'"We are extremely grateful for the effort of all emergency responders.."

Dust collector located in our plants come in all shapes and sizes. On occasion the combustible material (i.e., aluminium fines) that is collected by the dust collectors come into contact with an ignition source. Resulting in a fire or explosion. Containing a dust collector fire can be very dangerous. Here is a recent story that ends with zero injuries. Which is great!

It took six hours for the Rosemount Fire Department and three other area departments to extinguish a blaze Sunday, July 23, at Spectro Alloys Corp.

Fire crews and police were called at 8:58 p.m. to Spectro Alloys. The fire was located in one baghouse and one large piece of equipment that cleans air from one of the aluminum recycling furnaces. There were no reported injuries.

Rosemount Fire was assisted by Inver Grove Heights Fire Department, Hastings and Eagan fire departments. Together, the fire teams worked for six hours to extinguish the fire. Mendota Heights and Apple Valley fire departments were staged on site in case they were needed. The fire was extinguished and the scene cleared by 2:56 a.m. Monday.

"We are extremely grateful for the effort of all emergency responders — many of whom are volunteers," Spectro Alloys said in a statement that credited firefighters with preventing the fire from spreading to any buildings or surrounding equipment. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog hopes that the damage equipment was quickly fixed at minimal expense and production not affected. We commend the aluminium company and the fire departments for containing this potentially dangerous fire without any injuries.

Does your plant have a dust collector? Has your dust collector ever caught on fire? If not, great! But, have you developed a plan to deal with a dust collector fire? Have you reached out to your local fire department to talk with them about how to contain a dust collector fire? If not you should.

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