Industrial Fires & Explosions page 9

Industrial Fires & Explosions Page #9

This page was last updated on  05/06/2010

 

Chemical suspected in blast that hurts 8 at plant; The men were working at a soybean processing facility near Sergeant Bluff when the explosion occurred.
By BILL REITER Register Staff Writer 08/30/2003
Sergeant Bluff, Ia. – An explosion Friday morning at a soybean processing plant injured eight workers, five of them critically. The men were inside Ag Processing Inc. before 9 a.m. when the blast happened. The plant, located in the Port Neal Industrial Complex, was shut down for routine cleaning and maintenance. Officials continued to investigate the exact cause of the blast late Friday. They believe it to be hexane gas, a highly flammable liquid that evaporates easily in the air. It is used to extract oils from seeds and vegetables, including soybeans. An official said no contaminant was released by the blast. “There wasn’t anything really that would be an overwhelming concern from a public health standpoint,” said Gary Brown, director of emergency management for Woodbury County. Among those injured were Kyle Heck, 22, and Mark Croghan, 45, both of Sioux City, who were flown to an Omaha hospital’s burn unit. Erik Ploen, 23, of Kingsley and Dusty Hannah, 26, of Sioux City were in serious condition at Mercy Hospital in Sioux City. “They had burn injuries. There’s a chemical called hexane that is involved somehow. The burns were caused by not only the chemical, but also by a fire. Some had external burns. Some had internal injuries from either inhaling hot air or the chemical itself,” said Rick Wollman, Mercy’s spokesman. Richard Scott, 24, of Sioux City; William Beck, 47, of Onawa; and Patrick Swanson, 44, of Sioux City, were treated at Mercy and released. The name of the eighth victim was not released because of privacy laws. An official said a firefighter also was taken to the hospital for fatigue. The explosion happened in the same industrial area where an explosion at Terra Industries in 1994 killed four people and injured 17. Terra was not involved in the incident Friday. According to records with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, AGP has had 51 safety violations from 1984 to 2002. Ten were at the Sergeant Bluff plant. Of those, two were considered serious. The most serious violation resulted in the death of an employee in November 1998, when a man was killed after falling from a lift that had overturned. OSHA issued a violation because the emergency ladder was 50 feet away, and there was no landing or cage ladder next to the elevator. On Friday, emergency workers from at least seven different agencies responded to the explosion about 8:45 a.m. Two workers of the maintenance crew who had been in a room next to where the blast happened said they heard a noise. “It was like a big muffled thud. We had no clue what had happened. You hear noise all the time. We thought they had just dropped some equipment,” said one as he stood outside the plant, which is about 20 miles south of Sioux City. The two asked their names not be used. The two said they had been working on steam leaks at the time and were scheduled to go into the room where the blast occurred. “Thank God I wasn’t in there. In 10 minutes, I would’ve been and then I wouldn’t have gotten out,” the other man said. Another worker ran in and told them to get out after the blast. Witnesses said burns were evident on some of the victims. The eight injured men all were taken to Mercy initially. Ag Processing Inc. has had a plant in Sergeant Bluff since 1973. AGP is based in Omaha. It is a regional cooperative operating six soybean processing plants in Iowa, and one each in Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska, according to a news release from the company. The company, which has about 1,600 employees, is the third-largest supplier of refined vegetable oil in the United States, said spokesman John Campbell. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow employees and their families,” the company said. The plant in Sergeant Bluff employs about 50 people. Efforts to contact relatives of the injured men were unsuccessful. Bystanders were not allowed to get close to the Port Neal Industrial Complex. “They were thinking, if the whole place had been in operation, it could have been a whole lot worse,” said one deputy. 

Huge blast at ExxonMobil plant kills 4 in Nagoya 
2003.08.29
NAGOYA — Four workers were killed and three more were injured Friday after a huge gasoline tank burst into flames at a local fuel storage facility of Exxon Mobil Corp., police said. The massive explosion occurred at the ExxonMobil Nagoya oil tank facility in the city’s Minato-ku at about 3:40 p.m. while a team of five workers were cleaning the No. 2 tank. Police said the workers have finished transferring most of 4,500 kiloliters of gasoline held in the No. 2 tank to another tank and were moving the remaining fuel to a oil tanker when vaporized gasoline began to fill inside the tank. They opened a bulb on top of the tank to discharge the gas but the vaporized fuel suddenly burst into flames. Three workers who were working inside the tank were killed instantly. One of six workers who were working on the No. 24 tank located some 10 meters away from the burnt tank was also killed. Three of the victims were identified as 48-year-old Mitsuo Kanei, 31-year-old Noritatsu Nishiyama and 22-year-old Tomo Miura, all of Nagoya who worked for the Kawasaki-based subcontractor Shimura. The fourth victim is believed to be a worker for Konan Service, a local company. Police said the injured workers suffered burns in the incident. The Nagoya Fire Department deployed 47 fire engines, including special vehicles equipped to deal with chemical fires, to the scene. Firefighters managed to put out the fire after battling it for nearly four hours. The ExxonMobile facility is located some 15 kilometers from the Nagoya city center. Officials of the company said they clean tanks at the facility at an interval of about once in 10 to 15 years. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Aug. 29, 2003) 

Chemical in cleaning vat ignites major business fire
ABC13 Eyewitness News
(9/01/03 – HARRIS COUNTY) — An offshore oil company is assessing the damage after a major fire at a welding shop in northwest Harris County Monday morning. Firefighters say some type of chemical was left in a cleaning vat and it caught fire when Oceanic employees left the building on FM 529 near Northwinds a little after midnight. The vat and two welding machines burned up, and firefighters from Cy-Fair and Jersey Village had a brief scare when a flash came from inside the building just as they tried to enter. Gene Schlosser with the Cy Fair Fire Department said, “The things we were concerned with was oxygen and acetylene gases in tanks.” Once they got inside safely, it took firefighters about 45 minutes to douse the flames. Two offices were destroyed as well as the burned machinery. 

Worker dies of burns in grain elevator blast
Associated Press 
COLUMBUS — One worker was injured fatally and two others were hospitalized in critical condition with burns following an explosion at a grain elevator. Richard Harris died Sunday several hours after the midday blast, said a spokesman at the Ohio State University Medical Center. Two other employees of the ConAgra Flour Milling Co., Ted Welch and Gerald Peaks, were in critical condition early Monday. The hospital did not have the ages or hometowns of any of the three victims. Two other employees and a Columbus firefighter were treated at Mount Carmel West Hospital. Their names and conditions were not available.

UPDATE State fines Corbin plant over deadly explosion; Penalties too light, say some victims’ families 
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER The Courier-Journal ASSOCIATED PRESS 
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet is seeking $49,000 in fines from CTA Acoustics, which officials said was in violation of seven health and safety standards at the time of a Feb.20 explosion that led to the deaths of seven workers and injured 37 others at the company’s factory in Corbin. But that action does not satisfy some relatives of the victims, including Lois Lemmings, whose son Jimmy was the first worker to die from the blast. “I know those rules were violated over and over,” Lemmings said. The federal government reported last month that flames from a production-line oven whose door had been left open set off the explosion when it came in contact with what the government said was a dangerous buildup of flammable dust. The state issued two citations to the company, which totaled seven so-called “serious” health and safety violations. Each offense carries a fine of $7,000, the maximum allowed by law. The citations included inadequate ventilation, that the company failed to clean a buildup of combustible dust, and that temperature controls on a gas-fired oven were not working, so workers left oven doors open to avoid overheating. A lawyer for the company said CTA is considering whether to contest the fines. “We are reviewing the citations and will make an appropriate response after we have had time to do so,” said Lexington attorney Jim Allen, who is representing the company. Officials said the state could have fined CTA Acoustics 10 times as much as it did had it found that the violations were “willful.” Instead, the two citations classify the health and safety violations as “serious.” Kembra Taylor, attorney for the Labor Cabinet, and spokesman Eddie Jacobs said investigators did not find sufficient evidence of a “willful” violation by CTA. “We have never been shy about issuing a `willful’ if we think we have the evidence,” Taylor said. But Lemmings is not happy with the state’s action. She said, “My son told me one day after he came home and they had done something at the plant, he said, `If I ever get hurt, you sue them, and you sue them, and you sue them, and you sue them and don’t you stop.’ All of them know they were violating safety rules.” Lemmings, whose youngest daughter, Lisa, still works at the plant, said $49,000 is a paltry sum for the company to pay after such a tragic accident. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board called the explosion the worst workplace chemical accident it has investigated. “It makes me angry that they would put their workers at risk and now just get a slap on the wrist. That’s what it is. For seven lives? Plus the damage they did to all the others who were hurt?” Ten workers were taken to university hospital burn units in Louisville, Lexington and Nashville, Tenn., immediately after the explosion. Seven died, and three sustained life-altering burns. Annette Daniels, whose husband, Billy, was one of the three critically injured workers to survive his burns, said the news that the state had charged CTA with having not met safety standards brought no surprise and no relief. “It’s just what we have been saying all along, that line should have been shut down,” said Daniels, who lost her job during the three months she stayed in Nashville while her husband was in the hospital. She now cares full time for him at home. “To us, they took these guys’ lives in their hands, and it just makes us angry. They didn’t do what they were supposed to do. And the $49,000? That is just a puny amount.” Daniels, like many other workers and their family members, has been discussing the possibility of suing the company, but had been waiting for the investigative agencies to release their findings. Last month’s findings by the Chemical Safety Board dealt with the conditions that caused the explosion, but they did not assess blame. The Labor Cabinet’s citations are the first official rebuke the company has received. Before the incident, CTA had been honored by the state for running a particularly safe plant, and in the immediate wake of the explosion several employees said they did not fault the company. But as time passe, Daniels said she sees it differently. “I can agree that no one knew that that plant was going to blow that morning,” she said. “But the fact of the matter is they didn’t do what they were supposed to. … All of that was unconscionable. They should have done better. To me they, they wanted production that morning, and they wanted their money. And at what cost?” Many in town have begun to look ahead to the new plant the company is building in Corbin — thanks, in part, to more than $33million in state tax incentives — to replace the factory that was damaged in the explosion. But Daniels said she thinks people shouldn’t get so excited about the new plant that they forget the victims of the blast in the old one. “That morning, Feb20, it changed our lives,” she said. “It’s going to be years before we can even get a part of our life back that is even going to be stable. Other people, they can’t even begin to know what’s going on with us.” The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

P&W blast at Calif. plant still a mystery
By Rachel Konrad, Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that disintegrated a San Jose laboratory and office building, while executives at Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion said Friday the cause remained a mystery. “We are still determining the extent of damage and are working diligently to find the root cause of this incident,” said Larry Knauer, president of the Space Propulsion division of P&W, a division of United Technologies Corp. that formulates liquid, solid, electric and hypersonic rocket propellant. “We are working closely with internal, local, state and federal officials to examine every facet of this occurrence and to resume normal operations.” Shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, an explosion demolished P&W’s three-story facility in the foothills of South San Jose. The blast set off a 20-acre grass fire, which was controlled and extinguished by 8:30 p.m. It also released a plume of thick smoke into the surrounding residential and rural area, and it shook homes within a five-mile radius. No one was injured in the incident. The nearest P&W employee was about a quarter-mile from the building, in a remote bunker where workers seek refuge when mixing volatile fuels. Hartford, Conn.-based UTC is an aerospace and manufacturing conglomerate. About 700 employees on multiple shifts make solid rocket motors for missiles, shuttles and communications satellites at the San Jose facility, which is run by UTC’s West Palm Beach, Fla.-based P&W Space Propulsion division. Operations were halted Friday as the incident is investigated at the 5,000-acre San Jose site, which has been in operation since the 1960s. “We have shut down the other mixers until we find out why this exploded on us,” said Webb Harwell, an executive with the company. The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control inspects the facility approximately once every year, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. The last inspection was completed in April 2002, leading to a citation for minor violations, according to the EPA’s Web site. 

Utilities building damaged in minor fire
(Storrs-AP, Aug. 9, 2003 10:50 AM) Fire caused minor damage last night to U-Conn building that supplies backup power to half campus. Fire officials say a smokestack at the central utilities plant on Glenbrook Road caught some roofing material on fire just afer nine o’clock. Firefighters had to cut part of the roof away to get to the fire. The power was shut off for a short time while crews were on the scene. The building also supplies the school’s heating and air conditioning. There were no injuries. 

Explosion Damages Pottstown Plant
August 8, 2003 — A midday explosion at the Dana Corporation in Pottstown Friday rattled the nerves of workers there – but fortunately no one was injured. It happened in the pump station behind the plant on Keim Street – which produces SUV and light-truck drive-shafts. The explosion and damage is not affecting production at the plant. No word yet on what exactly exploded, or why.

Blast, leak hit NCCo airport; Worker burned; flights delayed several hours 
By MURALI BALAJI Staff reporter 08/06/2003
A chemical explosion and an unrelated gas leak Tuesday morning at New Castle County Airport injured one person and shut down part of the airport for several hours. The incidents happened within 90 minutes and the gas leak delayed inbound and outbound flights. But the airport remained operational, said Jim Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River & Bay Authority, which runs the airport. The chemical explosion occurred at 9 a.m. at the Dassault-Falcon Jet hangar when an employee mistakenly poured chemicals into a barrel of solvents, causing a violent reaction and a brief fire, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio said. The worker, who was not identified pending notification of relatives, suffered facial burns and was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he was in good condition, Chionchio said. There was no structural damage to the hangar. Hazardous-materials crews from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control responded to check for contamination, Chionchio said. He said no violation notice was issued. Dassault Falcon, a subsidiary of France-based Dassault Aviation, provides aircraft service and maintenance at the airport. DNREC spokeswoman Melinda Carl said the explosion and fire was caused by an oxidizer mixed with organics at the hangar paint shop. The second incident occurred about 10:20 a.m, after an airport grounds worker ruptured an underground gas line near the airport’s observation tower while doing maintenance work, authority Police Chief John McCarnan said. The air-traffic control tower and the Federal Aviation Administration office were evacuated and the inner runways closed until Conectiv shut off the gas at the tower at 11:55 a.m., officials said. Flights were coordinated in conjunction with Philadelphia International Airport and using a portable air-traffic control device, Salmon said. Fire crews had to ventilate the air-traffic control tower before reopening it for use. Gas was restored to the building about 1:30 p.m., Conectiv spokesman Bill Yingling said. Salmon said he could not recall a similar accident at the airport. “It’s unique to have this situation,” he said. The airport accommodates about 50 business jets and 220 propeller aircraft.

UPDATE Preliminary findings show hydrocarbon release caused ConocoPhillips fire 
By WAYNE WHITE Newkirk Herald Journal 
PONCA CITY – ConocoPhillips Plant officials say that preliminary findings from the refinery’s incident investigation team have indicated that the fire started due to a hydrocarbon release that occurred during routine maintenance of a pump at the West Plant. According to Shanley Wells the pump was used for a “light gasoline material,” and the investigation indicates that “a vapor cloud was released and reached an ignition source.” Wells said the investigation should be completed within the next few weeks and that several teams are working at the plant to assess the damage. “That’s our number one priority, to carefully assess what is functional and to make sure we don’t have any problems,” she said. A Ponca City man, Tim Crank, who had been burned in the fire and explosion died last Thursday at an Oklahoma City Hospital. Originally, refinery officials indicated that Crank’s injuries were not life-threatening. Two other workers at the refinery were also injured along with four others who were injured while responding to the emergency. According to Wells, all others injured have now recovered and have returned to work. Wells noted that following Crank’s death, all employees at the plant “were just devastated.” “This company and community are very inter-related,” she said. “This has just been devastating for us.” Quoting a plant manager, Wells said, “We are going to find out why this happened and make sure it never happens again.” Wells said that Crank’s death marks the first time “in modern memory” that the plant has had a employee death due to a work-related accident. She said that it is thought that the last fatality at the plant happened in 1946. The entire West Plant has been shut down since the accident, cutting production at the refinery to about 62% of its normal capacity. During the July 21 fire, smoke was visible from as far away as Newkirk. In addition to Conoco’s fire brigade, firefighters from Ponca City, Stillwater, Enid, Perry, Bartlesville, Blackwell, Tonkawa and Arkansas City, KS, also responded. Approximately 60 firefighters were on the scene fighting the fire which was eventually extinguished about 12 hours after it started. 

Brooklyn Sewage Plant Fire Sends Chemicals Skyward, Burns for Hours
(Sheepshead Bay-WABC, August 6, 2003) 
heepshead bay residents might have to hold their noses this morning after a sewage plant fire. After several explosions, it burned for four hours last night. The cause of the fire is unknown. But the end result last night was a rancid smell that was really horrible. However, this morning the smell has improved after a little bit of rain. During the fire last night the plant remained in operation, so it really eliminated the risk of raw sewage being dumped into the ocean. After a short series of explosions smoke filled the air for hours as firefighters battled a ferocious fire at the Coney Island Sewage Treatment Plant. Nearby residents were forced to evacuate for at least four hours. Asst. Chief Ed Kildoff, FDNY: “Our HAZMAT unit and DEP have monitored the surrounding area for any toxic effects from the smoke and they have determined that there is no toxic effects or toxic combustion from the fire.” At about 7:00 p.m. the fire struck in the section of the plant that purifies the air that leaves the facility. Suddenly the plant could be smelled for miles away and Sheepshead Bay residents might just have to get used to it. Resident: “The bad news is for this part of Sheepshead Bay, it is going to be a smelly operation until they get those fans built.” And that, according to officials could take months. Some firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation but no one was seriously injured. Chief Kildoff: “What we have is a caustic smoke condition that causes a slight irritation if you are standing in the cloud breathing this in. We have had several complaints from the residents in the neighborhood, but we have only treated one for a minor irritation at this point.” The plant opened in 1890 and it is the oldest plant in the city. It was rebuilt in 1996 to include that odor control system that was on fire last night. 

Furniture factory inferno
07aug03
About 50 firefighters took nearly two hours to contain the blaze in the 2,000 square metre BFZ Furniture factory on Victory Road, Airport West, which started about 6.45pm (AEST). Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) spokesman David Mann said residents evacuated themselves from nearby houses as an onsite power substation, LPG gas bottles and flammable liquids fuelled huge flames. “As the first trucks arrived, the flames were 30 metres high, you could see it from the Tullamarine Freeway,” Mr Mann told AAP. “The walls were coming down into the streets and there was a substation of three-phase high voltage power on the factory grounds that was exploding for about 45 minutes. “It was a very big fire and a very big factory.” Despite early reports of three missing factory workers, police senior constable David Gamble said it was believed the factory and substation were empty when the fire began. Mr Mann said firefighters climbed on to the roof of a neighbouring mattress factory to douse flying embers. “They stopped it from reaching adjoining factories in what is very much an industrial area,” he said. The fire was restricted to the initial site and brought under control by about 8.20pm. Mr Mann said firefighters were being decontaminated for asbestos found around the substation. He said it was too soon to estimate the cost of the damage but the factory was “gutted”. While it was not clear how the fire started, Fire Investigation Unit and police Arson Squad would inspect the site overnight “as a matter of course”, he said. The MFB would monitor the smouldering ruins for at least 24 hours.

Fire Destroys 800,000 Gallons Of Bourbon; Firefighters Build Dams To Keep Booze Out Of River
POSTED: 11:18 a.m. EDT August 5, 2003
BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Barrels of bourbon continue to smolder at the site of a massive fire at a Jim Beam bourbon plant in Kentucky Monday. Investigators and plant officials believe lightning sparked the 2:30 p.m. Monday blaze, which destroyed the building and the 800,000 gallons of liquor stored in it, Louisville TV station WLKY reported. Firefighters managed to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring buildings. Also, they kept the bourbon from flowing too far downstream in a nearby creek. Had the bourbon gotten too far downstream, it could have threatened an unknown number of homes and the Beach Fork River, which is used to supply drinking water to nearby communities. “We built the two dams initially, one at Templen Avenue and then another on the north side of (state Route) 245 and that contained it,” Nelson County emergency management official Joe Osborne said. Flames shot more than 100 feet in the air before the seven-story facility collapsed. Jim Beam employee Jeff McDonald was among those who watched their hard work go up in flames, thanks to Mother Nature. “We just built these warehouses, so that’s a lot of wasted work right there,” he said. About 95 percent of the world’s bourbon is produced in Kentucky. The amount of bourbon lost in the fire represented just 2 percent of Jim Beam’s inventory. Jim Beam President Rich Reese said he doesn’t believe the fire will have a significant impact on business. The warehouse is part of the old Waterfield and Frazier plant, which is part of Beam’s distilleries. Most of the warehouses hold nearly 20,000 barrels of bourbon. Monday’s fire sparked memories of two other recent bourbon fires. In November 1996, a fire destroyed about $8 million of bourbon at the Heaven Hill distillery in Bardstown. Rivers of alcohol flowed from seven different warehouses. In May 2000, a fire at a Wild Turkey warehouse in Anderson County destroyed thousands of gallons of bourbon. The fire raged unchecked for several hours, and bourbon contaminated the supply of drinking water by flowing into the Kentucky River.

Firefighters battle blaze at Verdi metal plant
A fire at a metals plant in Verdi briefly closed a highway as firefighters feared toxic fumes. The blaze at Viking Metallurgical broke out Tuesday morning west of Reno, and US 40 was closed briefly. Titanium can be an explosive material when mixed with water, so the fire had to be put out using dry chemicals and dirt. The fire smoldered for a couple hours, but investigators say it is now basically out. With several structures near the fire, investigators say they were fortunate the fire was spotted quickly. “It actually started in a corner of a building and if it was left unchecked it probably could have spread to some of the other buildings. That one building is pretty isolated, but there’s a lot of wildland around there too, so we could have had multiple things going on at the same time,” said Ronan Thornhill of the Nevada Division of Forestry. The blaze caused some minor damage to electrical boxes in the back of the building. 

Hydraulic leak causes Ford fire 
08/05/03
Brook Park- Smoke billowed above the Ford Motor Co.’s casting plant yesterday after a fire broke out in a mold line. No one was hurt and the plant wasn’t evacuated, Fire Department officials said. The fire started about 6 p.m. when fluid leaked from a hydraulic line and was ignited by hot metal, fire Lt. Bill Fairman said. Company firefighters put out the blaze. 

Lightning ignites tank fire at refinery 
08/04/03 From Staff Reports 
PASCAGOULA — An early morning fire over the weekend at the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery was only the second caused by lightning in the refinery’s 40-year history, a ChevronTexaco exec said Sun-day. Steve Renfroe, longtime manager of public and government affairs for ChevronTexaco, Mississippi, said he knew of “only one other fire that was started by lightning.” The latest occurred Saturday morning at one of the refinery’s crude oil storage tanks. The fire, apparently ignited by lightning, was contained to just the outer rim of the tank’s roof. The blaze was extinguished by the refinery’s emergency response team at 4 a.m., one hour and 15 minutes after it began. At the time of the fire, the tank contained 350,000 barrels of crude oil. “There were no injuries to refinery personnel and there were no spills to the environment,” Renfroe said. “There was never any danger to the community.” The refinery notified the Jackson County Sheriffs office, which was on the scene during the fire. The Jackson County Civil Defense, the National Response Center, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality were also notified. The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery processes 325,000 barrels of crude oil a day and is ChevronTexaco’s largest U.S. refinery.

Major blaze averted in China oil depot 
Beijing, Aug. 2. (PTI): Fire-fighters in Macao today averted a major disaster by successfully dousing the territory’s largest fire accident in a decade at an oil depot. The Macao fire brigade said the fire occurred last night in the northern part of the territory but did not cause explosions of oil gas cylinders stored nearby, and the intermittent explosions were caused by unknown flammable industrial liquid. The fire brigade said that the nearest cylinder deposit was only 10 meters away from the fire and they successfully controlled the fire within 4,000 square meters of area in less than three hours. It is still hard to say whether a premeditated arson was involved. But the fire was ignited by lumber materials piled close to the industrial liquid, which was suspected to be used for electrical welding. 

Tire Fire Continues To Burn At Muncie Business; Fire May Not Be Out Until Mid-Week
MUNCIE, Ind. — Crews battling a fire Saturday at a tire recycling business dumped soil and clay over melted piles of flaming rubber to try to smother a fire that started a day earlier. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brought heavy equipment needed to move truckloads of clay and dirt that were delivered Friday night to CR3 of Indiana, a tire recycling plant on the city’s south side. The fire began around noon Friday. “The fire department had been putting water on it, but to put this thing out, they’re going to have to smother it,” said Bill Gosnell, director of Delaware County Emergency Management. “This fire is going to be put out by the dirt.” Officials believe the fire will continue to burn until Tuesday or Wednesday, RTV6’s Camille Amiri reported. The fire was expected to be under control by Sunday night or Monday morning, said Len Zintak, an on-site coordinator for the EPA. On Friday, about 75 firefighters from several area departments responded to the scene in an industrial park on the south side of the city, according to the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency. Five firefighters were hospitalized and released for heat exhaustion and high blood pressure. The EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management were monitoring air quality as the fire continued burning. Air samples had not shown need for any evacuations. The cause of the fire had not yet been determined Saturday, but state environmental officials have said the plant was found in violation last month for exceeding restrictions on the number of tires the plant was allowed to store. The environmental agency had been in the process of conducting “enforcement action” against CR3, agency spokeswoman Keri McGrath said Saturday. The action stemmed from an inspection conducted by IDEM last month in which an inspector found 11,000 tires stacked at the plant, she said. According to code, CR3 was allowed to store only 1,000 tires there. The plant also had 30,000 tons of processed rubber piled just outside of the plant, also a violation of IDEM limits. McGrath said she did not know what sanctions would be taken against CR3. Center Township Trustee Dick Shirey said reports that Muncie firefighters did nothing to help fight the fire are untrue. “What has me upset is that the media would take this situation and suggest there was some kind of contest playing out between two fire departments. That’s not true,” Shirey said. 

FIREFIGHTERS QUELL BLAZE AT FEED PLANT 
09:00 – 02 August 2003 
Firefighters were called to a Drumlithie-based animal feedmill company last night. The fire in a feed machine at East Coast Viners was discovered just after 10pm. Two units from Laurencekirk and Stonehaven using hose reel jets took around an hour to bring the blaze under control. Grampian Fire Brigade said crews had remained at the plant until after midnight, damping down and removing grain from the machinery. The Drumlithie plant recently underwent a £1million extension which was officially opened last month by Jim Walker, chairman of Quality Meat Scotland. East Coast Viners Animal Nutrition was founded in 1977 by the Forbes brothers. The company has since grown to be one of the key players in the Scottish animal feed business. Early indications were that last night’s fire was not being treated as suspicious. 

Firefighters douse fire at engraving business
City firefighters extinguished a fire Friday afternoon at A&A Engraving at 807 E. St. Andrew St. The fire broke out in a dust-containment system at the plant and was limited to that area. “We had to go in there and dig out the burned material and put the fire out,” Battalion Chief Mike Holmes of the Rapid City Fire Department said. “It was contained to the back room. There was no serious damage to the structure.” Holmes initially called in a hazardous-materials team because of concerns about some of the processing materials at the engraving company. But the fire did not reach or affect those materials, he said. 

No injuries reported in Hormel fire
By Cari Quam/Austin Daily Herald
A fire started at Hormel Foods Corp. Thursday evening when a vacuum pump overheated near a packaging department in the north side of the building. Around 5:30 p.m. the pump overheated in a loft, causing a fire and the electricity to go out. The fire extinguished itself once the electricity shut down, said Julie Craven, Hormel director of public relations. Electricity was restored shortly afterward, she said. The employees in the packaging area near the fire were moved to another part of the building, she said. No one was injured. “It was far away from employees,” Craven said. Craven did not know how many employees work in that department during second shift. Four Austin Fire Department trucks arrived at the scene to check other vacuum pumps and the area around the fire. They left the area near 7 p.m. The packaging department was shut down for an inspection overnight, but opened early this morning, Craven said. Craven said Hormel takes safety seriously and pointed to the way the explosion last September in the rendering area of the plant was handled as an example. 

Seventy firefighters battle Sydney fire
About 70 firefighters battled for more than two hours to contain a blaze in a factory in Sydney’s inner west. A NSW Fire Brigade spokesman said crews from 15 units responded to the fire in Sydney Street, Marrickville, shortly before 4am (AEST). They were able to prevent the fire in the two-level building, believed to be a kitchen cabinets manufacturer, from spreading to adjoining factories, the spokesman said. Police had closed Sydney Street and Marrickville Road for most of the morning while investigations into the cause of the fire continued, he said. 

Some 29 die in fireworks factory blast 
Posted Tue, 29 Jul 2003 
At least 29 people were killed and 107 injured in a huge explosion that ripped through a fireworks factory in northern China, state media and local officials said on Tuesday. The Xinhua news agency said the blast occurred just after 6pm (1000 GMT) on Monday in the Wangkou district of Xinji city in Hebei province and caused the factory, where 169 people were working, to collapse. The death toll had climbed to 29 by Tuesday, with 91 of the injured still in hospital, Xinhua said. The force of the explosion was so strong that it partly destroyed an office building more than 100 metres away while cars and motorcycles were set alight, the China News Service (CNS) said. More than 300 soldiers and police officers were at the scene, it added. The large number of casualties overwhelmed the small clinic in Guoxi village, where the factory is located. “There are five to six doctors in the hospital and they all worked all night. They didn’t get any sleep,” said a staff member. “We treated many people with light injuries, including burns and cuts. But the seriously injured had to be transferred to hospitals in the township and nearby Shijiazhuang city because we could not handle them.” Xinhua said Hebei provincial governor Ji Runshi rushed to the scene to direct rescuers sifting through the rubble looking for survivors and clearing up the debris. CNS said the factory was licensed and was authorised to begin production in December 2000, but local village officials sounded nervous, repeatedly telling AFP the factory was privately run and was not their responsibility. “It’s monitored by the Wangkou township government. Call them,” a village official said. He said he did not have any additional information, adding that a large number of police and soldiers had blocked off roads. “We can’t get to the scene,” he said. A worker at a nearby factory said most of the people employed in the fireworks industry in the area were farmers, who rely on the earnings to supplement their meager income from working the land. China is the world’s biggest producer of fireworks, with people in rural areas often illegally making them in their homes under unsafe conditions. Last month nine people died in Liling city in southern China’s Hunan province in a similar incident. One of the worst recent accidents saw at least 42 children die in March 2001 in an explosion at a village school in Jiangxi province which had forced students to make firecrackers. Following that disaster and another major accident in a fireworks factory in Jiangxi, authorities tried to shut down the entire fireworks manufacturing industry but backed down after local residents protested. Chinese authorities have repeatedly vowed to crack down on illegal and hazardous fireworks factories. 

UPDATE Sanitized report released on Y-12 explosion, fire
By FRANK MUNGER July 29, 2003
OAK RIDGE – Managers of the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant today released a sanitized summary of findings about an April 15 explosion and fire, but they refused to release the investigation reports or divulge who did the investigations. The incident occurred in a sealed glovebox where a new technique for processing uranium was being tested. A canister of wet uranium powder exploded and knocked open the glovebox window. A fire ensued exposing three workers to smoke and uranium particulate. Bill Wilburn, a spokesman for BWXT Y-12, said the reports were not “publicly releasable” but didn’t elaborate. According to a press statement released this morning, BWXT said the accident was “caused by unreacted calcium, excess water and depleted uranium in an unvented container.” The combination, the company said, generated steam and heat, over-pressurizing the container and causing the explosion. “The shockwave from the explosion broke the seal on the glovebox, allowed air to enter, and the uranium powder, which ignites spontaneously in air, began to burn,” the BWXT statement said. “The resultant fire was extinguished quickly.” The company said an “independent management investigation team” suggested improvements following the investigation. The team reportedly came from other facilities in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, but Oak Ridge officials declined to identify them. The investigators reportedly called for improvements in “process hazards analysis” and experimental designs at Y-12, as well as enhanced monitoring and controls for new processes at the weapons plant. Y-12 manufactures nuclear warhead parts from highly enriched uranium and other materials. The Oak Ridge facility employs about 4,700 workers. Plant officials earlier acknowledged that the new process – called salt-less direct oxide reduction – was being tested with depleted uranium, which has almost all the fissile U-235 removed. If the process is approved for production, it will be used to process bomb-grade uranium for weapons. In addition to the outside investigation team, BWXT conducted its own investigation of the explosion and fire. That report also was not deemed releasable, Wilburn said. BWXT’s press release said the company also brought in a group of chemical experts from private industry to evaluate the research and development activities at Y-12. Those experts did not look specifically at the April accident, BWXT said. 

Crews snuff out fire at metal yard; Blaze caused $130,000 in damage at building in South Dallas
07/28/2003 By IAN McCANN and LaKISHA LADSON / The Dallas Morning News 
The acrid smell of smoke hung around a South Dallas scrap metal yard Sunday as firefighters worked to extinguish the remnants of Dallas’ largest fire since November. Across South Lamar Street, worshipers at St. Paul Baptist Church were relieved that the only damage to the church was a few broken windows. “Yesterday we didn’t know if we would be here today,” the Rev. Lelious A. Johnson told his congregation at the second morning service. “There was fire everywhere.” About 15 people were at the church Saturday for choir rehearsal when the fire and explosions erupted across the street about 1:45 p.m., causing two windows to shatter. When smoke started filling in the sanctuary, a church deacon turned off the air conditioning and ushered people outside. When the first fire crews arrived at Gold Metal Recyclers in the 4300 block of South Lamar Street, they found a six-alarm blaze that would take a third of the department’s equipment and 100 firefighters to battle. Had it reached a seventh alarm, off-duty firefighters would have been called in to assist, Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said. Investigators believe it started with a power line falling into a pile of trash, but they have not determined what caused the line to fall. The fire spread to nearby piles of metal, including old transmissions with fluid still inside, and to an area that contained pieces of magnesium. Magnesium, a highly flammable metal used in welding and fireworks, explodes violently when it comes in contact with water and can re-ignite. Once much of the fire was under control, firefighters were able to cover the metal with sand to extinguish it. Lt. Jesse Garcia, a department spokesman, said the first crews on the scene knew there was something strange about the fire, which eventually spread to grassy areas and a vacant warehouse, burning 16,000 square feet and causing $130,000 damage to the building and its contents. They saw that the smoke was blue, and the fire was a real bright orange,” Lt. Garcia said. “Once the building caught on fire, it had the real black smoke, so you could see a big difference.” Kenny Goldberg, who owns the scrap yard with his brother, said they are still deciding what to do, but the yard is open for business. “We’re looking at moving forward,” Mr. Goldberg said. “We’re still in the evaluation process right now.” 

Chemical Explosion Sends Maintenance Man to Hospital
By Staff, KRIS-TV July 28, 2003
A maintenance worker learned the hard way that cleaning a pool can be dangerous if the instructions aren’t followed carefully. The maintenance man was inside a shed at the Sun Chase Apartments mixing chemicals so he could treat the swimming pool. But, something went wrong and the chemicals exploded. Firefighters know chlorine was one of the chemicals the worker was using. They say any minor deviation from the directions could have caused the explosion. The worker was overcome by the blast and the fumes. “He was conscious and gasping,” said Capt. Robert Polanco, C.C.F.D. “He was a little short of breath, but that happens when you catch fumes like that. It starts to irritate on the inside.” The man was rushed to Spohn Memorial, while fire fighters stayed behind to rid the fumes still lingering from the mix. They went into the shed, separated the chemicals and sealed the containers. Firefighters say if you’re cleaning a pool and the odor becomes to strong or your eyes start to water that’s a sign you need to get away from the chemicals. Also, they recommend if you not sure how to properly clean your pool, you should play it safe and hire someone to do it for you. The man who was injured is doing okay and is being monitored at Memorial. He suffered some minor burns and inhaled some fumes. 

Firefighters battle blaze at power plant
by Ellen Shiau Staff Writer July 28, 2003 
More than 75 firefighters responded to a blaze that cast thick, black smoke above a Dickerson power plant Saturday afternoon, a fire official said. The fire started at the Mirant power plant on Martinsburg road shortly before 2 p.m., said Pete Piringer, spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. Mirant spokesman Steve Arabia said there was a fire in the rubber lining of ductwork that transports exhaust from a coal unit to pollution control equipment. Investigators determined that the fire was accidental, Piringer said, adding that the contractors could have caused the fire inadvertently. Residual debris from the scrubbing process also caught fire, Piringer said. Arabia said Mirant has ideas of how the fire began, but he declined to discuss them. “We’re still trying to nail it down,” he said. No cost estimate has been established for the damage, Arabia said. “We’re assessing the damage and what it’s going to take to repair it,” Arabia said. The fire did not affect the plant’s ability to provide power to customers, he said. Piringer said four firefighters received minor injuries while extinguishing the blaze. The firefighters were treated and released from Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. “They essentially got some debris in their eyes,” he said. Mirant evacuated 10 people in the plant, who were not injured, Arabia said. Fire and rescue personnel from Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll and Loudoun counties spent several hours at the scene, Piringer said. They used catwalks and ladders to reach the blaze located about 60 feet above ground, he said. 

UPDATE June fire at Benicia refinery caused by ‘auto-ignited’ matter
By Corey Lyons CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A three-alarm fire at a Benicia refinery that sent clouds of black smoke above the Carquinez Strait last month likely started when a material used to produce asphalt “auto-ignited,” according to a report by the city fire marshal. The four-page report, released Friday, did not fault Valero for anything it could have done to prevent the June 25 blaze. Instead, it concluded that the material — known as co-polymer — ignited by itself while being stored outdoors in rows of cardboard boxes at the refinery’s asphalt plant. Samples are being analyzed at a federal forensic fire lab in Beltsville, Md., to determine how and why the material caught fire. The incident raises questions about whether the product had been improperly stored during a searing heat wave. A second fire involving the same material was reported at Valero’s asphalt plant July 11. It was quickly put out. Valero has relocated the product indoors and is no longer using it while tests are pending. The co-polymer material, wrapped in plastic and stored in four long rows of boxes, had been sitting in a vacant parking lot since January. It was covered with a tarp. A refinery worker had spotted a column of pitch-black smoke curling from the area June 25. He immediately called for help. The blaze sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky, sparked a grass fire, snarled afternoon traffic and prompted a shelter-in-place warning. It was nearly 100 degrees when the fire started, which raises questions about whether the heat played a role in the blaze. No one was hurt. In response to the pair of fires, refinery workers have relocated the product indoors, and some of it was hauled off to a landfill.  Gene Gantt, the fire marshal, declined to say whether the material had been improperly stored. “It’s not what we do. If this were a criminal investigation, we would continue on with it.” His primary job, he said, was to determine the source of the fire and to ensure that a similar incident is not repeated. “We determined that it auto-ignited. It started itself on fire,” Gantt said. “This is preliminary because they have to go through the testing of this product.” Valero Energy Corp., based in San Antonio, is conducting its own investigation into the fires. It plans to carry out a full safety audit of its Benicia asphalt plant, which has the capacity to produce 12,500 barrels a day. Rich Marcogliese, senior vice president of refinery operations in San Antonio, said he had no indication that co-polymer was capable of igniting itself. “Our common knowledge with this material was that it was supposed to be benign,” he said. “So this caught us quite by surprise.” The company’s history with the product, he said, was “all favorable. We had every reason to believe that this product was safe to store outside.” Valero has decided not to use this product, called Europrene Sol T, while it awaits lab tests by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “We have strong suspicions that there was something wrong with this grade of co-polymer,” Marcogliese said. Co-polymer, or “polymer modified,” is a light, Styrofoam material used as a binder in asphalt mixes. It is commonly used in roadway projects to give asphalt better durability. Valero had stored the material at 3400 East Second St. But according to the safety data sheet for this product, Europrene Sol T should be kept “in its original packaging in cool, ventilated areas. Keep away from heat sources. Keep covered.” Marcogliese, former general manager of the Benicia refinery, said the material will no longer be stored outdoors. He said that if the product proves to be defective, “we will explore our options for recovery.” Polimeri Europa Americas, which manufactured the product, did not respond to an interview request Friday. A spokesman told the Times that the company would only respond to questions in writing. An e-mail inquiry was not returned. Dana Dean, a member of a citizens advisory panel that works with Valero, is becoming increasingly concerned about the recent fires at the refinery. “We were very fortunate that a lethal situation did not come out of the fire June 25,” she said. “Now, we have the opportunity to see what went wrong and what we can do differently.” Valero, which bought the Benicia refinery from Exxon in March 2000, operates 14 refineries in North America. 

Fourth fire at St. Paul ethanol plant
(St. Paul-AP) — Neighbors are complaining after another fire at a controversial ethanol plant in St. Paul. The fire broke out last night in insulation under the roof of the Gopher State Ethanol plant. It was quickly extinguished. One firefighter was taken to Regions Hospital with breathing difficulties. Authorities don’t know what caused the blaze. It’s the fourth fire at the ethanol plant since it opened in 2000. Neighbors have complained about noise and odor at the plant. Gopher State Ethanol says no equipment was damaged in the latest fire. The company says the fire did not involve operator error.

Usibelli Coal worker hospitalized after explosion
By Associated Press FAIRBANKS 
A Usibelli Coal Mine worker injured in an explosion last week was in satisfactory condition Wednesday at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, a nursing supervisor said. Ron O’Connor, a welder, was using a hand-held grinding tool to work on a gear case Friday afternoon when an explosion blew him away from the case, said Charlie Boddy, Usibelli vice president of governmental relations. O’Connor suffered burns and cuts. Members of the Tri-Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Healy treated O’Connor at the scene and he was transported by helicopter to Fairbanks. O’Connor initially was admitted to the intensive care unit but has been moved. Gear cases enable drag lines to swing to right and left at their base. Drag lines are used to strip overburden _ or excess material _ off coal seams. Usibelli and the federal Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the accident. 

Oven fire at furniture manufacturer results in smoke and water damage 
By LINDSEY NAIR THE ROANOKE TIMES 
A furniture manufacturing company in downtown Roanoke was damaged by heavy smoke and water Wednesday after a fire broke out in its giant oven. No one was hurt in the 10:30 a.m. fire and there was little fire damage at Twist & Turns on West Campbell Avenue , but work shut down for the day and the damage was still being tallied. Twist & Turns manufactures custom-designed metal furniture. The showroom is at Campbell Avenue and Williamson Road, but all the designs are created at the West Campbell Avenue location. Shop supervisor Marty Neal said there were several pallets of powder coating in the oven that were being baked to dispose of them. The coating is a paint that goes on metal furniture in powder form and is then fired in the oven to set it. “I could see when the blowers kicked off there was smoke coming out” of the oven, said Neal. The oven is about twice the size of a large walk-in freezer. Neal armed himself with fire extinguishers and opened the oven to see a fire inside. He said he tried to put it out with several fire extinguishers before the plant’s sprinkler system went off, activating the fire alarm. Roanoke Fire-EMS Assistant Chief David Hoback said Engine 7 happened upon the fire before the official call went out. They called a working fire alarm and began to battle the blaze. A second alarm was called soon after the first, but Hoback said the fire really did not warrant being called a two-alarm fire because there was just some confusion in the beginning as to how much effort was needed. He said there was a great deal of smoke in the building. We had to get the people in there and get the smoke cleared out so we could see,” he said. The fire, which did not spread much outside the oven, was extinguished within 10 minutes. Water from the sprinkler system caused flooding in the basement work area of the plant. Cynthia Gardner, president of Twist & Turns, said all of the machinery is kept in the basement, including welders . It was unclear Wednesday how much water damage that equipment sustained. The office side of the building did not sustain much smoke damage and the furniture stored in the manufacturing side would likely be cleaned up with no problems, employees said. A damage estimate was not available Wednesday and the fire was still under investigation. Gardner praised her employees Wednesday for their quick reaction to the emergency and expressed gratitude that there is a fire station so close to her business. “It makes it nice to have a neighbor,” she said. 

Explosion Rocks Local Refinery; Authorities Investigate Source Of Explosion
UPDATED: 8:23 a.m. PDT July 23, 2003
CARSON, Calif. — A steam boiler exploded Wednesday at a Carson refinery, resulting in no injuries but prompting officials to shut down operations as a precaution. Fifty firefighters were sent to the Conoco Phillips refinery at 1520 E. Sepulveda Blvd. at about 6:25 a.m., said Capt. Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. There was no fire, Savage said. A hazardous-materials team was dispatched to the refinery, and firefighters remained on the scene to monitor the problem. “It was a significant explosion,” producing “a lot of debris,” Savage said, but “there was no leak of any petroleum product.” Experts worked to determine the cause of the blast in the steam boiler. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Fire crews battle factory blaze
24jul03
RESIDENTS were evacuated from a house and units in Sydney’s south after fire broke out in a paper storehouse overnight. The NSW Fire Brigades were called to the fire in a two-storey concrete building used to store paper, on Wollongong Road at Arncliffe, at 1.17am (AEST) today. fire brigade spokesman said 15 fire engines and two cherry pickers had battled for six hours before containing the flames. The spokesman said smoke forced the evacuation of a number of people from a house and block of units near the fire. Firefighting operations and thick smoke had delayed traffic on nearby Forest and Wollongong roads, while two northbound lanes of the Princes Highway were still blocked. NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner Greg Mullins attended the scene earlier this morning, the spokesman said. “It’s under control but it’s certainly not over yet,” he said. Motorists in the area should expect lengthy delays.

Calpine contractor dies in geothermal blast; New Mexico man becomes second of firm’s specialists killed this year 
Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, July 22, 2003 San Francisco Chronicle 
A 44-year-old New Mexico man was killed over the weekend in a blast in geothermal fields in northwest Sonoma County in the second death this year of specialists hired by energy giant, Calpine Corp. Calpine Corp. said the victim, identified by the Sonoma County coroner as Barry Carpenter of Farmington, N.M., was single. Carpenter worked for a drilling company, Air Comp. One paramedic who lives at the Geysers responded at 3:34 p.m. Saturday to an emergency call at the northern end of the complex. Sonoma County sheriffs and Cal/OSHA officials are investigating the death. Bill Highlander, a spokesman for Calpine Corp. of San Jose, said the company was conducting its own probe. Calpine hires many specialty contractors for its energy operations, he said. No one else was injured in the Saturday accident. The Calpine Geothermal Geysers, one of the world’s largest steam fields, sprawls across 30 acres of land along the spine of the Mayacamas Mountains. Huge pipes snake over the rugged terrain between Lake and Sonoma counties and carry the steam heat from hundreds of wells to 21 power plants. The steam then spins turbines that generate electricity and deliver 820 megawatts an hour — enough power for the entire North Bay or for the city of San Francisco. Highlander confirmed that another contractor had died May 12. “The two accidents are of a great concern to us,” Highlander said. “Calpine does take safety very seriously.” In May, a Merced maintenance worker who was inside a steam-cooling tower perished when a fan with blades was turned on. Highlander said the deceased, Greg McVay, 43, had a wife and a son and worked for Marley Xcell Construction. “That was an unfortunate accident as well,” Highlander said. “It has nothing to do with Saturday’s death.” Susan Gard of state Division of Occupational Safety and Health said the results of Cal/OSHA’s investigations into the two accidents were not available. Gard said Carpenter had been operating an industrial air compressor that is used to clean the steam well shaft. The air compressor is attached to a steel tank that captures the debris — moisture, oil or bits of dirt and sand. “We’re investigating why that tank exploded,” she said. “The fact that there were two Calpine fatalities is of concern to us. This is a sprawling, remote location with a bunch of different contractors working 24 hours a day in all kinds of weather. At the same time, we also know that Calpine has a progressive, active safety organization.” Highlander said Calpine recognized the potential hazards of the industrial operations and attempted to minimize accidents. “The Geysers just celebrated 1 million hours without a reportable accident for our Calpine employees,” he said. “We are concerned about our contractors and want to make sure that their safety is assured as well.” Sgt. Will Wallman of the county coroner’s office said Carpenter appeared to have died of blunt-force injuries. An autopsy is scheduled for today. For the past few years, the Geysers steam fields have been recharged with treated effluent from Santa Rosa, pumping 11 million gallons a day through a 41-mile-long pipeline. The city reclaims and distributes wastewater for the cities of Cotati, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol and portions of Sonoma County. The Geysers offered a way for Santa Rosa to rid itself of a vexing wastewater disposal issue. Lake County residents, however, complain that the regenerated steam fields are causing more earthquakes – a charge that Calpine rejects. The Geysers’ rich history includes stories of Indians who cooked over the steam vents. Records show one of the earliest pioneers, William Bell Elliott, declared he had found the “Gates to Hades” as he stood among the hissing, bubbling hot springs while hunting a grizzly bear, Old Slewfoot. The first wing of the Geysers Resort Hotel was built in 1854, and, in its heyday in the 1870s, the steam baths enticed notable travelers, including past and future presidents — Ulysses S. Grant, William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt — and writers such as Samuel Clemens (aka Mrk Twain) and Jack London. The hotel’s register was often signed in black fluid drawn from a hot spring called the Devil’s Inkwell. 

Explosion, fire injure three refinery workers
The Associated Press
PONCA CITY, Okla. — An explosion started a fire at a petroleum refinery early Monday, injuring three people, and flames and thick smoke were visible into the afternoon. The ConocoPhillips refinery wasn’t evacuated, though some workers were sent home and air conditioning vents were closed against the smoke, company spokesman Carlton Adams said. Mayor Tom Leonard said he could see the plume of black smoke over the plant from his law office about two miles away. One employee was flown to an Oklahoma City hospital with burns, where he was in critical condition. Another worker was treated and released from a local hospital, and a third fell near the site and injured his shoulder, spokesman Kenneth Ray said. About 1,700 people work at the plant in this northern Oklahoma city. Adams didn’t know how many were in the plant at the time of the explosion. 

Latonia warned of fumes from fire 
By Shelly Whitehead Post staff reporter
Residents and businesses in most of Latonia were being warned to remain inside today with their doors and windows shut as a fire at the Firestone facility on Boron Drive continued to burn eight hours after it began. A total of 720 households as well as businesses, including Value City and the Robke Ford dealership, were alerted to the danger. Officials were concerned about fumes of hydrogen cyanide, a colorless, volatile, extremely poisonous chemical compound, being emitted from the foam insulation burning inside the facility. A company spokesman, Dan MacDonald based in Nashville, Tenn., said late this morning that there is “nothing in the smoke itself that could cause an elevated risk. There’s no hazardous chemical here that could cause elevated toxicity.” The part of the plant that was burning contains finished products and concern would be greater if the fire involved raw materials stored in a separate building, MacDonald said. Nearly 100 firefighters from five departments fought the smoky blaze from all angles early today. The fire broke out at about 1 a.m. in the center of the block-long Firestone facility between 43rd and Howard Litzler just west of the Latonia Kroger. Every Covington fire company had been on the scene throughout the night. Firefighters thought they had the blaze under control but it flared up again at 7 a.m. “We’ve used every Class A foam we can get on it — from every department in Kenton County — we’ve used up,” said Covington Fire Capt. Jeff Gronick. “One area of the warehouse had 1,600 foam pallets stacked 22 feet high — the biggest problem we’re having now is that they are stacked against the walls and tight to each other. And there is some real deep-seated fire there,” Gronick said. Firestone employees working the night shift turned in the alarm after seeing smoke in a central part of a warehouse area while they were taking stock. All employees fled safely. The cause of the blaze remains unclear. Residents and businesses in a large area around the fire from Ritte Corner to Church Street were being notified by Kenton County Emergency Management to remain inside and keep doors and windows shut, Gronick said. Officials used a new emergency notification system, called Go-Communicator, to alert nearby residents and businesses. Greater Cincinnati Hazmat also was dispatched to the fire because the foam insulation at thefacility sends off toxic fumes when burned, he said. Firestone safety procedures listed at the company’s Web site call for firefighters to wear impermeable protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus when fighting the blaze. Smoke poured from the large warehouse doors of the facility, which used to house the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The odor was described as like that of the popular “snakes” sold with fireworks at the Fourth of July. The odor of hydro cyanide is described as almond like.

UPDATE Four women charged in Gaylord fire Watch video 
07-22-2003 09:23:23 AM
GAYLORD, Minn. (AP) – A disgruntled employee and three other women were responsible for the fire that caused more than $2 million of damage to a door manufacturing plant in Gaylord, prosecutors alleged. The charges filed Monday in Sibley County District Court include first-degree arson, aiding and abetting, and third-degree burglary. The complaint names the former employee Judy Winkelman, 21, of Gaylord; and three of her friends: Angela Manteuffel, 25, of Gaylord; Nicole Raduenz, 18, of Silver Lake; and Toni Benjamin, 18, of Glencoe. The women are accused of breaking into the business April 20 after a night at a local bar. The women remain free pending their first court appearance Aug. 14. The April 20 fire damaged a 45,000-square-foot warehouse at the Unidoor Corp., one of the city’s largest employers with 60 workers. It took 13 hours and firefighters from seven towns to get the fire under control. The company has stayed open in another building at the plant and nearly all the employees remain on the payroll. The complaint alleges that Winkelman was angry at Unidoor and started the fire. She continued to work at the plant until she left in June. Jason Campbell, one of Unidoor’s owners, said he wasn’t aware of any problems involving Winkelman at the plant, where she worked in the door jamb department. “I’m just disappointed that anybody could do something like that, let alone one of our employees,” Campbell said. Rich Hacker, a manager who knew of Winkelman, also said he wasn’t aware of any problems during the year he thought Winkelman had worked there. “I’ve no idea why she’d be so mad,” Hacker said. “What I don’t understand is how (she) could stay working there.” A $2,500 reward was offered for information in the case, and police received a tip in June from someone whose cousin supposedly had talked to a woman who claimed she and another woman set the fire, the complaint said. The tipster identified the women as Manteuffel and Winkelman. The cousin told investigators the woman told her the women broke into the plant and that Winkelman sprayed lighter fluid on some wooden freight pallets to “start a small fire,” the complaint said. Winkelman’s boyfriend also told authorities he heard all four women talked about damaging Unidoor. Benjamin and Winkelman denied any involvement in the fire. Raduenz refused to give a statement and Manteuffel said she and the others went to Unidoor with the intention of causing minor damage, the complaint said. Gaylord is about 55 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The Unidoor fire appeared to be the first in a chain of suspicious fires in Sibley County. A fire of similar size destroyed a grain elevator in nearby Winthrop one week later. That fire was followed a week later by an attempted arson at a lumber yard in Arlington. “There’s nothing that suggests that they’re related,” Sibley County Sheriff Bruce Ponath said. “Gaylord seems an isolated incident. In Winthrop, we never determined the cause, and Arlington was an attempted arson, but we’re still following up on leads.” 

6 hurt, 1 seriously, in Richland Co. warehouse explosion, fire
(Columbia) July 22, 2003 
An explosion Tuesday morning just before 10:00am at a warehouse in the northern part of Richland County sent six people, one in serious condition, to Midlands hospitals by ambulance. The seriously injured patient was taken to Palmetto Richland Hospital and then to the Augusta Burn Center. The other five hurt are in good condition after being taken to Providence Northeast Hospital. The explosion was in the back of Holopack International’s warehouse at One Technology Circle near the intersection of Park Lane and Farrow Road not far from the Northwoods Golf Course and the Carolina Research Park. The Columbia Fire Department, along with several crews from Richland County Emergency Medical Services, responded around 10:00am. Holopack uses a special blow-fill technology to package liquid pharmaceuticals. Apparently, while plastic was being ground, something exploded. Assistant Columbia Fire Department Chief Joe Floyd says, “A lot of times, when you’re grinding up plastic or anything like that, you have a mixture. And, when it gets the right mixture in the air and it catches an ignition source, it can explode.” Willie Shuler, whose daughter works at Holopack, says, “She said something happened and they was all outside. She was all upset and crying.” Shuler says he went to the plant to make sure his daughter was safe. George Rice of Richland County EMS says the fire was controlled by 11:00am and the area is not in any danger from chemicals, “There is no off-site impact as a result of this incident,” and DHEC has determined the air is safe and has turned the building back over to Holopack. Employees were sent home for the day Tuesday. The company began business at the Technology Circle location in 1995. 

Fire At Charlotte Pipe Foundry Under Control
Story by wsoctv.com 
Firefighters battled a fire on the roof of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Plastic Division. The plant, which manufactures PVC plumbing pipe is located on Old Charlotte Highway in Monroe. A spokesperson said that the fire has been put out, they have not yet determined the extent of the damage. The fire was confined to one of several plant buildings. Several hundred people were working inside the building when fire started and were evacuated immediately. No injuries were reported. A spokesperson from the plant said that a roofing contractor worked on the roof earlier in the day, but it’s not known if that has anything to do with the fire. 

Fire linked to poorly stored rags 
Boyle, John July 18, 2003 10:35 p.m. 
ASHEVILLE – Improperly stored finishing rags that spontaneously combusted probably caused the Monday night blaze that destroyed the Yesterday’s Tree furniture store on Hendersonville Road. “In the back of the business was a finishing shop where they used oils, stains and those sorts of things,” Buddy Thompson, director of the Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force, said Friday. “We found some things that lead us to believe that possibly improper disposal of finishing rags was the probable cause of this fire.” Thompson said the fire caused $400,000 worth of damage to the building’s contents and $500,000 in damage to the 12,000- square-foot building itself. No one was hurt in the blaze. Many wood finishes and stains contain organic materials that produce heat through a chemical reaction. The heat quickly disperses on furniture but can build up in rags, erupting into flames in a matter of hours. “We actually found several cans that were unburned, and the labels on them actually talk about a hazard of spontaneous cobustion,” Thompson said, adding that such rags should be disposed of in a metal safety can with water in it. “Sometimes we get complacent doing the same things repeatedly.” Yesterday’s Tree owner Peggy Yarborough said that she and her employees always disposed of finishing rags properly. “If that really is the cause, I have no doubt that this would be classified as an accident, because that’s how we keep them stored,” she said. Investigators ruled out other potential fire causes, such as faulty wiring or arson, Thompson said. Yarborough opened Yesterday’s Tree 18 years ago at 652 Hendersonville Road in a building constructed in 1958 as an A&P grocery store. The store sold furniture and fabric. Insurance will cover the loss, she said. Yarborough thanked the community for its support and said she hopes to reopen soon “within a couple of blocks” of the old store. David Royster III, whose family in Shelby owns the building that housed Yesterday’s Tree, said they are not sure whether they will rebuild on the site. “We have no plans right now,” he said. “All this is a shock to us.” He’s working with his insurance agent on the claim and stressed that he bears no ill will toward Yarborough or her employees. “Peggy’s been a great and wonderful tenant for 18 years,” he said.

Fire At Weirton Steel
POSTED: 7:50 p.m. EDT July 21, 2003
WEIRTON, WV. — Mill workers were evacuated at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning after a bi-product from the hot mill landed on the exhaust system causing the fire to start. The area is where the steel is actually cleaned with acid. Weirton Steel Spokesman Gregg Warren says the company got word late Monday to get the mill up and running again. Warren says they are monitoring fumes on the line and if there’s another problem – they’ll shut it down immediately. One mill worker was treated for smoke inhalation and two Weirton Steel Firefighters were also treated for minor injuries.

Multiple-alarm fire breaks out in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (AP) – A multiple-alarm fire broke out late Friday at a specialty gas distribution facility in Sacramento, sending dark smoke and projectiles high into the air while disrupting rush-hour traffic and causing evacuation from nearby homes. Fire crews brought the fire under control about 5:30 p.m., approximately 50 minutes after it erupted near the crowded Capital City Freeway. Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Dave Whitt said multiple fire crews responded to the fire, which disrupted traffic, stopped light rail service and caused police to close nearby surface streets as thousands of people got off work. Whitt reported no injuries and offered no reason for the blaze at Airgas, which he called a well-run gas distributor with a good safety record. Witnesses said they saw tanks on fire beneath a truck at the facility before the blaze began with several loud explosions. Fire officials quickly advised people within a half mile of the fire to stay inside their houses and avoid breathing the billowing black smoke. The blaze, which broke out in temperatures above 100 degrees, caused the evacuation of several homes two blocks from the site. Airgas distributes industrial, medical, and specialty gases, welding supplies, safety products, and tools through over 500 locations nationwide. The site’s original owner, Amerigas, sold the facility in 1998 to Airgas, which stores acetylene and natural gas. Witnesses reported seeing thousands of metal cylinders on the company grounds. 

Chemical fire sends smoke sailing through sky 
By Mark Fagan, J-W/6News/World Online Saturday, July 19, 2003 
A mechanical failure sparked a chemical fire Friday at a plant at the edge of North Lawrence, spewing billowing plumes of smoke but causing no injuries. The fire occurred about 11:20 a.m. at Peak Chemical, a phosphorous pentasulfide plant adjacent to Astaris, 440 N. Ninth St. The plant’s product, known as P2S5, is used as a lubricant in motor oil. Peak officials immediately shut down the plant, cutting the supply of chemicals that fed the blaze for nearly an hour. Employees and emergency officials advised nearby residents of the situation, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office barricaded nearby roads as a precaution. Smoke from the burning chemicals was quickly dissipated by a breeze that was surprisingly light on humidity, said Paula Phillips, the county’s director of emergency management. None of Peak’s 11 employees on site were injured, and all were safely evacuated. “There was no public health problem or issue at all,” Phillips said. “If you were standing up there and breathing it, it would definitely an irritant. But nobody received that kind of dosage. It was so minimal, we didn’t notice it at all, even right there on the ground. “It looked a lot worse than it was, because of all the smoke. But it was a very manageable event. We were very fortunate.” Emergency crews had braced for the worst. Lawrence Douglas County Fire & Medical sent 32 people to the scene, where they were joined by 13 from the Overland Park Fire Department and another three from the county’s volunteer hazardous materials team.Peak’s own fire brigade initially responded to the fire, which started when one of the plant’s chemicals — either phosphorous, which is a raw material; or P2S5, the finished product — was exposed to air, said Bill Sichko, the company’s chief administrative officer. Either chemical’s exposure to outside air would cause a fire, which is why all of the plant’s systems are enclosed. The mechanical failure was particularly unusual, he said, because of the amount of material exposed. Even a spoonful of the granular chemical can produce a large amount of smoke. “This was more than a normal spill,” he said. All the commotion was enough to prompt evacuation of nearby Bismarck Gardens, a popular outpost for fresh sweet corn at 1616 N. 1700 Road. “We had people in the field and customers in the building,” said Pat Ross, a co-owner of the business. “I don’t feel like there was any immediate danger, but you don’t want to take any chances.” The nature of the spill did not require involvement from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said Julie Coleman, the agency’s director in Lawrence. Likewise, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department was not involved, administrator Kay Kent said. Lenexa-based Peak bought the plant in 2000 from Astaris, which has plants next door for phosphorous, phosphates and phosphoric acid. Astaris’ operations — which produce food-grade phosphates for use in soft drinks, toothpaste and other products — were unaffected during the fire, said Karen Schuyler, Astaris’ Lawrence manager. Peak intends to resume operations once the fire’s specific cause is located and any problems fixed, a process likely to be finished by Sunday, Sichko said. The plant, which has a total of 26 employees, is capable of producing 125,000 pounds of phosphorous pentasulfide a day. Officials were still investigating how costly the damage from the blaze was. Staff writer Eric Weslander contributed to this story.

Production at Suncor Energy impacted by unscheduled maintenance
FORT MCMURRAY, AB, July 16 /CNW/ – Suncor Energy Inc. announced today that production at its oil sands facility will be reduced while the company conducts unscheduled maintenance to one of its two oil sands upgraders. The work is required to repair equipment damaged in a minor fire that occurred Sunday, July 13. The maintenance should be completed by Saturday, July 19. The total production impact is estimated to be between 300,000 to 400,000 barrels of oil. No personnel were hurt as a result of the fire, which occurred when bitumen ignited while being removed from a coker drum. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Cost estimates for the repair work are not expected to exceed $1 million. Suncor Energy is an integrated Canadian energy company. Suncor’s oil sands business, located near Fort McMurray, Alberta, extracts and upgrades oil sands and markets refinery feedstock and diesel fuel. Suncor is also a conventional natural gas producer in Western Canada, and operates a refining and marketing business in Ontario with retail distribution under the Sunoco brand. As Suncor meets today’s energy needs, the company invests in renewable energy for the future. Suncor’s common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. This news release contains forward-looking statements that may be identified by words such as “expected”, “estimates” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially. Risks and uncertainties include technical issues and uncertainties resulting from delays, changes in plans and the occurrence of unexpected events. These and other risk factors are discussed in more detail in Suncor’s Annual and Quarterly Reports to shareholders, Annual Information Form and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities. 

Lightning strike temporarily shuts down power plant
The Associated Press July 17, 2003 
Lightning struck a transformer, causing a fire that temporarily shut down the Alabama Electric Cooperative’s power plant at Gantt as slow-moving thunderstorms peppered south Alabama with bolts from the sky. In a statement, plant spokesman Cathryn W. Gibson said the lightning hit about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Vann Power Plant. No one was injured. Fire crews from River Falls, Gantt, Heath and Andalusia responded. And AEC’s energy control center dispatched additional generation resources to meet power supply demands. Damage to the plant did not result in a loss of power to AEC’s member owners. Damage assessments were incomplete Thursday. AEC’s 21 member owners distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers in 39 counties in Alabama and 10 counties in northwest Florida. The lightning strike occured as the line of thunderstorms sent small streams and creeks rising Thursday. Areas around Evergreen received up to 4 inches of rain that “could produce flooding” as the storms hovered over Conecuh, Butler, Covington and Crenshaw counties just after midnight, said Jeff Garmon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. With Tropical Storm Bill drenching the area less than three weeks ago and heavy rains over much of the last few months, Garmon said the ground was more susceptible to flooding. “We’ve kind of gotten caught up and exceeded our rainfall totals for the year,” Garmon said. “We have had a few days to dry out since Tropical Storm Bill … but this’ll bring the small creeks and streams in that area back up quickly.” Meteorologists in the four-county area counted up to 140 lightning strikes in a five-minute period. The lightning caused multiple power outages, and there were reports of downed trees and hail, Garmon said. 

Fire Hits Brick Plant
Fire crews were called to the Watsontown Brick Company Thursday after flames hit part of the plant near Watsontown. A worker told Newswatch 16 the fire started about 1:30 p.m. in an area of the plant where bricks are molded. Heavy smoke was coming from the building. “It was going up pretty good until, of course, it widened out. But it was straight up. It was black, it was really black,” Ned Yocum of Watsontown said. All the workers got out of the plant safely. Damaged was limited to the one section of the plant. There’s no word what caused the fire. 

Chemical Fire Hits Bristol Plant; Sprinklers, Firefighters Save Building
POSTED: 10:58 a.m. EDT July 17, 2003
BRISTOL, N.H. — Authorities Thursday were trying to pinpoint the cause of a chemical fire at a plant in Bristol. No one was injured as 350 employees were evacuated from the company, Technical Elastomers and Components. Flames broke out Wednesday morning in a room where auto parts are coated with a highly flammable chemical. Fire officials said the building’s sprinkler system and quick response from firefighters saved the building. One firefighter was checked out after breathing chemical fumes.