Hotwork Accidents #13
This page was last updated on 05/06/2010
Feed mill burns in Preble village (fire started by hotwork)
Fire sparked onboard USS Slater (it was actually crews working to fix up the World War II relic that accidentally started the fire – investigators believe it started in the lower deck chief’s bathroom when a spark from welding equipment grew to quickly engulf a canvas tarp and then life jackets – the welders isolated the room, saving the rest of the ship, but posing a problem for firefighters)
One hurt in body shop fire (welding equipment started the fire, which caused sustained significant heat damage to the shop area)
C. Florida water plant blast kills one (an explosion at a water plant killed one person and seriously injured two others – a crew was performing hurricane repairs on the roof of the Water Treatment Plant before the explosion – worker was apparently using a cutting torch when chemicals underneath the roof ignited – one of the patients transported to Medical Center was burned over 100 percent of his body – the other victims had burns to 80 percent of their bodies – police said a worker was using a blowtorch near methanol and sodium sulfate tanks when one of the tanks exploded)
Welder, supervisor held responsible for 100-acre file (two men employed with a fencing company have been charged with reckless damage in connection with a welding incident that sparked a 100-acre wildfire – they had a spotter, but did not have any water available to put out a fire)
UPDATE Blast claims 2nd Daytona worker (a maintenance worker, 40, died and the plant’s lead maintenance manager, 59, died at the scene – maintenance worker, 42, remained in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center with burns from his chest down – employees were using a torch to repair a metal roof above a chemical tank containing highly flammable methanol, and city officials still could not answer whether the three knew about the dangers)
No one hurt in Russian tanker fire in Sevastopol (no one was hurt in a fire that broke out onboard a Russian tanker under repairs – fire started on the Volga-Neft-120 tanker’s nose in the dry dock of the Ordzhokinidze shipyard – presumably, welding sparked the blaze – firemen prevented the fire from spreading into a warehouse, where lacquers and paints are being stored)
Welding Accident Starts Hospital Fire (some welders working on remodeling a conference room when a small fire erupted – the fire was immediately contained by hospital staff and no patients had to be relocated)
UPDATE Report: ‘Scared’ Roofers Fled Church Fire (two roofers using blow torches on the roof of the historic Pilgrim Baptist Church left the scene because they became scared when they couldn’t extinguish what would become a devastating fire)
Fire destroys business in Frenchville (loss could be as much as $200,000 – “I tried to stop the fire, but the fire extinguisher ran out,” he said at the scene. “I thought I had it out for a second, but it flared up again – The fire started when a worker, the only mechanic in the three-bay garage, was cutting a piece of steel with a torch – a spark reportedly ignited some gasoline that had trickled across the garage floor from a gasoline tank that was near a wall of the garage)
Cadbury Explosion Claims One More Life (one more person has died as a result of the explosion which occurred about two weeks ago – the deceased, 30, an electrician, sustained severe burns as a result of the explosion and was in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital until he died at 4 a.m. on Monday – explosion was reportedly caused by a worker who attempted to weld a leakage on an oil tanker which had offloaded its cargo)
Fire forces five-hour shutdown at Indiana Toyota plant (a fire at the manufacturing plant forced a nearly five-hour shutdown – no one was injured in the blaze – fire occurred in a welding area for the minivan and may have begun with a welding spark igniting insulation in the roof – damage was limited to an eight-by-20-foot section of the roof)
2nd fire in just months creates scare but minor losses at elevator (sparks from welding are what caused a fire inside a grain elevator – welding that sparked the fire came from repairs to damage caused by an October fire to the same structure)
3 injured in fire (the fire occurred at 1:29 p.m. as the three men were using a cutting torch and accidentally ignited a flash fire on a piece of equipment inside the shop area of the business)
HFD, utility workers make short work of gas fire (workers cutting a gas line sparked a fire in the basement of the former school – torch ignited the fire)
Fire spoils lunch at Clifton eatery (a flash fire on the roof of the newly opened restaurant emptied the building during the busy lunch – a contractor using a blow torch to apply adhesive to the roof accidentally started the fire)
Blowtorch Causes Apartment Fire (fire was caused accidentally by a worker using a blowtorch on the first level – damage is estimated at $300,000)
Welder burned in explosion (the owner of a business suffered third-degree burns over all of his body from an explosion as he welded a flatbed truck – life-threatening burns to as much as 100% of his body – incident happened as he worked near a fuel tank )
UPDATE Torch blamed for fire that trapped miners (a preliminary investigation has identified a cutting torch as the source of a fire that temporarily trapped 72 workers underground in a potash mine – investigators believe the torch was being used to remove bolts from a flange connected to some polyethylene pipe – it caused a flame on the inside of the pipe, which sent dense black smoke billowing through the tunnels of the mine)
UPDATE Report blames designer, maker of fuel tank for fatal blast (investigators blame two companies for last year’s fuel tank explosion at a Union Pacific machine shop – while no single factor was responsible for the fatal blast, officials say the designer and the maker of the tank made errors that led to the accident last February – a sheet metal worker was working on the new fuel tank when a spark ignited vapors trapped inside and caused an explosion – the worker, was killed)
Fire damages Palm City shipping company (a smoldering fire in the roof of a large loading dock sent toxic clouds of black, orange and gray smoke billowing – worker using a torch apparently ignited the insulation under the building’s metal roof around)
Two killed in tanker explosion (Two people were killed and one injured seriously when an empty oil tanker exploded while being repaired at a workshop – the tanker, used for carrying petrol, burst while the welding works were being done and caught fire partially)
Fire victim dies of injuries (a fire that burned through a vitamin and mineral product manufacturing building was an accident caused by a worker’s torch – fire was ruled accidental after a worker used a torch to weld some metal, which caused combustible material in the storage bin to heat up – workers said there was no sign of fire or smoke when they finished welding at about noon Thursday and prior to them leaving at 4:30 p.m.)
Worker killed in accident at steel company scrap yard (a piece of cut steel fell onto a man working in a scrap yard and killed him – worker, 56, was using a torch to cut scrap when it appears a piece of metal fell back on him)
5 Killed During Torch Cutting of Shell in Kazakhstan (five workers of a local plant have been killed when a missile detonated during a torch cutting – several shells have been found at the site of the accident)
Bordentown City plant evacuated (employees at a processing facility were briefly evacuated after a forklift caught fire – fire was sparked about 7 a.m. while a mechanic was repairing a hole on the forklift’s radiator with an acetylene torch and the torch malfunctioned)
Blast at petrol pump in UT, 2 hurt (two unidentified persons sustained extensive burns in a blast that took place at a petrol pump – blast took place in the underground diesel storage tank – the men were trying to connect computer cables with the tank using an electric motor and welding machine)
Construction Worker Killed By Falling Clay (a welder, 30, was killed when ground clay fell on him as he was working to unclog a 120-ton steel tank – was covered and apparently suffocated – he was standing on a conveyor belt below the opening of the 34-foot-tall tank, which was being installed – the tank holds the powdery ground clay, and he was using a torch to cut sections of steel I-beams and channels clogging the tank opening – some of the material caked on the side of the tank apparently loosened and fell on him)
Blowtorch sets Plaza stairwell on fire (a worker using a blowtorch accidentally set a stairwell at hotel ablaze – the fire did not spread and no one was hurt – had no guests because it closed in April 2005 for renovations and partial conversion to condominiums)
Fire damages new construction: Spark from welding torch ignited … (the fire started when construction workers welding on the second floor of the three-story building accidentally set the exterior insulation on fire – an errant spark from a welding torch ignited plastic insulation on the exterior of an office building under construction – estimated the damage at $20,000)
Fire at EKU Student Apartment Building (the fire started just after 11 a.m. when roofers working with hot tar and a torch lit part of the building on fire)
Sparks cause fire at RB&W factory (an acetylene torch ignited a fire at a factory that is being torn down – demolition crews were using a torch to cut steel girders and it sparked the roofing material)