Industrial Fires & Explosions page 1

Industrial Fires & Explosions Page #1

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

Explosion Rocks Deer Island Plant
Several Injured In Methane Gas Blast
BOSTON — A methane gas explosion at the Deer Island sewage treatment plant has injured two people and forced officials to evacuate the area, officials said. Winthrop fire Capt. Ed McDonald said that the explosion happened at about 11 a.m. Tuesday. “We got a call for an explosion on the island. Our guys responded. We have methane digesters here that hold 3 million gallons. There was an explosion. The MWRA had a private contractor working on a cleaning pipe at the top of the digester,” Boston Fire Department District Chief James Evans said. Evans said that there is an uncontrolled leak. “We are looking to find out where the leak is coming from. We evacuated the whole area. We closed down that particular digester, and at the time, right now, we are working with the crew for a way to mitigate the problem. We are going to fill it up with water until we can find where the leak is. Maybe that will show us where the leak is leaking,” Evans said. The two who were injured were taken to a hospital with first- and second-degree burns to their faces and hands. The plant is the center of Massachusetts Water Resource Authority’s project to protect the Boston Harbor against pollution from the city’s sewer systems. It treats about 390 million gallons of wastewater each day. It once housed the Deer Island House of Corrections, but has been renovated to offer 60 acres of parkland and walking paths. NewsCenter 5 and TheBostonChannel.com will have more information as it becomes available.

Brazoria County Blast Kills 2, Injures 5
State Environmental Investigators To Inspect Site
ROSHARON, Texas — Two workers are killed and five others remained hospitalized Tuesday after explosions and a fire rocked an oil field waste storage facility in Brazoria County. The blast happened at about 4:30 p.m. Monday at BLSR Operating LTD., located on Farm-to-Market Road 521 north of the Darrington state prison unit near the town of Rosharon. Brazoria County sheriff’s investigators told News2Houston that the explosion occurred while two trucks were offloading crude oil waste products inside a metal building. “Something ignited (and) caused the fire, which then caused an explosion,” said Chief Deputy Charles Wagner with the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department. “The cabs of both trucks were totally destroyed. The tanks are still intact.” A witness said flames spread from the vehicles to oil floating atop water in the area. Firefighters said that one truck’s cab and engine compartment apparently exploded, causing the same part of another truck parked less than 15 feet away to explode.  Pronounced dead at the scene were Marcario Martinez, 32, and Francisco Perez, 22, both BLSR employees of Rosharon. All of the five injured workers were taken to area hospitals, and then transferred to the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital in Galveston to be treated for burns. Three of the workers were BLSR employees and were identified as Jose Manuel Games, 20, of Rosharon listed in good condition; Omero Martin, 23, of Rosharon listed in fair condition; and Jose Octavio Diaz, 21, of Houston in fair condition. The other two burned employees worked for T&L Lease Services, an Alvin-based vacuum truck company. They have not been identified, but are both listed in critical condition. State environmental investigators and fire marshals planned to inspect the site at the Caldwell Ranch, about three miles north of Rosharon. The oil field waste storage facility belongs to a member of the Sheriff’s Department who called for help after seeing the explosion, News2Houston reported. Investigators said that oil field waste is separated and stored at the facility, which is delivered by truck drivers. “I’ve been hauling stuff in here for 24 years and there never was anything like this,” said vacuum truck driver Orlando Santellago, who works for another trucking company. “It seemed like a real safe operation.” The trucks were destroyed in the blast but the storage tanks were left intact. The fire sent a plume of smoke in the sky visible across Brazoria County. Rosharon and Angleton firefighters extinguished the blaze within 30 minutes, authorities said. “I know those guys in there,” said Santellago, who was called to help clean up the debris. “They were a nice bunch of guys.” The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Fire sets off explosions in Franklin business
Sunday, January 12, 2003 By MICHELE HOLTKAMP Daily Journal Staff Writer
Investigators this morning are sorting through a building’s remains and searching for the cause of an explosive fire in Franklin on Saturday afternoon. The fire at Test-Rite Systems at Yandes and Province streets doesn’t appear suspicious, said Capt. Ron Macy of the Franklin Fire Department. No one was injured in the blaze, even though materials in the building sparked at least three explosions and nearly 50 firefighters faced frigid temperatures, frozen gear and slippery streets. Nearby buildings and residents were evacuated, and 50 homes were without power for about three hours as firefighters in the aerial trucks’ buckets dumped thousands of gallons of water on the inferno. The two-story building is a total loss, and the business owners are searching urgently for a place to relocate and continue filling orders, Macy said. Test-Rite Systems, owned by Mike Kaiser and Morris White, cuts custom metal parts. A passer-by reported the fire at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. When firefighters arrived, smoke was rolling out of the roof, Macy said. The first crew of firefighters thought they had the blaze under control but then realized the attic was completely on fire, he said. That’s when the firefighters, who had already searched and knew that no people were inside, were pulled out of the building because of the danger of explosions. As they were leaving, a propane tank on a forklift sparked an explosion, and parts of the roof started to collapse. No one was injured, but firefighters were forced to fight the blaze from the outside and their aerial units. “You risk a lot to save people,” Macy said. “You risk a little to save property.” Firefighters heard two other distinct explosions as they fought the blaze, but they haven’t identified what materials may have ignited. Oxygen tanks, propane tanks, acetylene tanks and a truck holding 50 gallons of diesel fuel were inside the building when it caught on fire. Businesses are required to file with the fire department a material safety data sheet when they house certain chemicals, depending on the type and quantity of them. Macy said he hadn’t pulled out Test-Rite’s data sheets yet, but firefighters were aware of the materials. “Everybody pretty much knew there was going to be some dangerous things in there,” he said. Firefighters fought the fire for 2½ hours before bringing it under control. Overall, they remained at the scene for five hours. Ten Franklin firefighters were on duty when the blaze was reported, and 15 more were called in to help fight it. Twenty-four more firefighters responded from Trafalgar, Needham, Greenwood and Bargersville fire departments. Units from New Whiteland and Amity stood by at Franklin fire stations. Water froze on contact with firefighters’ coats and crackled when they moved. Water hoses stiffened with a layer of ice. Streets turned icy, and some firefighters fell. Saturday’s high temperature was about 24 degrees. Rural/Metro sent three ambulances to the scene, and Red Cross workers set up heated areas and served warm drinks to help firefighters regain strength during the fire, Macy said. The state fire marshal’s office and Franklin fire investigator Mike Craig will begin searching for electrical or other causes today. No one had been in the building since it closed Friday evening, and fire investigators found no signs of forced entry. The building and its contents were valued at $500,000. The business had been in operation at 1001 Yandes St. for 10 years.

Fires shut Garyville, La. refinery
Reuters, 01.12.03, 4:08 PM ET
GARYVILLE, La., Jan 12 (Reuters) – Two early morning fires on Sunday halted operations at the 232,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, operated by Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, officials said. A fire at 4:30 a.m. CST (1030 GMT) in a transformer at the refinery shut off power to the entire plant, according to a statement issued by Marathon Ashland. As the refinery units were shut down at 4:40 a.m., a flange on a line in the crude unit opened, starting a fire in the crude unit that burned for over four hours. All the refinery units remained shut as of 3 p.m. CST (2100 GMT), said refinery spokeswoman Gretchen Plewak. Refinery workers are assessing damage and trying to determine how soon the refinery units can restart. There were no injuries reported, Plewak said. Marathon Ashland Petroleum is a joint crude oil refining, marketing and transportation venture between Marathon Oil Corp. (nyse: MRO – news – people) and Ashland Inc. (nyse: MRO – news – people). Marathon owns 62 percent of 
the joint venture. 

Exxon Mobil Australian Refinery Operational After Fire
By Ray Brindal, Dow Jones Newswires
Canberra, Jan. 13 (Dow Jones) – Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (XOM) oil refinery at Altona, near Melbourne, Australia, remains operational after a fire overnight damaged a cooling tower, Anna Schulze, a company spokeswoman, said Monday. The company is assessing the damage from the fire and whether it will impact production, she said. “We aren’t anticipating that there will be any supply impact to the market,” Schulze told Dow Jones Newswires. The fire, which started around 8 p.m. local time, was contained to the number two cooling tower at the refinery. The fire was quickly bought under control by fire units, with the all- clear sounded around midnight, she said. The refinery supplies around 13% of Australia’s fuel needs, producing gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Altona is one of eight refineries operating in Australia that collectively have a refining capacity of around 800,000 barrels a day. 

Vietnam bamboo factory blast kills 12, injures 37 
January 12, 2003, 10:43 AM 
A dryer exploded at a bamboo products factory in southern Vietnam, killing 12 workers and injuring 37, a local official said today. The blast occurred yesterday morning at the Taiwanese-owned Long Tre factory in Trang Bang district, 50 km northwest of the southern economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, the Tay Ninh provincial official said. “Bamboo poles were blown up and smashed into the workers and seven of them were killed at site,” the official said, adding that by this morning another five workers had died of their injuries in hospital. Twelve workers in critical condition were moved to Ho Chi Minh City for further treatment, he said. Police were investigating the explosion, which destroyed the drying section of the factory as well as part of a nearby warehouse, he said. State media said police were holding the passports of two Taiwanese executives of the unlisted firm for investigation. The company, which makes bamboo products for export, could not be reached for comment today. Labour accidents are common in communist Vietnam due to unsafe working conditions and a lack of labour protection measures. There were 2367 labour accidents occurred in the Southeast Asian country in 2002, up 5,8% over 2001, state media has reported. More than 400 people were killed, up 4,1% from the previous year. Taiwan is one of Vietnam’s three biggest foreign direct investors. 

NCL lab gutted, employees safe 
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 
PUNE, JANUARY 12: A laboratory of the Organic Chemical Technology division at the National Chemical Laboratory at Pashan was gutted in a fire that broke out this evening. There were no casualties and the damage at the laboratory is being assessed. The fire started when two research assistants were conducting some experiments at the OCT division around 5.45 pm. Seven fire tenders of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations brought the fire under control after two- and-a-half hours. No one was injured in the incident. Director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research — under which the NCL falls — Raghunathrao Mashelkar said it was too early to say how the fire started. He said an inquiry committee will probe the accident and submit its report within the next three days. He also ruled out sabotage as the cause of fire. Pallavi Sharma, one of the research assistants who was in the laboratory at the time of the accident, is in a state of shock and has been hospitalised. Mashelkar said NCL has a safety committee and all experiments are conducted after following safety norms. The committee, he said, will be formed after the arrival of NCL director S. Sivaram from Delhi. The fire-fighters rescued three persons, including an 18-year-old youth, who were at the fourth floor of the building where the fire started. The three are residents of the NCL colony. Chief Fire Officer L.N. Raut said fire tenders reached the spot within ten minutes of the incident. There were a total of 80 men who brought the fire under control. Two water tankers and one rescue van were pressed into service 

Fire in woodpile reignites at Fresno excavation plant 
By Matt Leedy The Fresno Bee
A fire at a 5-acre woodpile in west Fresno roared back to life Saturday night, several hours after firefighters left the scene with the blaze under control. The fire started around 3 a.m. at Archie Crippen Excavation in the 3200 block of West Nielsen Avenue near Marks Avenue. The wood at the excavation plant was salvaged from demolished homes and is sold to electricity plants where it is used as biofuel, said a member of Crippen’s family who asked not to be identified. Fresno firefighters were at the woodpile for more than 12 hours Saturday before leaving around 4:30 p.m. when they believed the fire was under control, said Battalion Chief Cirilo Medina. “They said they could handle it,” Medina said. “We told them to call us if they needed us.” Later Saturday evening, Crippen, 79, was moving the wood with an excavation vehicle. He was looking for hot spots and watering them down when his vehicle tipped over, the family member said. Crippen “was just pushing some stuff around, and it just ignited again,” the family member said. The fire flared again, and by 10 p.m., flames were reaching high above the woodpile as smoke filled the air. Crippen escaped the accident without injury and was at home resting Saturday night while about nine family members with water pumps and construction vehicles attempted to get the fire back under control. The excavation business has been in the Crippen family for 35 years. During that time there have been small fires, “but nothing like this,” the family member said. Relatives attempted to fight back the fire for much of Saturday night without help from the city Fire Department. Fire officials said they weren’t told it had restarted. 

2 hurt in fire at Ford factory near Detroit
By Associated Press
LIVONIA — Two workers were injured, one badly, when fire erupted at a Ford Motor Co. factory. A contract worker was cleaning a machine at the Livonia Transmission plant when something ignited about 10 a.m., spokesman Joe Koenig said. The man was taken by helicopter to the University of Michigan’s burn center. His condition and the extent of his burns wasn’t immediately released. The second worker was hospitalized for injuries that weren’t life-threatening, Koenig said. Some workers were briefly evacuated and producted halted for about an hour, he said. The factory 25 miles west of Detroit employs about 2,900 workers who make automatic transmissions.

UPDATE,Another suit filed in Rouse explosion
By Sam Knowlton
A lawsuit filed on behalf of another of the five men who died after the May 16 explosion at Rouse Polymerics International’s Vicksburg rubber-recycling plant has been found in Jefferson County. The suit, alleging negligence among other claims, was filed on behalf of Tywayne Croskey, who died May 21 in The Burn Center at Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville. Croskey was a 24-year-old machine operator from Port Gibson. In addition to the five who died in the days and weeks after Vicksburg’s worst-ever industrial accident, seven others received medical treatment after the explosions at the plant off U.S. 61 South. The complaint on Croskey’s behalf was filed Dec. 9 in Jefferson County Circuit Court, in the name of Croskey’s daughter, Tyeshia Croskey, and her mother, Linda Miller, both of Fayette. Filed by attorney Dennis Sweet of Jackson, it claims damages including punitive damages but does not specify amounts. The complaint names four defendants, saying each was negligent in manufacturing, installing or maintaining equipment used at Rouse. Some of the defendants it names have also been named in complaints filed on behalf of others who were killed or injured in the accident. At least six complaints, on behalf of five employees or their families, have been filed in various courts What triggered the explosion and fire has not been specified. Federal safety officials cited 22 safety violations and negotiated a penalty with the company of $187,680. Rebuilding of a state-of-the-art facility and removal of the burned building were to be completed this month.

Rubber manufacturing plant burns
By Rachelann Ferris, Courier staff January 09, 2003
A local rubber manufacturing plant was destroyed early Wednesday morning when fire ripped through the facility on FM 1485 in Cut and Shoot. Duraquest employee Michael Brameld of Conroe said he was one of three employees on duty around 1 a.m. when the fire was discovered. “There was a bunch of smoke, so I went to see what was going on,” Brameld said. “And that’s when I found the back room on fire.” Employees quickly notified emergency dispatchers. Almost every fire department in the county responded, according to Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s office Senior Arson Investigator Jimmy Williams. Williams said the rear of the building, where the fire appeared to have originated, is built around an apparatus used to pump hydraulic fluids, which are used in the manufacturing process. The facility also housed a number of chemicals used to manufacture of rubber. Although there was an extensive oil leak, it appeared that none of the other potentially hazardous chemicals were released, Williams said. Nonetheless, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, formerly the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission was notified and will send a team to the scene to oversee containment of the oil, which is potentially hazardous for the environment, Williams said. In addition to numerous fire units, The Woodlands Fire and Rescue hazardous materials crew responded to the scene because of the nature of the fire and contents of the building. “There is a significant amount of oil that was released inside the building,” Williams said. “We can’t say yet if that happened before the fire or during.” Firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to the front half of the facility, Williams said, although the entire building received extensive heat and smoke damage. “The firefighters did a hell of a job containing the spread,” Williams said. “Unfortunately, it will probably still be a complete loss.” No injuries were reported. Williams said an equipment malfunction likely will be found as the cause of the fire. There appears to be nothing suspicious, he said. About one year ago, firefighters were called to the facility after a line ruptured in the high-pressure hydraulic system. A smaller fire resulted, Williams said.

House Explosion Injures Workers
OTTAWA COUNTY — One man is in the hospital after a house exploded in Ottawa County. Construction workers were putting a 3000 square foot addition on 18777 Fruitport Drive in Spring Lake Township, when a propane heater they were using, ignited. “We believe they had a leak on one of their propane cylinders and that ignited,” said Spring Lake Township Fire Chief Rick Nuvill. “The walls had just been treated with a foam spray and that ignited the walls.” Two men were injured, one was treated on scene, the other was taken to Blodgett’s Burn Center. The Chief says they’re lucky to be alive. “From all we’ve heard, the guys were just running from their lives,” said Nuvill. The homeowners, Mike and Nina McKeeough, were not living in the house at the time, but planned to move in after the house was remodelled in March. They had to stand and watch as their three-story, 1.8 million dollar dream home smoldered in the wind. Their plan is to rebuild.

Refuse fire forces plant evacuation 
The Associated Press 
FLETCHER, N.C.(AP) – About 200 employees at the ArvinMeritor plant here were evacuated Tuesday after a fire broke out in its dust collection system. The employees were evacuated and firefighters from six departments were called to the plant on Rockwell Drive off U.S. 25 North at 2:12 p.m. No one was injured in the fire, said John Hock, the company’s human resources manager. Firefighters worked inside the plant to extinguish the fire while others used a ladder on a fire engine to climb to the roof of the building. Fletcher Fire Chief Greg Garland said the fire was contained to a hopper used to collect metal shavings. Water could not be used to extinguish the fire because it would react with the metal, he said. Other materials were used to extinguish the fire, Garland said. The plant makes axles for 18-wheeler trucks and employs about 600 workers, Hock said. Information from: The Times-News.

UPDATE, Fire in Douglass destroys bulk of company’s inventory; Cause of fire at EnviroPro heat is yet to be determined
By SHANE T. FARLEY
DOUGLASS – Fire officials have yet to determine the cause of a huge blaze Sunday that severely damaged a warehouse used for storing fireplaces. “It was a magnificent show for awhile,” said Chief John Ford of Butler County Fire District 8. “There was extensive damage.” Just before 5 p.m., a convenience store clerk called 911 to report a fire at EnviroPro Heat at 907 E. First. The first crews arrived about six minutes later to find heavy smoke and fire coming out of the roof of the building, said Ford, whose crew is stationed in Douglass. EnviroPro is owned by Brad and Penny Morris, who use most of the approximately 8,700-square-foot building for storing inventory. The Morrisses, of Douglass, were unavailable for comment this morning. A large quantity of Majestic brand fireplaces were stacked from floor to ceiling inside the building and will likely constitute the bulk of the monetary loss associated with the fire, according to Ford. Crews worked on the fire for about an hour before it was safely contained in the EnviroPro building. Acetelyne, propane and various other chemicals stored in the warehouse fueled at least four explosions of varying magnitude as the fire burned. An early explosion weakened the building to the point that it was not safe for firefighters to enter, Ford said. However, a computer and server used to maintain company records were retrieved undamaged. The building was a peaked, metal-roof structure that also contained a shop area. Two additions had been constructed through the years. The structure was about two-thirds full of fireplaces, Ford said. Investigators believe the blaze began in the center of the main building and spread. The probe is complicated, Ford said, because the roof fell into the building. “We started digging the building out about 4:30 yesterday. There is a lot of debris,” he said. “My guess is it will take several days before we know a cause.” Firefighters from Rose Hill and Augusta were involved snuffing the flames. Atlanta and Udall crews were on standby.

Nobody hurt in explosion, fire
Published Wednesday, January 8, 2003 11:57:00 AM Central Time By The Daily Globe Staff 
BESSEMER — Nobody was injured in a spectacular explosion and fire which rendered a Bessemer warehouse a total loss Tuesday afternoon. Three employees of C&M Oil Company were briefly trapped after fuel from the truck they were repairing sprayed on a trouble light and exploded. “The doors wouldn’t open because of the heat,” said Mike Keller. “It took two of us reefing on the door to get out.” The 60- by 120-foot building contained most of the gas station’s inventory of lubricants and tires, as well as two of the company’s three fuel delivery trucks. Bystanders estimated flames went hundreds of feet into the air. A 1:15 p.m. explosion awoke a nearby resident, Travis DaPra, who said he is a deep sleeper. “I had no idea what to think. Then I started hearing sirens and the explosions. Then I woke up and saw fire trucks heading toward C&M,” DaPra said. “I thought it was the cops breaking into a house because of the sirens and bangs. I’ve never seen anything like that down here.” The burning tires created a plume of black smoke which could be seen from as far away as Hurley. “Nobody’s hurt,” said owner Jim Carpenedo. Not long after the fire had crumpled the roof of the metal building, but long before it was out, Carpenedo was working to replace delivery trucks, inventory and storage space. “I lost two trucks, leaving me with one,” he said. “I need three.” He was unable to estimate the dollar value of damage. Things could have been worse, as at least seven above-ground storage tanks stand not far from the warehouse and the lot between the gas station and the warehouse contains several underground tanks. “The wind was on our side when it first started. It was out of the west,” said Bessemer fire chief Butch Semmerling. Semmerling said 12 city volunteers were assisted by the Bessemer Township Department. Authorities shut down U.S. 2 in front of the warehouse, rerouting traffic to residential areas south of the highway. Semis, school buses and cars shared East Iron Street, a two-lane road, and traffic backed up. “The report is not complete,” said Semmerling. “I understand there were three (workers in the building). Al Dennis is one. The other two, I’m not sure.” Semmerling said the fire marshal won’t be needed. “Water hits lights and they pop. That’s what happened here, but it was gasoline,” he said. “We’re not bringing in the fire marshal because we know what started it. There’s no suspicion of any arson or insurance fraud. It’s pretty clear cut.” Semmerling said it was late evening before the fire trucks were returned to the garage. Michigan State Police, the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department and county emergency management officer Jim Loeper were on the scene to render needed assistance. Carpenedo said the excitement and stress caused his mother, Betty, who works in the office, to be hospitalized. He said today that her condition is good. “It’s a heck of a way to clean house,” Keller said this morning.

UPDATE, Explosion victim back on his feet 
By Auditi Guha / Chronicle Staff Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Carlos Figueroa was the only casualty in a still-unexplained explosion at a biotech building in East Cambridge last July. Hospitalized for two-and-a-half months, he has been operated on four times. Though he is back home in Revere, the 41-year-old man has no idea when or if he can ever go back to work. His hands are still cut up and weak and all he can manage to lift is a pen. Almost six months later, there are still no answers as to what caused the explosion that shook the East Cambridge neighborhood and ripped apart the top story of the unoccupied biotech building at 320 Bent St. Though natural gas is suspected, the Cambridge Fire Department said the incident remains under investigation and a report may be released soon. “It is an ongoing investigation into the origin and cause of the explosion,” said Inspector Brian Higgins who is involved in the inquiry. “A report should be out within the next two weeks.” Meanwhile, biotech firm Microbia, Inc., has moved into that space and, so far, all is well. The explosion took place around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 15, 2002, minutes after Fire Department officials had done an inspection walk-through of the building. Figueroa, an employee of Eagle Building Services, was cleaning floors in the room where the explosion originated and suffered first- and second-degree burns. Microbia, who was supposed to move into that space, was still working out of their Kendall Square office and had no chemicals and gases installed in the building at the time of the explosion. Siena Construction Co., the Cambridge company overseeing the construction of the new building, could not be reached for comment.

Cement plant accident kills 1 worker, injures 2
By: Associated Press
MIDLOTHIAN — The fire is out at a cement plant southwest of Dallas. One worker was killed and three others were injured. The fire erupted late Tuesday night at the Texas Industries plant in Midlothian. That’s about 25 miles southwest of Dallas. TXI spokesman Maurice Osborn said the explosion and fire occurred next to a pollution-control device called a scrubber. Fire officials say they battled the flames for three hours before quelling them. Osborn said the workers were contractors making repairs and did not work for TXI. He also said the two-year-old plant had been closed for repairs when the accident occurred. Police are withholding the name of the dead worker until his family can be notified. The three injured people also weren’t immediately identified. Osborn said one was airlifted to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas in undetermined condition. Two others were treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries and released. The building materials company has 1,250 employees at its Midlothian steel and cement works. TXI is the nation’s fifth-largest cement producer and second-largest steel producer.

Fire injures mechanic, shuts down auto shop
By Scott E. Williams The Daily News
LA MARQUE — A fire at an automotive repair shop Monday morning injured a mechanic and forced the shop to shut down. The fire broke out about 9:45 a.m., at E & E Automotive at 1000 Holly, as two mechanics were working to replace a gas tank in a sport-utility vehicle. One of the mechanics dropped a shop light, the bulb broke and a spark apparently ignited gasoline that had leaked out of the tank. When firefighters arrived, workers at the shop were battling the blaze, and a passerby had helped smother flames that had burned one of the mechanics. “Our guys were fighting the fire with extinguishers, but it didn’t do much good,” said shop owner Ernie Baxley. Firefighters had problems putting out the fire as well, until they switched their hoses from water to foam. “The foam made a blanket over the gasoline, basically starving the fire of oxygen. For a fire to keep burning, it needs three things — fuel, a heat source and oxygen,” said Fire Chief Robert Buckner. The fire was out within about 15 minutes, but severely damaged one of the vehicle bays in the shop and caused some damage to other spots. Baxley said the fire would force him to shut down for a few days, for repairs and cleanup. “It might be the rest of this week, but it’ll be at least a couple of days,” he said. The injured mechanic, Jacob Corbitt, suffered burns on the left side of his body. He went to Mainland Medical Center, but was later transferred to a University of Texas Medical Branch hospital in Galveston, where he was listed in good condition Monday night.

Five workers unharmed in gas explosion
Norma Mendoza, Of the Intelligencer January 07, 2003
Five employees of RAL Painting and Drywall, Inc., had a narrow escape Friday when a liquid propane tank exploded in the basement of the house where they were installing dry wall. According to Glen Carbon police, the workers were using the propane gas to fuel a heater in the house under construction by Bertels Development Group on Wolf Creek Court in the Timberwolf subdivision. The workers had been in the house approximately an hour when someone heard the tank’s release valve break and warned the others to get out of the house. All escaped without injury. “God was smiling on us,” said Rich Ligman, owner of RAL. He said when the release valve gave way a piece of it shot off, alerting the workers to the escaping gas and giving them a chance to flee. The force of the explosion blew out the windows, frames and all, from the house and buckled the panels of the garage door. A spokesperson for Bertels said construction was about five weeks from completion. He said the explosion and the damage it caused probably pushed that date two or three weeks into the future. About 80 percent of the windows and doors blew out, he said. Early estimates place the amount of damage at $50,000. The Bertels spokesperson said they are working with engineers to assess whether there was any structural damage to the building that will also need to be fixed.

Santa Ana explosion injures 14
Four gas tanks exploded in a scrap metal shop in Santa Ana, Manila, injuring at least 14 people, including a three-month-old boy, Monday night. The explosion, thought to have been triggered by a lit cigarette, happened when workers opened one of the acetylene tanks, Senior Police Officer Patrick de Leon of the Manila Police said. A three-story building housing the shop as well as neighboring buildings were damaged. Witnesses said laborers of the junk shop were cutting metals when Mali lit a cigarette near the acetylene tank. Police said Mali threw the lighted match stick near the acetylene tanks. Moments later several loud explosions shattered the junk shop that also ripped through the nearby houses, where most of the victims were residing. “There were four acetylene tanks that exploded consecutively,” SPO Efren Cruz, of the Western Police District Bomb Disposal Unit, said. E. Caringal, M. Dagumboy with AP

Man killed in Tondo fire
According to Caloocan Fire Marshal Nacario Agapito, the first fire broke out at a soy sauce factory located at 160 Francisco St., Samson Road, owned by Emma Tan while the second blaze consumed a two-story house at No. 9 7th St. in Grace Park, owned by Homer Totia, a fishpond contractor. The fire at the soy sauce factory broke out at around 3:30 p.m. Sa-turday. The flames were put out an hour later but the factory was a total loss. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined as of presstime. The other blaze started at around 5:15 early Sunday morning after an explosion was heard inside the garage of Totia’s home. The flames were put out at 7:25 a.m. No one was hurt in the two fires. Mer Layson, Correspondent with Arlyn Floro, Contributor

Belle Fourche elevator explodes, catches fire 
By: The Associated Press 01/02/2003 
It happened in an older wooden part of the Dakota Mill and Grain elevator. The blast blew out the north side of the building. The damage was limited to one structure. Four people were inside at the time, but no injuries were reported, authorities said. Investigators said they do not yet know what caused the explosion. Four people in the building were welding at the time of the blast. Traffic on U.S. Highway 85 was rerouted. 

UPDATE, Arson not ruled out as oil blaze cause 
POLICE investigating the cause of a major fire that destroyed an oil refinery in Matchborough three weeks ago are not ruling out arson. The blaze swept through Claymore Lubricants on Washford Industrial Estate in the early hours of Monday, December 16, razing the factory to the ground. Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade spokesman Alec Mackie said a fire investigation team was still trying to find out how the fire had started at the Heming Road depot, which specialised in producing chemical, oil and lubricants. “Our investigations are still ongoing and we haven’t ruled out any cause including arson,” he said. “There is some suggestion that there might have been suspicious circumstances, but it is very difficult to find evidence as the entire place was destroyed.” He said investigators had the added problem of the site being dangerous as debris from the depot roof which caved in is still falling. Staff members are being interviewed and a video taken by a nearby resident from around 4.15am – just before firefighters arrived – is being scrutinised for clues. Mr Mackie urged anyone with further information to call Redditch CID on 08457 444888. 

Fire badly damages Melbourne factory
Fire has caused up to $500,000 damage to a factory at Keysborough in Melbourne’s south-east. The blaze broke out around 11:00pm AEDT at the factory on Cheltenham Road. The cause of the fire is not known. Country Fire Authority operations officer Trevor Owen says the blaze was difficult to contain. “There was a lot of fire extension through to the neighbouring factories which we’ve had to try to prevent, which we’ve successfully done,” he said. “So essentially it was limited to the one factory with minor smoke damage to either side factories.” 

Huge fire in Petone warehouse 
The Fire Service says a factory fire in Petone is causing a huge plume of smoke which can been seen over the Hutt Valley and Wellington Harbour. 60 fire fighters and at least ten appliances have been called in from all around the Wellington region. The Fire Service spokesperson, Murray Dunbar, says the two story building is a clothing collection and recycling plant, and the material is causing the huge amount of smoke. He says the smoke is drifting eastwards and is not expected to clear quickly. Dunbar says the smoke could force the evacuation of some people living nearby, but no decision has been made yet.

Fire Starts In Smokestack, Damages Springdale Plant 
The Morning News/NWAonline.net 
SPRINGDALE — Firefighters responded to a blaze at a processing plant Saturday after plastic materials caught fire in a smokestack, a fire official said. The blaze started at about 6 p.m. at Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies at 801 N. Jefferson St., Springdale Fire Department Capt. Jim Vaughan said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames after arriving on the scene, Vaughan said. However, firefighters were still at the plant an hour later inspecting burned product. It was not clear Saturday how much damage the fire caused. The plant converts wood and plastic into a product that can be used as a wood substitute. A Springdale firefighter received first- and second-degree burns while battling an April 2001 fire at the plant.

Fire damages Lowell Water Utility building
By JACK MINCH
Thursday, January 02, 2003 – LOWELL A truck fire inside the Lowell Water Utility maintenance garage on Pawtucket Boulevard caused heavy smoke damage to the building on New Year’s Eve. The fire was discovered about 10:55 p.m. when a water plant worker arrived for a shift. The garage closed for the holiday at noon. There were apparently no flames from the fire which started in a 1994 Ford pickup truck with a utility body used to make repairs in the field. No chemicals are stored in the garage, said Executive Director Ned Tarmey. He said yesterday that fire investigators would visit the garage today. Tarmey also said insurance representatives were expected today to help come up with an estimate of the fire’s damages. He said the truck was “demolished.” “It hasn’t caused any harm to the water or stopped delivery,” Tarmey said Tuesday night. The four-bay garage was covered in soot afterward. The roughly 100-foot by 80-foot garage has the department’s repair equipment stored inside. “All kinds of machinery is in there. We do our own fabrication and that (equipment) is all in there,” Tarmey said. “It’s a nice way to spend New Year’s.” The pickup truck, which Tarmey estimated is worth about $30,000, was next to a vacuum truck worth about $200,000. The value of damage was not available last night. “We’ve got a massive cleanup and we have to check it out,” Tarmey said. “My guys are pretty resourceful, we’ll keep (operations) going.” The garage doors would not open so firefighters cut a hole in one of the doors. Much of the smoke was cleared and the lights inside the garage turned back on by 11:45.

UPDATE, Faulty thermostat suspected in Midlands chip shop blaze
A suspected faulty thermostat in a cooking range is thought to have been the cause of the fire and explosion at a chip shop in Hillfields, Coventry which forced a speedy evacuation from the premises of four staff and three customers as cooking oil caught fire, an electricity meter melted and a gas meter began leaking gas. “An extremely hazardous situation” reported Radford Road Fire Station’s Vaughan Pollard whose crews took two and a half hours to control the blaze which destroyed the ground floor of the building.

Fire at Herzliya gas plant could have hurt hundreds in densely populated area
An explosion occurred yesterday afternoon at the Oxygen and Argon Works plant in the industrial area in Herzliya, seriously injuring one worker. Interior Minister Eli Yishai said he would submit a proposal to the government on Sunday to relocate the plant, subject to adequate compensation for the owners. At around 1 P.M. a loud explosion occurred, after pressurized oxygen leaked; even a tiny flame that comes in contact with pressurized oxygen can cause a combustion. The cause of the leak is not yet clear. While the fire was put out within minutes, the gas continued to leak for hours, causing mounting concerns about further explosions. Fire brigade officer Shimon Romah said that had the gas ignited, the explosion “could have seriously injured everyone within a radius of 150 meters.” All the offices within a radius of 300 meters were therefore evacuated, and power supply to the area was cut to prevent sparks that could start a fire. Heavy traffic jams formed, since roads into the industrial zone were blocked Although the plant complies with all legal requirements and has all the necessary permits, the fire brigade said yesterday they have been cautioning for a long time about the danger of having such a facility in the heart of a densely-populated area. “Only a few weeks ago we held a meeting in which we reiterated our recommendation to relocate the plant,” Herzliya fire chief Eyal Caspi noted. Oxygen and Argon Works’ long-time CEO, Eli Inbar, stressed that “the plant has all the necessary permits and equipment.” However, Herzliya Mayor Yael German said she would do everything in her power to relocate the plant. Founded in 1935, Oxygen and Argon Works manufactures and supplies industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, helium, CO2, acetylene, gas mixtures and specialty gases).

Evans Paint building was a Superfund site, Late-night fire in Roanoke guts former paint factory
The 54,000-square-foot structure at 1516 Cleveland Ave. S.W. closed for business in 1992 and was targeted for environmental cleanup in 2000.
By LINDSEY NAIR
An old Roanoke paint factory that was cleaned up two years ago as part of the federal Superfund program was severely damaged by a two-alarm fire Thursday night. The Evans Paint building, a 54,000-square-foot brick and aluminum structure on the banks of the Roanoke River, caught fire sometime after 10 p.m. Thursday, firefighters said. The company at 1516 Cleveland Ave. S.W. closed in 1992 and filed for bankruptcy. Had the fire occurred three years ago, more than 600 leaky drums filled with flammable solids, liquids, corrosives and poisons would have wreaked havoc on firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the blaze. Because of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup efforts there in 2000, the fire was mostly extinguished within a half-hour. Roanoke Fire-EMS Battalion Chief Audie Ferris said flames were shooting from the roof of the building when firefighters arrived. They trained water on the fire from three ladder trucks on different sides of the building while firefighters on the ground used hand-held hoses. Ferris said they could not consider attacking the fire from inside the building at first because of instructions received by department personnel in the past. The memo warned that the site was abandoned, and although it was being used solely for storage, it might still contain hazardous materials. The top priority for firefighters Thursday night was a small house positioned almost against one side of the factory. That house, on 17th Street, was guarded by two fire companies while the fire burned. One man lived in the house with his two dogs. He escaped safely but declined to comment Thursday. His house was spared by the fire. After most of the fire was knocked down, firefighters discovered that the rear of the building was empty and unscathed by the blaze, so Ferris allowed them to go inside and put out hot spots. Evans Paint was one of seven companies that Roanoke County sued in 1990 for dumping paint and paint sludge at the Dixie Caverns landfill. The EPA removed more than 1,500 tons of paint sludge from that site. Evans Paint, which was owned by APL Inc. of Miami at the time, declared bankruptcy less than two years after the county filed the lawsuit. In the spring of 2000, the EPA Superfund program paid for cleanup of Evans Paint Co. on Cleveland Avenue. If the company had been viable, the government would likely have charged it for the work, the EPA said at the time. The cleanup was supposed to take several months, but the completion date was unknown Thursday. Besides the drums of materials, above- and below-ground storage tanks were a concern to the EPA, but Ferris said firefighters discovered nothing more than wooden pallets inside. Firefighters planned to remain at the building into the early hours this morning to watch for flare-ups and to clean up. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but Ferris said it started on the second floor near some offices. An investigator will determine the cause and exact damage estimate.

Fire Guts Warehouse in City
The East African Standard (Nairobi) Dann Okoth
A mysterious fire yesterday gutted the entire warehouse at Reckitt Benckiser East Africa Limited along Likoni Road, destroying goods worth millions of shillings. The fire, which broke out shortly before 7am, razed down the gigantic warehouse, reducing the stack of goods to dust and rubble. A quick response by the City Council Fire Brigade and Kenya Air Force fire department did not help much. It took the fire brigade more than three hours to douse the raging inferno, which also drew a huge crowd of onlookers. As we went to Press, City Council fire fighters and the Kenya Air Force reinforcement were still battling to put out the last embers. The fire also caused a power failure at the factory, bringing operations to a standstill. According to the company’s Human Resources Manager, Abraham Serem, all the staff were away when the fire broke out, adding that he was informed of the incident on telephone by a friend. Serem said a massive amount of Doom aerosols and other products were lost in the fire. The company also manufactures Jik, Harpic and Dettol detergents and antiseptic soaps, among other products. Serem said the store held a large amount of raw materials for detergent manufacture part of which, he said, was also destroyed in the fire. He said the cost of the damage could not immediately be established adding, however, that the damage was huge and the cost could run into millions of shillings. “We would only be able to know the extent of the damage and the exact cost after proper assessment, as for the moment I can only give a rough estimate,” he said. The cause of the fire could not immediately be established although an electric fault is suspected. Witnesses said they heard a big blast, which was followed by thick black smoke swirling in the air over the factory. Police officers who arrived at the scene minutes after the fire started also said they suspected an electric fault and discounted possibilities of arson. Serem said quick response by neighbouring British American Tobacco Company in providing more water helped to stop the fire spreading to other buildings at the factory. He said the fire, however, will not affect the operations of the company. “We would be able to adjust quickly and continue with our operations as usual,” he said.

GNADENHUTTEN — Workers and neighbors of U.S. Chemical & Plastics received an unpleasant beginning to their new year. An explosion at the plant, located at 2290 Zimmerman Road, shook the two-building facility. The ensuing fire sent a gray plume of smoke more than 300 feet into the air above the facility. A worker in the main building adjacent to the factory said the explosion rocked the plant. “We thought a truck had hit the building,” said the employee, who asked not to be identified. “Our supervisor went outside, saw what it was and told us to get out.” More than 20 workers were sent home after the blast. According to Gnadenhutten Police Chief David Birker, no serious injuries resulted from the blast, which occurred at 11:59 a.m. “I’m thankful of that,” Birker said. He added, that to his knowledge, no toxins were released during the explosion or subsequent fire. “My understanding is that from the samples that were taken, there was no reason to evacuate any residents,” he said. One employee was transported to an undisclosed hospital for treatment. One firefighter was treated for an injury at the scene. The factory uses chemicals and other products to make body filler and paints used for auto body repair. The company also manufactures truck bed liners and other items used in the automotive industry. The retired Rev. Bob Gadfield, who founded the Full Gospel Pentecostal Church in Gnadenhutten, lives some 100 yards away from the factory. “I came home after the explosion,” Gadfield said. “I was surprised no windows had been blown out at my house or at the church. When I checked inside my house, paintings had been knocked off my walls.” John Wyrie, general manager of the plant, wouldn’t make any comments on the incident until the exact cause of the explosion was known. Investigators from the State Fire Marshall’s office entered the scene at approximately 5:45 p.m. Fire departments from Gnadenhutten, Port Washington, Newcomerstown, New Philadelphia, Dover, Dennison, Rush Township, Uhrichsville and Mineral City responded to the scene. Firefighters were still on the scene at 6 p.m.

A fire at Valero didn’t leave any injuries or damage to the refinery
Oil leaked onto a heating unit to start the fire, which produced flames visible from I-37
By Joy Victory Caller-Times November 30, 2002
Flames erupted at Valero Refining Company’s Complex 7 on Up River Road late Thursday night after a pipe cracked and leaked oil onto a heating unit. The fire, which started at about midnight, was extinguished within a few hours by Valero workers and the Refinery Terminal Fire Company, according to company spokesman Bobby Broadway. The fire sent flames high into the sky that were visible from Interstate 37, but did not cause any injuries or much damage to the refinery, Broadway said. About 12 people were working at the time of the fire. The oil has been rerouted to other parts of the plant, so automobile and diesel gasoline production won’t be affected, Broadway said. Workers in a control room first noticed the fire. They called 911 and immediately turned off the unit. As the fire was being put out, city workers tested the air quality near the refinery and didn’t find anything unusual. Refinery Terminal Fire Co. firefighter Larry Clavette said Valero workers were able to handle the bulk of the fire fighting duties. The city’s call-down system was not needed. Refinery Terminal Fire Co. serves as back-up support for refinery crews whenever there is a fire or chemical spill. “We did respond with quite a few units and our hazardous material team was doing monitoring to make sure there was no toxic or hazardous chemical being released,” Clavette said.

Fire does $2 million damage in Marion
By Monica Torline Gannett News Service 
MARION — An explosion at a city garage Friday caused damage estimated at $2 million. The city’s old garage at 960 E. Center St., rocked with an explosion just after 1:30 p.m. Friday. Flames rose 30 feet and smoke rolled across a bright blue sky over downtown Marion. Firefighters and spectators backed away as combustibles inside set off multiple explosions. Wind swept through the building and stirred up flames. Fire punched holes through the roof, which eventually flaked away. City Superintendent Bill Hamby said a city worker was welding on a leaf machine when his flame ignited fumes from a gas tank containing 20 to 30 gallons of fuel. Hamby and other workers were moving materials into the city’s new garage when they saw the smoke, and immediately called 911. The worker made it out of the building and neither he nor anyone else was harmed. “If he was right next to it, he could have been — he’s lucky he wasn’t injured,” Marion Fire Chief Al Gruber said. City workers were called in to move their parked cars away from the burning garage. About a dozen vehicles were retrieved. A firefighter was pulling at the handles of the last remaining car, a silver Honda, when the wall behind him collapsed. The firefighter escaped from the tumbling cinder blocks, but the Honda’s back end was crushed. The city paid its insurance premiums two weeks ago, and coverage will be put to the test. Mayor Jack Kellogg estimates damages could total $2 million. Two buses, a recycling truck and a wrecker were lost; those vehicles were worth $250,000. “Everything’s destroyed,” Hamby said. “We might have been able to save this building if it weren’t for the wind.” One moment, smoke and heat blew southeast, and then it would whip to the northwest. Gruber said the wind kept his crews desperately trying to keep up with the fire. “It opened up in the west end, and the wind pushed it right through the building,” he said. The fire and smoke drew curious residents — some toting cameras. About 50 spectators on porches, train tracks and sidewalks watched firefighters work. “It doesn’t get much bigger than this in Marion,” Kellogg said. The city’s fire department, the only station to respond, extinguished most of the fire by 4:30 p.m., Gruber said. Sections of roof that caved in still were smoldering in the early evening Friday. The garage was 30 years old, and Kellogg said the city will need to replace it to house city vehicles at night. “We were going to use this building to store our sanitation trucks and buses,” Safety Service Director Dale Osborn said. Hamby said he will have to make do with the city’s new garage at 981 W. Center St. in the meantime. Kellogg and Hamby had an open house at the $1.7 million facility Sunday. 

UPDATE, Worker in Tuas factory blast dies in hospital 
A MAN who was injured in a Tuas factory blast on Wednesday died at the National University Hospital the next day. Mr Eng Keat Cheong, a Malaysian Chinese production worker with Nelco Products in Gul Crescent, was near the one-storey oven – used for drying raw materials – when it overheated and exploded. The 21-year-old died from multiple injuries at 8.15 pm on Thursday. The accident injured 10 men. One is still in critical condition at NUH; two others warded are in stable condition; two have been discharged and four were treated as outpatients. They were in a room at the back of the factory when the oven exploded at 2.09 pm. This resulted in a fire, which was put out by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers within five minutes of their arrival. Employees have been told not to speak to the press, and Nelco Products has declined to comment. The 16-year-old American factory off Pioneer Road, which laminates printed computer circuit boards, has more than 200 employees, said one worker. Preliminary investigations showed the explosion and fire were accidental, and the oven had overheated, said the SCDF. 

Burning filters damage Itasca business 
By Rhonda Sciarra Daily Herald Staff Writer November 28, 2002 
Filters inside an Itasca business caught fire Wednesday sending smoke throughout the building’s exhaust system and outside. No one was injured in the blaze at C & G Systems, 1401 W. Glenlake Ave., said Itasca firefighter and acting fire Lt. Rick Simon, but smoke was everywhere. “It got pretty nasty,” he said. “My eyes were tearing so bad.” Firefighters responded about 11:30 p.m. and took a little more than an hour to put out the fire in the filter system and douse the burning filters, he said. Employees at the metal product manufacturing plant were able to get out of the building. The fire caused slight smoke damage inside the building and severe fire damage to the machinery that caught on fire, he said. About 13 firefighters worked on the fire. Wood Dale and Roselle personnel helped out Itasca authorities on the fire.

DeWitt Twp. business damaged by blaze
DeWITT TWP. – A spark from a welder’s torch is blamed for a 7 p.m. Tuesday fire that swept through the Encore Landscape Service building, 16936 Turner Road. Township Fire Chief Fred Koos estimated losses at $100,000 for the building and $90,000 for contents. “A spark ignited oil on the workshop floor and flames destroyed the building,” Koos said. Business owner Ron Burns said the building was insured with partial coverage for the contents. “We are very fortunate that nobody was hurt,” he said.

UPDATE, Hormel cited by regulators in explosion that injured five workers
Thursday, 11/28/02
(Austin-AP) – Hormel Foods is cited with six safety violations for an explosion and fire that injured five workers in September. The state Occupational Safety and Health Division also fined the Austin meat processor nearly 6,000 dollars. The state says four citations are for a lack of training for workers assigned to deal with fires. The other two indicate that Hormel didn’t verify that a metal detector was kept in working order and did not properly train workers assigned to reset circuit breakers. The employees, all men, suffered burns on their hands, arms and faces in the September fifth explosion in a rendering and grinding room. Hormel was given 20 days to contest the citations. A Hormel spokeswoman says they plan to talk with regulators in the hopes of getting some of the citations lessened or dropped. 

Fire hits power plant: Small blaze controlled, little damage to ANP 
By Christopher J. Marshall Thursday, November 28, 2002
BELLINGHAM – Six firefighters rushed through the season’s first snow yesterday morning after a fire broke out in ductwork at the American National Power plant on Maple Street. Fire officials suspect the cause to be a pipe leak inside the plant’s turbine building, but the matter is still under investigation, according to Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Guerin. The call came into the Fire Department around 10:30, Guerin said. Two engines and a ladder truck were sent to the plant, while an engine from Station 1 on Wrentham Street and Station 3 on Hartford Avenue covered the town’s headquarters. ANP workers thought the fire, located inside the plant’s turbine building, was under control, Guerin said. “When I arrived on location at the fire it was evident the fire was not out,” he said. Getting to the pipe, located 60 feet off the ground, was the biggest obstacle for firefighters. “Luckily, there was some staging in place,” Guerin said. A plant worker knocked down the pipe to extinguish the small blaze. No one was injured and minimal damage was done to the plant. “The whole scenario was always under control,” Guerin said. ANP officials shut down the plant for the day. It is expected to resume operation today, according to Paul Parschley, an ANP spokesman. The pipe, which carries air as hot as 900 degrees, had a leaky gasket that caused the pipe’s insulation to ignite, he said. After years of planning, the plant went online this summer. It is a 580-megawatt natural gas-fired plant, which runs both steam and gas powered turbines, creating electricity. Under ANP’s agreement with the town, Bellingham will receive approximately $3 million from the project by fiscal 2004. The sum will decrease from there. The town received just under $2 million in revenue from the project in fiscal 2002.

Explosion at Pemex refinery injures eight workers
AP – 11/28/2002
An explosion at a Gulf coast refinery controlled by the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) injured eight workers, none seriously, the company said Wednesday night. In a statement, Pemex said a sudden increase in pressure caused the blast in a plant designed to remove sulfur and other elements from crude oil at its Francisco I. Madero oil refinery, in the port city of Tampico, 210 miles (335 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City. One plant worker suffered superficial burns, while seven others were treated for ear lesions and wounds from the impact of shattered glass, the company reported. Pemex officials were investigating the cause of the explosion, and the plant resumed operating normally after a brief delay, the statement said.

Chinese mine explosion kills eight
Eight miners have died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in north China, local officials and state media said. The blast ripped through the private mine in Quyang town, Hebei province, yesterday, a town official said. The bodies of eight dead miners were recovered from the mine early today, according to state radio. It brings to 38 the number of miners killed or missing in gas explosions in the past week following the deaths of 30 workers in three separate incidents in Guizhou province, in China’s south-west. According to Beijing’s work safety bureau, 4,500 miners died in accidents last year. However outside experts, supported by other official figures, put the number at around 10,000 – the great majority of coal miners. Small, privately run pits often operate with little or no safety equipment, and thousands have stayed open despite a long-running government campaign to shut down unlicensed mines. China is still heavily reliant on coal, which provides around two-thirds of its total energy needs.

Fire At Saudi Shell Refinery Put Out Without Damage
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co. put out a fire which broke out at its Al-Jubail plant without interrupting production of fuel oil, kerosene and other products, a company official said. The fire erupted on Saturday (12/28/2002) at tanks where the plant collects excess water and was put out “quickly,” said the official, who declined to be identified. The fire was away from any of the plant’s processing units, he said, without elaborating on what caused the blaze. The joint venture of Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s biggest oil company by market value, and Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, can process as much as 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil into products, 90 percent of which are exported, the official said.

Dust Sparks Explosion At Pella Plant 
A fire at the American Wood Fibers plant in Pella is expected to smolder for some time following a fire Friday (12/27/2002) afternoon. Witnesses said a loud explosion could be heard at least a mile away from the plant. Workers inside the plant told NewsChannel 8’s Cynthia Fodor they thought a plane had hit the building. The explosion also shook buildings a block away. Workers said the plant turns wood shavings from the Pella Corporation into sawdust for livestock bedding. Dust particles that were loaded into a tractor-trailer ignited, triggering the fire. Four other trailers at the loading docks also caught fire but workers were able to pull three of them away from the building as they were burning. The fire spread into a storage tank and one of the concrete silos filled with wood shavings and sawdust. Firefighters said it’s expected to smolder for quite awhile. There are usually two to three workers in the area where the explosion happened, but fortunately, no one was injured since few people were working Friday because of the holidays. Firefighters are expected to remain on the scene through the night. There is no word yet on the extent of damage to the plant. Fire investigators are also continuing to look into the explosion’s cause.

UPDATE, Oregon fines company in worker deaths
Shelly Strom 
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division cited H2O Technologies for 10 alleged “serious” safety violations relating to an explosion that killed two workers in July. A civil penalty of $15,100 accompanies the citation. The company is appealing OSHA’s decision. “To us, it was no surprise. We’ve been working with OSHA for several months. We let them know we will appeal because we think it’s the right thing to do,” said H2O spokesman Greg Justice. “At the same time, however, we want to make our business very, very safe and we will take a rigorous approach.” The blast killed 61-year-old Kit Baldwin and 38-year-old Aaron Johnson. It occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m., July 8, in H2O Technologies’ laboratory at 4011 S.E. International Way, Suite 604 in Milwaukie. H2O, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, employs eight people in Portland. The company devises equipment that oxygenates water using electrolysis. Its devices are used in animal husbandry and groundwater remediation. Baldwin and Johnson, who began ork with the company weeks before the accident, were conducting an animal husbandry-related experiment. Oregon OSHA investigators responded to the scene and conducted an investigation to determine the cause of the accident and whether any violations of state workplace safety and health standards were involved. Investigators found that excessive hydrogen gas inside an eighty-gallon fiberglass holding tank ignited and caused the explosion. The tank contained a mixture of gas and liquid, and was being used as an experimental apparatus outside of its designed operating parameters, according to OSHA. No specific ignition point was identified in the investigation, but based on evidence investigators believe a static charge in the tank caused the ignition. The violations, of which all but the last were deemed “serious” by OSHA, allege the company failed to: *develop and carry out a written chemical hygiene plan capable of protecting employees from the health hazards associated with hazardous chemicals present in the laboratory. *have standard operating procedures relevant to safety and health considerations for routine and experimental laboratory work. *have a written plan to address engineering controls, personal protective equipment or chemical hygiene practices during laboratory experiments. *did not have provisions to provide information to employees about the specific hazards in the laboratory and testing area of the facility. *did not specify which particular laboratory operations would require prior approval from the employer or their designee prior to being performed. *have a written policy or procedure to assess that fume hoods and other protective equipment were functioning properly, and that routine or preventative maintenance was performed on schedule. *officially designate a chemical hygiene officer prior to the time of the explosion. *did not use all means and methods necessary to safely accomplish work where employees are exposed to a hazard. *electrical conductors entering boxes, cabinets or fittings were not protected from abrasions and unused openings in boxes were not effectively closed. *one electrical junction box was not fitted with a cover. *The employer, who had more than 11 employees, had not established a safety committee. OSHA dubbed that an “other-than-serious” allegation. 

Explosion Ripps North Manchester Wastewater Building
An explosion in the digester building, part of the wastewater treatment plant at 510 S. Maple St., yielded no injuries but did substantial structural damage here Thursday (12/26/2002). A portion of the building’s wall and roof were blown off shortly after 2 p.m. Investigators believe a spark – perhaps an electric motor or from the boiler – touched off some methane gas. The blast is still under investigation. John Mugford, superintendent of public works, said this was one of those times when it was fortunate the employees were on break. Apparently, the nearest to the blast were about 80 yards away in another building, he said. This morning, Mugford and others were talking with the insurance people about the structural repairs and preparing to check the gas fittings so that the boiler can be fired up again. The equipment in the room treats bacteria. A dollar estimate on the damages, mainly structural, has not yet been made, Mugford said.

Whittier man injured in flash fire at oil well 
Friday, December 27, 2002 – 
ARLETA — A flash fire at the San Fernando Valley’s only oil well site left two workers, including a Whittier man, with serious burns Friday. The fire in the 14200 block of Paxton Street at a well owned by Ventura-based Bentley-Simonson Inc. was reported at 12:39 p.m., said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The victims, ages 55 and 56, were chilling natural gas with a manifold as part of the well’s normal operations when a ball of flames enveloped them, Humphrey said. The 56-year-old man, who is from Mission Viejo, suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns on his hands and forearms, Humphrey said. The other man, a Whittier resident, was behind the older worker and suffered first-degree burns to his face, ears and forearms, Humphrey said. Both were rushed to nearby Providence-Holy Cross Medical Center, where they were listed in serious condition, Humphrey said. “Though their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, they are profoundly painful and potentially debilitating,’ he said. A state safety agency was investigating the accident. The well in question is disguised to look like a bell tower and many residents are unaware of what it is. A motorist on an elevated transition road from the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway to the south Golden State (5) saw the fire and called it in, Humphrey said. 

Nine killed in North-West Delhi factory fire 
New Delhi, Dec 28 
At least nine people, including a woman and a child, were killed and eight injured in a devastating fire in a glass factory in the Samaipur Badli industrial area of North-West Delhi this morning. The blaze, which broke out following a blast in the furnace of the factory manufacturing acrylic glass sheets for television and watches, resulted in a portion of the building collapsing. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police R S Yadav said while two of the deceased — 50-year-old Anar Devi and ten-year-old Brij Kishore — were residing next to the factory, the other casualties were workers of the factory. The other deceased have been identified as Prem Kumar (40), the foreman of the factory, Mushtaq Khan (20), Prem Chand (16), Vijay (18) and Dharmendra (22). Two of the victims are yet to be identified. While four bodies were extricated from the debris of the charred building, five others succumbed to injuries in the LNJP Hospital. While eight others are under treatment at the LNJP Hospital, five people with minor injuries were discharged after first aid at the nearby Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital. The blaze, which broke out at about 0800 hrs., was brought under control by elevn fire tenders after more than two hours of dousing operation, the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said. The injured have been identified as Rakesh, Rajendra Thakur, Surendra, Sanjeev, Rahul, Babloo, Puran and Ramanand. Meanwhile, the Delhi goverment announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the next of the kin of those who were killed in the factory fire. Delhi Industry Minister Deep Chand Bandhu, who made the announcement after visiting the spot, said a sum of Rs 10,000 would be given to those who sustained injuries in the blaze. Bandhu, who was accompanied by Delhi Labour Welfare Board Chairman Sukhbir Sharma and Labour Commissioner S P Marwah, also instructed Marwah to conduct an inquiry into the accident and submit the report wthin a week. The minister also visited the LNJP Hospital where the injured have been admitted for treatment. 

Fire damages building at Olin plant
CYNTHIA M. ELLIS, The Telegraph December 29, 2002 
EAST ALTON — The quiet holiday season at Olin Corp. was interrupted by the sound of sirens and the flashing of emergency lights Saturday when smoke was seen seeping from a building off Illinois Route 3. Firefighters from Olin, East Alton and Wood River responded to the Technology Center just after noon Saturday. Because the plant was on Christmas break, firefighters said there were few employees on the grounds. No injuries were reported. Thick black smoke could be seen escaping from the roof of the building, which is the size of a football field. Firefighters from each department who were called to the scene arrived in the parking lot between what is known to employees as Plant 3 and the Casting Plant and suited up. One Olin firefighter arrived still in his security officer’s uniform and scrambled to get his black turnout gear and helmet on before running up to the building, past the guard shack, where there were already 20 or more firefighters working the scene. Two Olin employees also pulled into the parking lot, and as one got out of his vehicle, he said to the other that he didn’t know whether the thick black smoke was a good sign or a bad sign. Firefighters say black smoke generally indicates petroleum products burning. Ann Pipkin, spokeswoman for Olin, said the fire broke out in the north end of the building. “The alarm came in just about noon, and that was when we could see the smoke coming out of the building,” Pipkin said. Firefighters said the building was filled with smoke when they arrived. “It had been going for some time by the time we arrived,” one firefighter said. “Everything was really black.” Firefighters said the large building did not contain a lot of combustible material, but there were petroleum products that helped fuel the flames. Also firefighters reported that two large plastic tanks containing water for the polish line had melted during the blaze. The building is used mostly for research and development for the Brass Division; it contained industrial equipment and material such as copper, brass and other metals. The building was ventilated before firefighters could go inside and use the thermal imaging cameras to determine the fire’s location. Firefighters said the building is very structurally sound and there was no telling how long the fire had been burning before the alarms went off. It also was reported that alarms went off in the offices of the building. Firefighters worked the fire for more than two hours, trying to clear the building of smoke and determine its cause. Pipkin said company officials do not know the extent of the damage, nor do they know what caused the fire. “The exact cause is still under investigation,” she said. Pipkin said it was fortunate that no one was in the building when the fire started. She said most of Olin’s workers are currently on their Christmas break; otherwise, there would have been employees inside. “The good news is that no one was hurt, because no one was inside,” she said. Pipkin said it was not yet known how the fire would affect the jobs of those who work in the facility. It was the second fire in the same building within the past two years. The last one was in March 2001. 

Firefighters Battle Industrial Fire In Des Moines
Firefighters spent the morning battling a fire that filled the sky with black smoke just south of downtown. The fire started around 10:30 this morning at the former Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Works. When firefighters arrived from just a few blocks away, flames were already shooting through the building. Hidden by a massive plume of thick black smoke, flames burned wildly inside the building. In minutes the fire spread creating a thick cloud that hung over the city and could be seen from miles away. More and more firefighters raced to the scene, at first entering the building, but then retreating as the fire grew. People from all around stopped and stared as firefighters battled the flames. From the tops of trucks, ladders, and towers, firefighters sprayed thousands of gallons of water onto the fire. The two story building was too dangerous to enter because its steel beams began to twist in the heat. Despite the difficulties, firefighters were able to put out most of the flames in less than an hour. Firefighters say the fire was probably caused by a space heater. They say they found several of them on the second floor where they believe some homeless people were living.

Man hurt in blast at plant
DAVE WHALEY, The Telegraph December 27, 2002 
ALTON — One man was injured in an explosion Thursday morning at Hanley Industries. The Fosterburg Fire Department responded to a call at 10:30 a.m. at Hanley, 3640 Seminary St. Fire Chief John Holtorf said one man was taken by ARCH helicopter ambulance to one of the St. Louis hospitals, but didn’t know which one. “He was mixing explosives, and it went off,” said Holtorf, who also said the man’s injuries probably were serious. “It took us about 20 minutes to fight the fire in the building. We called Brighton (Fire Department) to man our station and had Godfrey firefighters on standby.” Hanley Industries personnel did not return telephone calls seeking comment, and authorities were unable to provide the name or condition of the injured worker. On Sept. 5, Hanley was awarded part of a $30,319,282.50 contract by the U.S. Army for the production of M782 Multi-Option Fuze for Artillery. Hanley was to perform 15 percent of the work on the contract. The MOFA782 is an inductively or manually set proximity, time, delay after impact or point detonating fuse, operable with all artillery systems. In 1989, employee John Schmuke of Salem, Mo., was injured after some Class A explosives blew up in his hands at Hanley Industries.

UPDATE, Rouse sued for $65M in blast
By Sam Knowlton Staff writer
The family of an industrial manager who died after a May explosion has filed suit against the Vicksburg rubber-recycling plant where he worked and others, claiming fraud and negligence. Teddy Smith, 40, was one of five who died from several hours to 14 days after the May 16 explosion and fire at Rouse Polymerics International on U.S. 61 South. Seven other employees were injured. The suit was filed Monday in Warren County Circuit Court and asks for $65 million in damages, claiming the company; its principal, Michael Rouse; maintenance vendors and individual employees of it were negligent in Smith’s death. The Smith family is represented by Vicksburg attorney Paul Kelly Loyacono. The complaint, which tells one side of events, claims that after the explosions, defendants destroyed documents relevant to the official investigation and made misleading statements to investigators. It also claims the company’s process was known to be unsafe and that the company was therefore negligent in Smith’s death. “The individual defendants were all members of and participants in a conspiracy to obstruct justice, both criminal and civil,” the suit says. The plaintiffs also claim Rouse fraudulently diverted assets to himself, his wife and children and other entities following the explosion. It claims at least $40 million in compensatory damages, including $20 million to Smith’s estate; $10 million to his widow, Audra; and $5 million to each of their two children. It also claims punitive damages of at least $25 million. Defendants have 30 days to answer. Local, state and federal investigations into the cause of the explosions began soon after the fire. The plant was essentially idle for about six months while the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration completed its investigation which, Michael Rouse has said, did not identify any defect as having caused the explosion. OSHA found the company had committed two willful and 22 serious safety violations and proposed $210,600 in fines. Nine days later, a compromise was announced, with OSHA removing the willful characterizations of the violations and reducing the penalty to $187,680. The suit is the second. The first was filed May 28 by the wife of Roy Deaton, 50, five days after he died of his injuries. It did not name defendants but, under Mississippi law, a civil suit can be amended at any time. It requested a jury trial to determine damages, but did not specify amounts. Rouse has said he intends to rebuild on the company’s current site. Production was to increase in the past several weeks in the part of the plant that remained operable and, by January, removal of the burned building and construction of a new facility were to be complete. As it rebuilds, a low-interest loan tentatively OK’d by the Mississippi Development Authority and sought with the City of Vicksburg’s approval in October will have a role. The loan expected to provide Rouse with up to $1 million in cash, and with a potential subsidy from federal taxpayers of at least $320,000 over the life of the loan.

Fire damages Philips semiconductor factory on Xmas night
REUTERS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2002 03:58:40 PM 
AMSTERDAM: Philips Electronics NV said on Friday that it would reopen a Dutch semiconductor factory next week after a fire at the plant on Wednesday. “There was a fire on Christmas night at the Stadskanaal factory, but it’s out now,” said Philips spokesman Andre Manning. Manning said it was too early to determine the cost of the damage caused by the fire, but that the facility would re-open after the New Year holidays. The Netherlands-based Philips is Europe’s largest maker of consumer electronics and lighting and number three in semiconductors. 

Local plant catches on fire
By Cleve Dowell
Fire and rescue units from throughout Clarendon County were called out late Friday night to battle a fire at Technical Cleaning Filtration and Coating Services, Inc., on George Harvin Road. “I can’t speculate on what happened,” Plant Manager Bo Page said. “I’m just thankful no one was hurt.” Firefighters quickly got the blaze under control, but were not able to completely extinguish the fire. “We’re just going to let it burn out,” Firefighter Bucky Mock said. Employees of the company were cleaning up the debris over the weekend and “we’ll be back in business Monday,” Page said. “The structure is fine. We’ll have a lot of cosmetic work to do to get the building back to the way it was.” Technical Cleaning Filtration and Coating Services, Inc., cleans industrial filters.

Explosion injures 2 plant workers; A faulty valve is blamed for the blast at Owens Corning Specialty Foam and Products. 
By CORINA CURRY‚ Rockford Register Star
ROCKFORD – A machine that melts and forms plastic to make insulation exploded Thursday at a manufacturing plant, sending two men to the hospital with minor injuries. A faulty relief valve is being blamed for the blast at Owens Corning Specialty Foam and Products, 2710 Laude Drive, in southeast Rockford. The explosion, described as a flash or quick blast, happened at 10:53 a.m and sent a fireball 10 to 15 feet into the air. Two workers nearby – Garry Pierce, 60, and Mike Berger, 57, both of Rockford – suffered first-degree burns on their faces and arms. They were treated at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center and released. The blast did not damage other machines or the building. The fireball lasted a second or two before it burned out. About 15 people were working in the plant at the time of the blast and all were evacuated safely. Employees were cleaning the machine, called an extruder, right before the blast. Rockford Acting District Fire Chief Brad Donnelli said the cause of the blast appears to be a faulty valve on the extruder that was supposed to release air pressure from inside the machine. He said the valve did not release as it should have, forcing pressure to build and eventually explode in the form of a fireball that came out of the machine in a sideways direction. Rockford firefighters used fans to ventilate smoke and fumes from the building. Damage to the extruder is estimated at $2,500 to $5,000. The injured workers left the building on their own after the blast and were conscious when rescue workers arrived. They men were treated at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and released. Owens Corning Specialty Foam and Products, formerly known as UC Industries, makes insulation for residential and commercial use. The plant employs about 25 people. Company spokesman Joseph Hanna said the cause of the extruder’s malfunction is under investigation. “My main concern is for my people here. I want to make sure everyone is safe and that the injured people are safe,” Hanna said. “At this time, we really don’t know what happened.” Rockford fire investigator Mark Marinaro said the building showed no signs of damage from the blast or fire. “Everything is secure. There doesn’t appear to be any other risks,” Marinaro said as rescue crews loaded up and prepared to leave the scene around noon.

UPDATE, Mill Explosion Fine
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Federal regulators proposed fines Monday totaling $89,250 against a Watertown paper mill for exposing workers to dozens of serious hazards, including some that caused an explosion that killed one worker and injured five others. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the June 11 explosion at Knowlton Specialty Papers occurred when six dryer cans on a paper coating machine became overpressurized with steam and ignited. The blast, which was felt by residents several blocks away, tore a hole in one of the mill walls and killed 44-year-old Thomas Traynor of Watertown. Five others were injured. “This tragic accident could have been avoided if the proper equipment were in place and if proper precautions were followed,” said Diane Brayden, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. OSHA inspectors alleged 50 serious violations by the company, said Chris Adams, the Syracuse office’s assistant director. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm are likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known, he said.”It’s a significant number for one facility,” Adams said. A spokeswoman said the company would have no comment until Executive Vice President Richard Gray returned to the office after the holidays. OSHA alleged that Knowlton did not provide a pressure relief valve to discharge dangerous excess steam and did not maintain steam pressures to the dryer cans lower than their design pressure. Among the other alleged serious violations:The company failed to inspect, maintain and replace defective parts on overhead hoists, lifting hooks and their controls. Nip points on paper machine rollers were unguarded, as were saws, fans, rotating shafts, pulleys and belts.-There were neither written procedures or hardware to prevent machines from being powered-on while workers were servicing them.-The company failed to maintain and provide emergency lighting or personal protective equipment for employees when working with electrical hazards.-Live electrical parts were inadequately guarded and underground storage tanks for flammable liquids were inadequately vented.-Fire extinguishers were not provided in flammable liquids storage areas and the company did not prevent smoking around flammable liquids. The company has 15 days to either agree with the citations and penalties or contest them. Knowlton’s production line includes superabsorbents, gradient density felts, heat formable fabrics, decoratives, needled products, synthetics and natural fibers, according to the company website.

Chemical Fire, Workers Evacuated 
Workers at an Altona petrochemical plant were evacuated after a holding tank erupted in flames this afternoon (12/22/2002). Around 20 staff at Qenos Olefins were at the plant when the holding tank, which contained a five to six metre deep mixture of sludge, water and hydrocarbons exploded at 3.30pm (AEDT). The cause of the blast was being investigated, a Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) spokesman said. It took 35 firefighters around two and a half hours to extinguish the chemical fire. “Chemists from the plant in conjunction with the MFB Fire Investigation and Analysis Department will undertake an analysis of the product, to help establish how it caught fire,” the spokesman said.

Worker Injured In Gas Well Fire, Incident Occurred Early Monday
UPDATED: 8:38 a.m. EST December 23, 2002
VANDERGRIFT, Pa. — One worker was injured when a gas well caught fire in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, early Monday. Four workers from Penntext Inc. were working on the well in an isolated area off of Echo Ridge Road. A fire broke out at about midnight. It was under control by 1 a.m. One worker was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter. There is no word on his condition or the cause of the fire.

UPDATE, OSHA clears Crucible in July explosion; Investigators find no safety violations in blast that killed Syracuse man.
Saturday, December 21, 2002 By Charley Hannagan 
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Friday ended its investigation into a June accident at Crucible Specialty Metals, but it still doesn’t know what sparked the explosion that killed a Syracuse man. “We didn’t find any violations of the OSHA standards, or any other industry standards, or reference standards,” said Christopher Adams, the agency’s assistant area director. The agency has closed its investigation, he said. Crucible Friday declined to comment on OSHA’s findings. The company wants to review the official report before commenting, said David W. Robbins, president and chief operating officer of Crucible Materials Corp. The company is the parent of the Specialty Metals plant that employs 550 workers in Geddes. Tony Anthony Jr., 46, of Syracuse, died as a result of the multiple blast injuries he received June 28 in the accident. The father of two was a second-generation steel maker and had worked at the mill for 26 years. The explosion occurred in the Crucible Particle Metallurgy building at the steel mill on State Fair Boulevard. The company spent $25 million to expand its CPM process in 1999. During the CPM process, operators pour molten steel into a chamber supercooled by nitrogen. The result is fine grain steel. Workers later reheat the grains to create a particularly durable steel that is used to make tools to cut other metals. The June blast blew out the building’s wall and roof, sending a large chunk of debris near railroad tracks that run near the plant. In the days after the accident, investigators combed over the wreckage trying to find clues as to why the new equipment exploded. “This is a very unique operation with unique hazards to evaluate,” Adams said. OSHA called in technical investigators from it’s Salt Lake City Technical Center. Investigators also reviewed the equipment’s installation, maintenance and production records. They interviewed maintenance and production employees to make sure the equipment was installed, maintained and operated according to standards. OSHA also did not find any violations on the part of the employees, he said. The indications were that the workers were running the process well within the limits, Adams said. The CPM process is new, and the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code standard for it was being written as the company installed the equipment, he said. Knowing the standard was about to be put in place, Crucible met the standard as it designed and installed the equipment, Adams said. Even though OSHA did not find a cause for the accident, insurance investigators continue to probe the explosion for clues to its cause, Robbins said.