2010 Industrial Fires & Explosions
thru 1/31/10
3 hurt in plant explosion (3 people were hospitalized after an explosion at a manufacturing plant – a firefighter suffered the most severe injuries. He was flown to a hospital where he is in critical condition – no other details)
UPDATE on Cement Plant Explosion Explosion at cement plant accidental (the explosion at the cement plant that rocked the midcoast area last week was accidental in origin – the cause was actually a smoke explosion – the explosion occurred about noon Dec. 23 as a four-person demolition crew was working to dismantle a large, empty tank located on the western end of the cement plant – while cutting material away from the outside of the steel storage tank, sparks ignited a big debris pile on the ground – the hot gases and smoke, while that debris pile was burning, went inside the tank – the demolition workers climbed down from the tank and were trying to put out the fire in the debris pile, which was made of normal construction materials including wood, foam and fiberglass insulation – when the particulate, or smoke, matter inside the tank was sufficiently heated, it combined with oxygen with explosive results)
FATAL EXPLOSION Explosion at China Fireworks Factory Kills 9, Xinhua Reports (an explosion at a fireworks factory killed nine people and injured eight others – the blast occurred at the factory at about 3:50 p.m. – police are seeking plant managers who fled after the accident)
UPDATE on HYDROELECTRIC PLANT EXPLOSION Report Lays Out Blame for Power Plant Explosion (an investigative report detailing the causes of an August explosion at Russia’s biggest hydroelectric plant cites systemic management and engineering problems as at fault for the incident that killed 75 workers – a turbine in the hydroelectric plant exploded due to an uncontrolled, excessive vibration and the lack of a mechanism that could have automatically shut the unit off – the report, which details the chain of events that lead to the proper safety precautions to be missing, revealed oversight failures on a number of levels at the plant – foremost, was the installation of new equipment that could raise an alarm in case of an emergency, but was unable to make the turbine stop – a move that the plant’s management had disagreed upon with the head engineering contractor – report also blamed the incompetence of the council of directors, who apparently lacked the appropriate education for their positions – investigation found that on the day of the explosion, a worker had informed his supervisor that one of the turbines was working incorrectly – plant’s management had already been aware that the turbine in question was 29 years old and only had two months of guaranteed operational ability left – report calls for the management of the power plant, its general director, the head engineer, and a list of others to be dismissed from their posts and brought to responsibility for the accident)
BOILER EXPLOSION Two hurt in blaze at Navy base (two people were burned when a boiler exploded in a mechanical room at a Ballistic Missile Defense headquarters – one person was airlifted to a hospital and the other was taken by ambulance – both people injured were in the boiler room when the explosion occurred about 10:15 a.m. – the explosion caused a small fire that was contained quickly)
REFINERY FIRE Fire reported at Billings fuel refinery (fire crews responded to a blaze at the refinery – fire crews were joined by the local Fire Department – an alarm at the site blamed the fire on a coker unit, part of the refining process – the fire had collapsed a fuel tank and was burning down the side of the structure – the tank is between the refinery and Interstate 90 – the plant had not been evacuated – police had sealed off surrounding streets)
REFINERY FIRE Citgo Corpus Christi Shuts Unit After Fire (a refinery experienced a brief fire at the platformer reactor that resulted in no injuries)
UPDATE on FATAL DUST EXPLOSION Imperial Sugar settles property claim in 2008 explosion (company says it has settled a property insurance claim in the February 2008 explosion at its refinery for a total of $345 million – the sugar producer still faces directors and officers litigation related to the explosion that killed 14 people and injured 36 others, its 2009 annual report shows – a lawsuit filed in January 2009 against 12 current and former directors and officers, however, has been stayed pending an ongoing investigation by independent directors – comapny also faces 45 lawsuits filed by employees or their families and 28 third-party lawsuits related to the explosion that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said was fueled by sugar dust – trials for two of 45 worker lawsuits have been set for May 2010 – in its annual report that it believes it has adequate workers compensation and liability insurance for the worker and third-party lawsuits after paying a $500,000 deductible – company’swork comp insurer notified the company that it anticipates charging it about $6.4 million due to “certain loss-based assessments the carrier expected to receive from the state of Georgia’s Subsequent Injury Trust Fund” )
Plant Accident Sends Man to Hospital (a local business owner is hospitalized after an accident at his plant – he was trying to use an accelerator to ignite a corn burner when flames leaped from it, setting the man on fire – he suffered second and third degree burns over most of his body, but was responsive when they found him in the shop – he was air-lifted to a hospital with what firefighters are describing as non-life threatening injuries – investigators are still working to determine how this happened)
FIRE in COOLING WATER TOWER Fire breaks out at Hyundai Motor’s plant (a fire broke out at a car plant – it was extinguished in less than half a hour, causing no casualties or significant property damage – the fire started around 11:25 a.m. at a cooling tower located on the rooftop of the painting plant – the fire burned some of the cooling tower, with no significant property damage – the exact cause is still under investigation, but company officials suspect that it might have started due to short circuit)
EXPLOSION FATALITY Fatal blast at Ind. steel plant under review (worker died from head injuries suffered in an explosion – four other workers were injured when they became caught in a blast of superheated steam after water met with molten steel in a plant furnace – he was at the end of his 12-hour shift that day)
EXPLOSION FATALITIES PetroChina to Restart Plant After Deadly Explosion (tanks containing liquefied petroleum gas caught fire and exploded at the plant around 5:30 p.m. – initial investigations show a gas leak may have caused the explosion – explosion has killed five workers in the second major incident involving the company within nine days – five bodies have been recovered from the scene – one is still missing after the blast – the explosion and fire at the plant were seen as far away as 20 kilometres (12 miles) – one worker was seriously hurt while five others have minor injuries – the plant where the explosion occurred makes synthetic rubber – the explosion has caused some air pollution in the district and local residents have been advised to wear masks when they are outdoors)
FATAL EXPLOSION One killed in natural gas explosion (a worker, 27, was killed during a natural gas explosion at an Air Force Base – he had worked for the gas company for two years – the accident happened about 5:30 p.m. at the company’s facility, located on the southeast side of the base property – he was at the site performing equipment maintenance, but the company will have to investigate the exact cause of the blast)
EXPLOSION @ GAS PLANT Worker hospitalized overnight after explosion at oil field facility in … (authorities are investigating the cause of an explosion at a natural gas processing facility – the blast occurred about 8 p.m. – the lone male worker at the site was kept overnight at a Crosby hospital as a precaution and released – a damage estimate is not yet available)
EXPLOSION Explosion at manufacturing plant in Summerville (several propane tanks have exploded at a plant – firefighters are currently on the scene – one person has been injured – no other details at this time)
REFINERY FIRE No injuries in NL fire (there were no injuries after a fire at the refinery at 6:30 p.m. – an onsite crew put it out – the unit where the fire broke out was safely shut down – the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is not yet known)
REFINERY FIRE Fire crew douses small fire at Chevron refinery (a plume of smoke at a refinery was traced to a fire on the seal of an above-ground tank – a refinery fire crew responded about 1:30 p.m. to the tank that holds sour, processed water in the center of the site – the seal encircling the tank’s floating roof is designed to prevent vapors from escaping – crews were applying a water/foam mixture to the seal to extinguish the fire)
EXPLOSION Yokohama plant blasts injured 10 (the number of people injured in explosions at a chemical plant rose to 10 – the explosions occurred at around 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the plant – eight people were reported injured but two more informed authorities that they had sustained cuts to the head due to flying debris – none of the injuries was serious – the blasts injured eight workers at the plant, an employee at a nearby factory and a motorist driving near the accident site – a fire triggered by the blasts damaged eight buildings at the plant, including one that was burned down – the explosions occurred at a high-pressure furnace where hydrogen gas was being applied to organic compounds to make material used in liquid crystal televisions)
FIRE Fire damages Lebanon sausage plant (firefighters battled a blaze at a sausage plant – fire appears to have started with a motor compressor in the refrigeration and freezer unit – at one point, they had the fire knocked out – but then they had an explosion in there which immediately engulfed the attic)
UPDATE Bayer cited for MIC tank violations (plant has not properly maintained or tested the underground storage tank where it keeps roughly 200,000 pounds of methyl isocyanate, the deadly chemical that killed thousands of people in Bhopal, India, in 1984, state inspectors have alleged – DEP inspectors issued four citations for alleged mismanagement of the MIC tank – inspectors discovered the problem during a June 2009 inspection, and formal violation notices were issued in late September – no fines have been issued, and DEP officials said last week they don’t know if the plant has fixed the problems)
FATAL STEAM EXPLOSION Two die after factory explosion (an explosion in an automotive rubber firm has claimed two lives, two people suffered severe injuries and another 13 people light injuries – a 33-year-old woman died on the spot and another man died in a hospital – another two men were taken to hospital with severe injuries – the condition of one of them is critical – compressed technological steam tanks exploded in a shelter outside the building – the pressure wave threw a lorry standing outside the building against the adjacent production hall)
GAS PLATFORM FATALITY Worker dies in fire on Apache Corp. offshore platform (an early morning fire aboard an offshore oil and gas platforms has left one contract worker dead and halted production on the facility – all three workers on the platform were evacuated, but one worker, 34, died at a hospital – medical personnel still were assessing the conditions of the other two – the cause of the fire is still unknown)
Blasts in weapons plant injure worker (two explosions occurred in the military section of the weapons production company – one worker has been seriously injured – the first explosion happened at about 8:30 a.m. in the pyrotechnics section of the factory, but that no one was injured – the second blast came an hour later in the same section of the plant, where caps for rocket propelled grenades are manufactured – one 29 year-old woman employed at the factory was hurt in the second blast, suffering serious injuries to her arm)
EXPLOSIONS @ REFINERY Blasts hit Croatian refinery, no casualties (two blasts hit the oil refinery and according to first reports there were no casualties – there is a fire under control on the facility that is used for producing oil derivatives – it is still too early to give an assessment of the damage – causes of the blasts were not immediately clear)
SPRINKLER SYSTEM SAVES MORE JOBS Sprinkler System Contains Tyson Plant Fire (a fire alarm triggered a quick response to the foods plant, where firefighters battled heavy smoke and flames – the fire started in the company’s laundry room – as part of their investigation, officials will be looking at two large gas dryers that are inside that room – the only employees on duty were maintenance workers who managed to escape from the building without injury – the fire was contained quickly thanks to the company’s sprinkler system – the fire damaged about 1,200 square feet of space)
Firefighters called to Mitsubuishi Polycrystalline plant when chemical reactor … (firefighters stood by as employees of the Polycrystalline plant tried to cool down a reactor that heated up during a power outage – the power went out at the plant about 8 p.m. – during the outage a reactor containing chemicals heated up, and firefighters were called to the area in case plant workers couldn’t cool it back down – about 9 p.m., after the power came back on, the reactor cooled down)
Disaster avoided at a local ethanol plant (fire crews responded to a hot spot from a piece of corn germ – the hot spot started when a corn germ, or kernel, ignited in the preparation room – stoppage in one of the vertical conditioners exacerbated the problem – a portion of the plant had to be temporarily shut down, but will start back up in the morning – crews have to wash out all of the equipment first)
FATAL DIESEL EXPLOSION One Dead After Explosion at Tucker Gas Station (a person is dead after an explosion at a gas station undergoing renovations – the explosion happened around 4:45 p.m. at the Gas Station – the worker was underground working on converting a gasoline tank into a diesel tank when the explosion occurred – one other person was injured, but is expected to recover – officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion)
EXPLOSION Guntown plant explosion cause investigated (fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that injured three workers at a rope company – the accident happened around 2:26 p.m. – one person was airlifted to a Medical Center and the other two were transported by ambulance – one person suffered a ruptured ear drum, but the other two suffered extensive injuries – the explosion was an apparent gas explosion)
REFINERY FIRE FATALITY Fire at Ghana oil refinery kills one worker (a fire outbreak has claimed one life, according to workers of the refinery – he had been rushed to hospital for burns – the cause of the fire, according to fire officers, was not yet known – the fire has been brought under control and the rest of the staff have been evacuated – the workers said the fire started at the loading area of the refinery – at least nine petrol tankers and a number of sheds have been burnt)
FIRE AT NUCLEAR PLANT On-site brigade extinguishes initial fire at nuclear plant (fire broke out in a non-emergency, non-safeguard diesel unit at the nuclear plant – the fire started at 1:17 p.m. during routine testing – the plant’s on-site fire brigade responded and extinguished the fire at 1:37 p.m. before the Fire Department arrived – at 2:55 p.m., the fire reflashed and again was extinguished – there were no injuries)
SPRINKLER SYSTEM SAVES ANOTHER ONE Fire at Dalton Plant (the Fire Department spent the afternoon fighting a fire at the Recycling Plant – everyone got out safely – the building’s sprinkler system was activated – the fire was contained in the southwest portion on the building, and firefighters credit the building’s functioning sprinkler system with keeping the fire contained until the fire department could arrive on scene to start suppression efforts – no word on damage estimates or cause of the blaze)
REFINERY FIRE Conoco says fire out at Wilmington refinery (a fire on an unidentified stack at a 139,000 barrel per day refinery was extinguished by refinery and city fire fighters – no injuries were reported due to the fire, which broke out before noon – fire did not affect refinery operations – Police Department website said a lightning strike caused the fire – refinery said the cause of the fire had not been determined, but may have been due to atmospheric conditions)
EXPLOSION caused by HOTWORK on PROCESS Four people injured in explosion at industrial plant (four people were injured, two seriously, in an accident at an industrial plant – a small explosion occurred at 9:12 a.m. – it happened when workers were making welding repairs to an industrial process – two of the injured workers sustained lacerations and burns deemed to be serious – trauma teams were activated at a Hospital and Medical Center, where each of the injured workers were taken – from there, the two workers were flown by helicopter to larger hospitals – the two less seriously injured workers were being treated at local hospitals)
FATAL EXPLOSION 2 workers die in tank mishap (two men died after an industrial accident occurred at chemical processing facility – the two workers, believed to be in their 30s, suffered cuts and bruises and were bleeding from the ears when the Civil Defence Force arrived at 11.14 am – they were pronounced dead at 11.40 am – the workers were on top of a cylindrical tank – measuring six storeys high and 6m in diameter – when the tank’s roof was blown off – preliminary findings revealed that the workers were installing piping to various tanks when one exploded)
FATAL EXPLOSION @ BOILER Worker dies in Poland explosion (one person was killed and three injured in an explosion at a thermo-electric plant – the explosion occurred in the boiler house to which coal is transported by conveyor – two buildings in the compound collapsed and a third was damaged by the explosion)
EXPLOSION @ REFINERY Explosion not affects refinery plant: Pertamina (there was an explosion at a refinery – the explosion was a result of a flash occurring in a lubricant oil cooler unit, which was far from the oil refinery facility – two employees had been admitted to hospital following the explosion – they were conscious but in a state of shock)
SPRINKLERS SAVE 100 more jobs!!! Fire damages Sampson County industrial plant (firefighters from at least five different departments rushed to an industrial plant fire just after 2 a.m. – the family-owned company makes metal strapping – the fire was sparked in the part of the plant where the strapping is painted – fire was contained to that part of the plant – flames set off sprinklers, which caused some water damage throughout the building)
EXPLOSION and FIRE 4 injured in Leadville building explosion and fire (four people were injured when an industrial building caught fire after an explosion – one person’s injuries were reported to be critical – the fire started at 3:15 p.m. at a former bottling plant – the building was converted to house several businesses, including an automotive-repair shop, a masonry and a woodworking business – all four victims were in the building at the time of the first explosion – three victims were treated for smoke inhalation and one victim, who suffered burns, was transported by ambulance to a hospital)
FATAL EXPLOSION @ BOILER Woman killed in explosion in boiler house at fish cannery in Sevastopol (an explosion of air-steam mixture in a boiler house at a fish cannery has killed a woman – at around 1300, mixture of air and steam exploded at the boiler house on the territory of a fish cannery – the explosion killed a 54 year old woman, an operator at the boiler house)
DUST EXPLOSION Explosion occurs in silo at CraftMaster (about 75 firefighters from four departments responded to the plant following an explosion at around 6:30 p.m. in a storage silo at the facility – the explosion occurred inside a silo used to store wood fiber – plant manager said the dust inside the silo reached ignition point, causing the explosion – the plant’s internal fire fighting system was able to contain the combustion, and the plant’s operation was not interrupted during the incident – no one was injured during the fire)
BOILER EXPLOSION 2 seafarers in boiler blast arrive home (two seafarers who figured in an accident while on board a cargo vessel have been repatriated to the country – both men had their faces covered with gauze after sustaining burns during the incident – the two were on board a cargo ship that was on its way to Japan when the accident happened)
FATAL EXPLOSION – FIREWORKS 3 dead in N. China firework blast (three workers were confirmed dead and three more feared dead after an explosion in a firework factory – the accident happened at around 9:58 am at the firework factory when 25 were working at the scene – eleven escaped without injures – the eight injured, including one in critical condition, have been sent to local hospital)
FATAL EXPLOSION Two dead in Beijing chemical plant explosion (two workers were killed in an explosion at a chemical plant – the blast happened around midnight at a workshop – two walls of the factory compound had collapsed, and windows were broken in buildings at least 20 meters from the site)
DUST EXPLOSION Grain elevator explodes near Waterproof (the leg of a grain elevator exploded – a worker was in the immediate area during the explosion but no one was hurt – the leg, which draws grain up into the elevator’s storage space, hadn’t been cleaned in awhile, and highly combustible grain dust built up in the leg)
Explosion in Wentworth firm (a container which had paints and solvents caught fire at the factory – the factory makes reconditioned drums which are used to store chemicals)
EXPLOSION @ ASPHALT PLANT Fire at asphalt plant snarls traffic (a fire at an asphalt plant blanketed the area in black smoke and snarled traffic – no one was injured in the blaze, which began at about 3 p.m. with a loud explosion in one of the huge silos – the fire appeared to burn itself out minutes after firefighters arrived – the cause of the fire is under investigation)