (photo shown above).
The
fire chief says temperatures inside the building likely reaches 1300 degrees
Fahrenheit. He says the building insulated the fire and allowed it to heat up
and spread quickly.
Fire fighters rescue the American Flag from the flames in front of the factory. |
Investigators
have not determined the cause of the blaze, but they say they do not expect
foul play.
The
State Fire Marshall's Office conducted a formal investigation once the fire was
fully extinguished Wednesday morning.
Officials
say a floor cleaner buffer sparked and ignited the chemical used to clean the
floor.
The
company, an official US Defense Department contractor, makes honeycomb out of
aluminium used in aircraft. The company employs around 50 people and is one of town’s
largest employers. Two
people were injured and taken 50 kilometers to a hospital for their third
degree burns. Fire officials say the victims were talking when taken out of the
building.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays that the injured workers
recover fully from their burns. The state fire investigator interviewed the two
burned workers who explained that the buffing machine they were using to clean
the floors began to emit sparks that ignited the floor cleaner resulting in an
explosion. The resulting fire destroyed the factory. Further complicating the
situation was the unknown amount of aluminium fines and dust that fueled the
fire.
Though the 2800 square meter facility was described as a “total loss”
there are reports that the owner will rebuild and is hoping for an April
2017 production restart. We hope that plant can be rebuilt and restarted.
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