"fire crews responded to...an explosion in a lab room"

On occasion we miss hearing about an incident in a timely fashion. Regardless of when the incident occurs we feel that these incidents can still be used as learning tools. Here is an incident from last year that we just heard about.

No injuries to report after an explosion occurred at an aluminium company’s research center one afternoon in July 2016.

Fire crews responded to an explosion in a lab room on the second floor. Radio chatter reported the room full of smoke needing ventilation but were unable to get the windows open. Workers were evacuated from the building and there were no injuries to report.

At least five fire companies turned out for the call with ambulances on stand-by at the scene. A skeletal fire crew remained on the scene as of 5 PM.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog is glad no one was injured in this incident. We felt this incident was worth posting because of the variety of locations where research in our industry is conducted. Some companies have separate research centers. Whereas many companies perform research in their production facilities. Regardless of where the research occurs the basic safety protocols have to be instituted. We have toured some research areas where we have observed compliancy by research personnel which can lead to unsafe behavior or habits. It goes without stating, that even if you are an expert in a particular field you too can be injured or killed in our industry. Never forget your training.

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