Incident Alerts (2011 - 2018)

Details

Parent Category: Safety Info Posts

Category: Incident Alerts (2011 - 2018)

Published: 09 September 2020

NOTE: these are all my Hotwork / Welding related incidents from 1998-2018 Incident Alerts.   You can use your browsers "page search" function to search for specific keywords if you are looking for a specific type of accident.  MANY of the links no longer work, but I always tried to capture the gist of the incident in my summary.

I have always tried to scrub company names from these reports as this is NOT an attempt to shame anyone.  This is to help others understand the frequency and severity of Hotwork accidents.

If this page is too slow for you, you can download the incidents in a single file:  WORD (.docx) or PDF

Welding_HW Fire Database (1999-2018)

Welding_HW Fire Database (1999-2018)

 

HOT WORK FIRE Crews put out small welding fire inside BMW plant, no one injured (a small welding fire forced workers to quickly evacuate - firefighters were able to quickly put out the flames - fire happened near some construction in an assembly hall - no injuries were reported)

HOT WORK FIRE Wind whips welder spark-ignited fire (firefighters were on the scene of a wind-driven fire all afternoon and well into the evening after sparks from a welder ignited brush off a County Road - a well was being drilled in the area, and the well casing was being welded when sparks from the welder caught area brush on fire - the fire, which began about noon, spread to a neighboring property and burned approximately 100 acres of brush and pastureland by evening)

UPDATE on HOT WORK FIRE Welding caused fuel terminal fire, report finds (a potentially catastrophic fire at a fuel terminal last July was caused by welding work on an in-service diesel tank that was not properly monitored and should not have taken place, according to an investigation report from the fuels inspectorate - report highlights several breaches of industry safety standards by SOL in carrying out “hot works” on a fuel tank filled with 15,000 barrels (525,000 gallons) of diesel fuel - fire at the facility took more than eight hours to contain and prompted a mass evacuation of neighboring homes - the state of the tank and the scope of the work, in this case, meant it should have been taken out of service and emptied before the repairs took place - its contractor did not follow proper protocols, failed to adequately plan the works, failed to station a “fire watch” supervisor on the job at all times and ignored a safety alarm that could have alerted them to the danger much earlier)

HOTWORK BREAKING: At least 1 injured in fire at Humboldt manufacturer (at least one person has been reported injured in a fire around 4:15 p.m. - blaze started as someone was welding, which caused a tarp to catch fire between buildings at the cheese manufacturing plant - the plant will be closed for up to a month)

HOTWORK Wildfire Starts During Fence Welding North Of Prescott Monday (wildfire that started during fence welding around 1:50 p.m. - about a quarter-acre grass fire burning - welders and a neighbor were working on putting the fire out with shovels, fire extinguishers and a water truck when crews arrived - welders told them they had the fire under control until the winds picked up and caused it to spread)

HOTWORK??? Did welding cause Manila Pavilion fire? Probe still on, says BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection said it is still investigating if welding work caused a fire that left 5 people dead at a hotel-casino complex - a slot machine operator had claimed that the inferno, which raged for 25 hours, started amid welding work near an escalator - initial investigation indicated that the blaze started at the casino area in the first floor - the dead were all casino employees, and another of the workers was still in critical condition - BFP said it would check reports from survivors that the sprinklers and alarm system of the 50-year-old hotel did not work)

HOTWORK Fire causes minimal damage at Klausner (a small fire at a Lumber company caused minor damage - staff was welding and an ember fell into some wood shavings that caught fire - employee's quick response helped prevent the fire from escalating - damage was contained to the shaker unit at the lumber yard - fire did not cause any major damage nor stop production)

HOTWORK Small fire extinguished at Schaumburg manufacturing facility (firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze at a manufacturing facility - no one was injured - the fire appeared to have began in a ventilating fan for one of the welding machines at the manufacturing facility - within about 15 minutes of arriving, firefighters had extinguished the fire, which caused minor damage to the roof)

HOTWORK Contractors Spark Fire Near Bridge, Road Shuts Down (contractors sparked a fire while welding and the resulting blaze has shut down a local roadway - a brush fire that quickly burned out of control - Highway 15 was shut down in both directions)

HOTWORK Workers jump for life during massive fire at Vietnam’s thermal power plant (investigation found welding at a chimney ignited the blaze - fire engulfed construction at a thermal power plant forcing workers to take big swing down with ropes around 10:45 a.m. when many workers were at the site)

UPDATE HOTWORK Contractor sued over $2 million in damages after 2015 fire on Whiskey Row (2.5 years after a devastating fire nearly ended a future for Whiskey Row, a lawsuit has been filed against the contractor - investigators ruled that one of the workers accidentally started the fire while using a torch)

HOTWORK Smoldering dust to blame for smoke at Oklahoma City Zoo (around 7:45 p.m. firefighters responded to a fire alarm - zoo officials were able to find the source of the smoke as smoldering dust in the ventilation duct - the smoke may have been caused by a spark from a welding repair done earlier in the afternoon)

HOTWORK (???) Fire breaks out in Ottertail, Minnesota; affects at least two businesses (fire destroyed a Marketplace and caused minor damages to the liquor store neighboring it - authorities believe the fire started from a car welding accident, behind the building - No injuries are reported - Officials are investigating to determine what may have sparked the massive blaze)

 

FATAL HOT WORK EXPLOSION inside PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE 5 killed, 10 injured in blast on ONGC ship at Cochin Shipyard (at least five people died and seven others were injured after a blast on board an under-repair drilling ship - explosion occurred in the water-tank of the ship and was triggered by a gas leak - cause of the explosion is being ascertained - incident took place while welding work was going on inside the tank and all the victims were trapped)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder killed in barge blaze at Kolsar Bandar; helper missing (worker, 55, died after a fire broke out in a barge he was repairing - a helper is said to have sustained injuries, who, the police said, is untraceable after the fire - the blaze broke out in a 150-foot-long barge at 10.30 a.m. - the fire was doused within 30 minutes - worker was declared brought dead with 100% burns - he started welding parts of the boat at around 9 a.m..  and sparks from the welding machine came in contact with diesel that had leaked from the boat’s engine, leading to the fire)

HOTWORK Man injured in explosion at auto repair business (one man was injured after an explosion rocked a car repair business - the owner was welding in the back of the building when a nearby 50-gallon oil drum somehow ignited and exploded - he suffered burns on his hands and arms and was transported to a hospital - he was "conscious, alert and walking around" prior to being transported)

 

FATAL HOTWORK Deadly Fire at Fuel Tank in Bandar Abbas (a fire erupted at a huge fuel storage tank killing three people - blaze was caused by welding work on the tank owned by a bitumen production company - incident occurred at around 1 p.m. local time and firefighters arrived to extinguish the blaze)

 

Hydrogen Fire on Power Plant Generator after worker drilled hole

A hole was being drilled in the plant's No. 8 Generator in order to remove a bore plug on a rotor undergoing maintenance.  As workers were drilling the first hole, flames emanated from the drilled hole and injured a worker.  A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the flames resulted from the release of hydrogen from pressurized containment inside the rotor core.  The generator uses hydrogen gas as a cooling medium and a mixture of hydrogen and air was created as the compressed hydrogen escaped through the freshly-drilled hole. The mixture of hydrogen and air was within the flammable range for hydrogen and came into contact with mulitiple ignition sources capable of igniting the mixture, such as the motor of the drill or a work light. This resulted in the flames that emanated from the drilled hole.  GE, the manufacturer of the generator, had prepared and made available a technical information letter which discussed the potential hazards associated with trapped hydrogen gas.  It had recommended that the rotor core be tested and purged of hydrogen, not pressurized before plug removal, and the removal of potential sources of ignition.  This information was not known to the team involved in the work, including the injured worker, and its recommended method was not followed.  CLICK HERE for the Ministry of Labour - Ontario.ca Case File

HOTWORK Officials Say Welding Work Sparked Fire near Brownsville Landfill (officials say they now know what sparked a five-acre fire at a landfill - a worker was welding on the property when the dry grass caught fire - roughly four acres of brush and railroad ties were burned after the fire broke out around 4 p.m.)

HOT WORK FIRE Welding blamed for massive Murray Bridge abattoir fire (authorities have revealed a massive abattoir blaze was sparked by a maintenance worker who was welding a bin - worker had been working on an offal bin - worked tried to put the fire out but unfortunately it got into a highly combustible wall and spread quite rapidly)

HOT WORK EXPLOSION Asphalt tower explosion allegedly caused by worker's propane torch (a worker's propane torch ignited vapors in an asphalt storage container, causing a small explosion and fire - the worker, 48, suffered only minor injuries and refused medical treatment - worker was using the torch to keep a valve hot, and the ignited vapors caused a flashback - the resulting pressure breached the top of the storage container)

HOT WORK EXPLOSION Worker injured in Kapolei industrial accident (worker suffered burn injuries during an industrial accident - workers were cutting a fuel tank when it exploded - one person was injured, but the man's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening - explosion sparked a fire, then ignited tires and oil causing a large black plume of smoke - took fire crews about an hour to extinguish the fire)

HOT WORK FIRE Welding leads to fire in Sparks apartment (fire investigators say welding by a maintenance crew led to a fire that damaged an apartment - flames spread from a wall to an attic, and there is water damage from water pipes that were being welded - no injuries have been reported)

HOT WORK FIRE Welding Sparks Whipped By Wind Spark Fire At Quarry (a quarry will be closed for the next few days after a fire - fire started in the quarry when the wind whipped around some sparks from welders - two workers tried putting out the fire with an extinguisher but had to get away from the flames as they spread)

 

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE 10 killed, 14 injured as massive fire breaks out in China hotel (at least 10 persons were killed and 14 others injured when a massive fire broke out at a luxury hotel - the fire began on the second floor where 10 construction workers were working on a decoration project on the floor - initial investigations found the fire was caused by cutting of decoration materials and further investigation is under way - authorities have detained 24 people after a preliminary investigation found the blaze was caused by welding and cutting work which violated safety rules)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding Work Sparks Roof Fire Near Hobby Lobby (welding work is the cause of a roof fire just before 4 p.m. - contractors on site did attempt to extinguish the fire, but those attempts were unsuccessful - firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire - there was about $10,000 in damages to the build, mostly to roofing material and water damage from a sprinkler going off - there were no injuries because of the fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire at Camrett takes out cooling unit (a fire destroyed an outside cooling unit that hadn’t been used since the facility served as a textile factory - a 1:51 p.m. call reported that smoke was coming out of the cooling unit and the first fire truck arrived within 10 to 15 minutes - business was in the process of dismantling the cooling units and the fire started when the welding torch being used to to take the unit down ignited plastic - no one was injured and the main facility was not damaged)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Fatal explosion at Bai Hassan field (three workers died when a leaky storage tank exploded - a welding team inadvertently ignited a leak near storage tanks - preliminary reports indicate the fire occurred “during a routine welding operation”)

HOTWORK FIRE Contractors accidentally cause fire at downtown Charleston Coast Guard station (roof contractors accidentally started a fire at the US Coast Guard station - the contractors were welding when the flame caught some insulation at the building just after 4 p.m. - firefighters arrived in four minutes and reported a fire on or near the roof area of the building - fire was contained to a section of the roof and an adjoining wall, causing limited damage to the building near an area under repair by a roofing contractor)

 

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Welding torch may have caused South Korea mall fire that killed four (a fire in a South Korea shopping mall killed four and injured more than 40 others - police suspect that sparks from a welding torch might have started the fire in a kids’ play area in the mall - two of the four who died were builders and the others were a mall worker and a shopper - most of the 47 injured complained of smoke inhalation - play area was closed at the time of the fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Commercial fire extinguished at Jordan Transformer (a tarp caught on fire as an employee was welding inside a plant welding shop - when the officers arrived on scene, heavy smoke was billowing out from the plant building - by the time firefighters arrived on scene, the fire was mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two killed, seven injured in Ogun gas plant explosion (two persons were confirmed dead, while seven others were injured in an explosion at a gas plant around 11.30am - according to an eyewitness, a welder was welding a gas tank when the gas therein escaped and the vapor caught fire from a generator being used in a shop adjacent to the gas plant - the fire, the eyewitness added, followed the vapor back to the gas plant located inside a filling station and exploded into huge flames - two attendants were said to have been caught up in the ensuing inferno - seven others, including a seven year-old child, sustained various degree of burns)

HOTWORK Grass fire extinguished (sparks from welding caught the grass in the surrounding area on fire - fire burned approximately 2 acres, but was quickly contained by the fire departments - no one was injured in the fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION BREAKING: One dead, one injured in ice plant explosion at fishing wharf (one man was killed and another injured in an explosion at an ice plant - repairs were being conducted on the plant at the time of the incident - worker were doing welding and apparently the gas was in the atmosphere and there was an explosion - the person who actually was doing the job fell and broke his neck and he got some minor burns - the men were in an elevated area at the plant when the explosion occurred, ripping out the zinc walls of the building and pitching them out)

HOTWORK Fire at BG Kroger closes store (fire in store caused it to be evacuated and closed for several hours about 6 p.m. - fire in an area of the store that is under construction - ff’s saw fire coming through a lower section of the roof about 10-12 feet long, and a ladder crew on the roof saw flames as well - workers were welding in the area where the fire was reported - no one was injured, and the incident remains under investigation)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Three men airlifted with burns after explosion during drill shaft repair (a drilling rig is on fire after an explosion - three crew members had to be flown to hospitals due to burns to their faces - injuries did not appear to be life-threatening - they were injured while trying to weld a drill shaft - crew was drilling for water when the incident happened - the shaft (of the drill) had broken and the workers pulled it out to weld it and while they were welding there was some kind of explosion - Emergency officials said apparently the drilling crew hit a natural gas pocket that exploded while they were trying to weld the shaft)

HOTWORK FIRE on PIPELINE 1 PERSON INJURED IN REFINERY TANK FARM FIRE IN CHANNELVIEW (one person was injured after a refinery tank farm fire - fire started around midnight in a 36-inch pipe while someone was welding - the person who was injured was released from the hospital - no word on his injuries)

HOTWORK Crews put out fire at builders supply store (sparks from a welding instrument ignited the flame around 1:30 p.m. - damage is limited to the exterior siding of the building)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire Chief: Welder caused fire at 555 Building (investigators say a welding mishap caused a fire that erupted on the top floors of the Building - “They had two welders working on the exterior of the 14th floor, and at some point a fire broke out" - "One of them attempted to use a fire extinguisher, but the smoke got so bad they couldn't see each other. So they came down" - the fire destroyed two apartments units inside the building, one on the 14th floor and another on the 15th floor - it appears the blaze traveled between floors through a heating vent - other apartments on the top floors reeked of smoke, but avoided damage - no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Contractor fined for fire at Simplot headquarters (OSHA has fined a contractor more than $20,000 for safety violations connected to a fire - two construction workers were six stories up on a aerial lift when a welding blanket caught fire in the basket of the lift - workers on the ground were able to swing over a boom, which the men in the basket used to jump from the lift to the sixth floor of the building - workers were not injured - OSHA investigated the incident and said that molten and burning zinc dripped onto a tarp which was not appropriate for the type of welding work being performed - OSHA also determined that the fire extinguisher the workers used was inappropriate for the situation, and that the workers were not wearing required respirators while working - fined $20,484)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker at Downtown Grand suffers burns to hands, face (maintenance worker suffered serious burns in an accidental fire - worker was using a propane torch to repair a dishwasher located behind a bar when the tool sparked a blaze as he lit it, burning his hands and face - security staff was able put out the fire with an extinguisher before first responders arrived)

HOTWORK @ POWER PLANT Sparks from welding operations caused Vasiliko fire (a fire that broke out at a power station’s desulphurisation unit was caused by combustion residues while welding work was being carried out - during the course of the welding, taking place on the third floor of the unit, sparks emitted reached the ground floor, setting flammable materials alight - flames soon spread throughout the unit, despite efforts by facility staff to extinguish it, and the Fire Department was called in - it is considered certain that the loss of the desulphurisation unit will put that particular generator, Unit 3, out of action for months)

HOTWORK FIRE WATCHES TVA fined $140,000 for fire violations at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (federal regulators have slapped a $140,000 fine for failing to maintain adequate fire watches - an NRC investigation in May 2015 found that five contract workers deliberately failed to conduct roving fire watch patrols as required under federal regulations for the nuclear plant - the fire watch patrols were required as a compensatory measure for fire protection equipment that was out of service at the time - workers involved in the incident were dismissed, TVA has upgraded its fire safety training and record keeping and the utility has made major upgrades in its fire systems)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION One person killed due to fuel tanker explosion in Istanbul (one person was killed and two others were wounded due to the explosion of a fuel tanker - explosion occurred during repair work on the fuel tanker - the welder was killed due to the explosion)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker causes explosion while cutting propane tank (a worker at a recycling center accidentally cut a propane tank containing the gas, causing an explosion - no injuries were reported - an employee using a metal cutting claw mounted to the arm of an excavator mistakenly cut a propane tank that was not empty - there was no property damage from the explosion because the area where tanks are cut is surrounded by steel to prevent injury or damage from explosions)

HOTWORK Monessen coke plant site of fire (a structure at a coke plant caught fire when welding caught nearby coal on fire - the fire broke out just after 6 p.m. on the third floor of a coal hopper, where a worker was welding - “Coal dust caught fire, and then coal, and the conveyer belts that move the coal caught fire” - “It was very extensive damage” - no one was injured in the blaze - flames were extinguished by 9 p.m., and the area was cleared around 10:30 p.m.)

HOTWORK Fire at I-Pull destroys building (total damages to the building and everything inside are estimated at $250,000 - Sheriff's office has confirmed that the fire was started by sparks from a cutting torch - the torch was being used in the prep area when sparks ignited the area)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Four Dead in South Korea Construction Explosion (welding considered as cause of explosion at subway construction site where four workers died and 10 others were injured after an explosion at a subway construction site - workers were welding iron bars 15 meters (49 feet) underground when the explosion occurred - one worker was found dead above ground, his body possibly blown upward by the force of the explosion, while three others were found dead underground)

HOTWORK Welder’s torch ignites Prescott deck fire (a welder is believed to have started a fire outside of a home at about 2:30 p.m., and the first unit to arrive reported smoke in the back of the house - residents reported smelling smoke at about the same time as a passerby stopped to tell them that there was smoke coming from under a deck - flames were confined to an enclosed post supporting the deck - a welder had worked on the deck’s railing earlier in the day, and that it appears that “somehow, a spark or some of the slag … got down either between the stucco and the edge of the deck, or a spark or slag fell between the (decking) slats and got into the enclosed post”)

HOTWORK Roofers accidentally start fire with torch, officials say (roofers accidentally started a fire while working at a restaurant - fire did an estimated $40,000 in damage, but nobody was injured - workers were able to put out the blaze before firefighters arrived - they told firefighters they were using a torch and caught part of the roof on fire)

HOTWORK Welding, torch work blamed for ore boat fire in Superior (welding and torch work appear to be the cause of a fire on an ore boat undergoing renovations - firefighters found dark smoke coming from the 1000 foot boat when they responded around 1:15 p.m. - it took fire crews more than 1 1/2 hours to get the fire under control and extinguished - no one was injured)

HOTWORK Welding sparks fire on on Springfield Avenue in Norfolk (workers were performing welding and a spark from the process was determined to be the cause - there was a fire inside a wall between two vertical columns in the back of the structure - the space contained a buildup of trash and other debris - no injuries)

 

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – HOTWORK FLASH FIRE OSHA investigates worker death at South Dakota ethanol plant (worker was killed and another injured in a fire - cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but OSHA says the worker who died was welding inside a tank at the time - welder was flown to a burn hospital, where he died - the other worker was treated at a hospital and released - both were contractors)

HOTWORK Production unaffected by fire at GM plant in Spring Hill (fire was quickly extinguished and will not affect production - the fire in the air handling unit is believed to have been caused by a welding spark - the plant's fire suppression system quickly kicked in, and the building was evacuated as a precaution)

HOTWORK Small fire breaks out at Weyerhaeuser (sparks from a welding project caused a small fire in the planer mill but did not cause building damage or injuries - the building had been shut down for maintenance work - crews had been working at the mill earlier in the day on a project involving welding and cutting torches - spark caught a sawdust pile and smoldered for hours, sending smoke through the building and triggering the department's response at about 9 p.m.)

HOTWORK Massive fire engulfs ‘Sabzi Mandi’ opp Mayo hospital in Gomtinagar; around 150 shops gutted (it is said that welding work was on at the roof top of a hotel building located adjacent to the vegetable market - welding sparks fell at a shop that took the shape of inferno - around 150 shops have been completely gutted under the flames)

HOTWORK Welding sparks small fire at Children's Hospital (ongoing construction in the basement of the Hospital caused the facility basement and first floor to fill with smoke about 11a.m. - the cause of the smoldering and smoke was due to construction grinding in a non-patient area)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on TOLUENE TANK Tank Explosion Kills 1 Indonesian Worker in South Korea (tank at a fire extinguisher manufacturing plant exploded - explosion has killed one worker and injured the other two - fire fighter authority said that the a welding work to fix a crack on storage tank had exposed toluene substance in the tank which has caused the explosion)

HOTWORK Fire reported at Olean's Cutco facility (around 3:30 p.m. a fire was reported in the welding room of the structure resulted in a temporary evacuation by workers - fire was in the welding room at the facility, which is on the southeastern corner of the structure - fire radio transmissions reported an unknown problem with the sprinkler system requiring their continued presence)

HOTWORK FIRE St. Paul Fire Department: 'Careless Welding' Cause of Fire on Roof of Historic Downtown Building (the cause of a fire at a high-rise was "careless welding" - part of the roof was damaged and water damaged the building's interior)

HOTWORK Fire touched off by welder’s torch (a construction company’s maintenance garage was set on fire by a spark from a welder’s torch and employees attempted to put the fire out themselves - mechanic was welding and when the fire started he tried desperately to put it out but it got away from him - there was a lot of smoke and fire and the small machinery inside was heavily damaged)

HOTWORK Roofing work sparks fire at Easton furniture store (roofing work at a business sparked a fire  about 2:55 p.m. - construction workers were using a torch to seal material for a roof repair when the flame struck dried material in some sort of animal nest - the flames spread, and the two discharged their fire extinguisher, but the fire continued to spread - that's when they dialed 911)

HOTWORK Welding accident causes fire in Centerville, Md. (a man working on a boat with a welding torch causes a fire in a detached garage - he as flown to a Trauma Center for treatment of smoke inhalation and is expected to survive - damage caused to the building is estimated at $20,000, and $15,000 damage was caused to contents of the building including a wooden boat and trailer)

HOTWORK One injured in fire at Waste Management plant in Tampa (one person was injured in a fire - the fire was caused after sparks from workers welding at the site ignited the pile of recycling)

HOTWORK Sparks from welding torch start fire at building construction site (firefighting crews responded to a structure fire at the construction site - several people working at the site were left stranded on the roof - eyewitness of the fire say that as crews worked on the building some stray sparks from a welder caught some foam insulation on fire - fire has been put out and the workers were evacuated from the roof)

HOTWORK on OUT-OF-SERVICE COOLING TOWER Welding tool sparks massive fire in Rivercenter Mall garage (fire started inside of a 24-ton cooling unit that was being cut for demolition to be removed from the structure - all of the restaurants and shops in the area were evacuated as crews responded to the scene - fire was sparked as a worker was using a welding torch on the unit, and it ignited some dry timber nearby - other employees on top of the roof then tried to help stop the fire, and one man suffered smoke inhalation in the process - he was transported to a Hospital and at last check was in stable condition - heavy winds and dry materials also played a large role in how quickly the fire spread - not immediately clear how much damage was caused in the fire)

HOTWORK on OIL TANK One Person Taken To Benefis After Welding Accident (worker was welding an oil tank when the explosion occurred)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on STORAGE TANK Biodiesel plant explosion in Spain kills two, seriously injures one (two people were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion in a biodiesel plant around 11:00 a.m. - two victims were workers who were reportedly to be in their 40s, while the injured person had burns on 80 percent of his body - cause of the explosion has been established, welding

HOTWORK Welding sparks fire at BRF manufacturer (welding sparks caused a fire at about 12:30 p.m. - fire crews found no active flames but discovered the fire extended into a wall and attic - contractor conducting welding in the plant processing area had sparks land on oil near an air compressor, which caused it to ignite - no one was injured)

HOTWORK Mill fire contained to one machine (an arc from a welding machine started a fire - millwright was working the night shift welding a small piece on the board edger end feed table - damage was contained to the board edger end feed table, but it is enough to shut the mill down from anywhere to three to five weeks - fire also damaged the control panel, which contains some electrical conduit)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man killed in petrol truck explosion in Atyrau (worker, 53, was killed in an explosion of a petrol truck when a welder was repairing a hole in the tank - welding ignited fuel vapors in the tank causing the explosion and setting the vehicle on fire)

HOTWORK Worker's torch sparked $3M fire at Tristan Rubber Molding (worker using a propane torch accidentally started the fire that heavily damaged the business, displacing about 40 employees - the blaze was sparked by an employee who was using a hand-held propane torch to thaw a steam discharge line that had become frozen by the sub-zero temperatures - fire originated on the east wall of the building - insurance company estimates damage at $3 million to the contents and building - no one was injured)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Omega Protein settles suit with wife of Jackson County worker killed in explosion (wife of a man killed in a 2014 explosion at a fish-processing plant has settled a wrongful death-lawsuit - her husband, 25, was welding on top of a metal storage tank when it exploded July 28, 2014 - he was thrown 100 feet and landed on another tank - he died, and three others were injured, one seriously - according to the lawsuit, he did not receive adequate warnings about flammable hydrogen and sulfide gases in the storage tank he was working on - he was a temporary worker hired to cut and weld storage tanks at the plant - plant had a contract with a metal fabricator to set up a wastewater-storage tank requiring modifications to existing pipes - a staffing agency provided the metal fabricator with its employees - after the settlement was reached, Global Employment Services filed a motion asking to be reimbursed for the $153,442 paid to the wife as part of her husband's worker's compensation insurance coverage. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Gargiulo denied the request)

HOTWORK Welder accidentally sparks fire along Joe Fulton Corridor (construction crew accidentally started the fire during welding work - no homes or businesses in the area)

HOTWORK Rooftop fire at parking garage sends heavy smoke through downtown (firefighters quickly contained the blaze, and the fire appeared to be extinguished within about 20 minutes - asphalt was being poured on the roof of the parking garage when the flames broke out - the asphalt caught fire -  there was some welding work going on and although this is still under investigation — the Fire Marshal is on site — we believe the fire was started by the welding sparks)

HOTWORK Fire at Miami Valley School blamed on construction work (firefighters are blaming a fire that sparked at a School on some construction work - construction crews were on the roof doing some welding when a spark fell into a wall and caused some smoke in the building - students were immediately evacuated as a precaution - damage was minor and no one was hurt)

HOTWORK Fire crews battle Slaton cotton gin blaze 4 days after fatal accident (workers were doing welding and maintenance and some cotton in the trash caught fire - no major damage to the facility)

FATAL HOTWORK 1 dead in fire at incense stick manufacturing unit (major fire broke out at an incense stick manufacturing unit in which a welding technician was charred to death - technician was carrying out welding work on the basement of the building - fire personnel suspect that welding sparks caused the fire)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at hotel construction in Istanbul (fire broke out at the construction site of a twelve-story hotel - fire broke out while the workers were welding)

HOTWORK Graham's Newton Field press box damaged in fire (fire broke out at a football stadium, damaging the Field press box - a welding project at the stadium resulted in a fire that caused damage to the structure - a portion of the press box was reportedly damaged)

HOTWORK OSHA fines owner of Monmouth warehouse leveled by explosive blaze (one person was injured in the May 5 fire that destroyed the storage building and reportedly taking with it more than $1 million worth of inventory - investigators determined that the fire was sparked by accident as an employee used a bucket truck to weld the top of a temporary traffic light like those used at road construction sites - a hydraulic line that raises and lowers the bucket let go, spraying hydraulic fluid - sparks from the welding ignited the fluid causing flames to spread to the truck and building as the employee quickly lowered the bucket and jumped to safety, but not before being burned)

HOTWORK Man burned in 'industrial accident' at Sayreville auto shop (worker was hospitalized after he suffered burns in an "industrial accident" just before 2 p.m. at an auto repair shop - worker was using a welding torch when the incident occurred - sparks from the torch burned the worker - he was flown to a Medical Center)

HOTWORK Welder's spark causes hay barn fire (fire ripped through a hay barn and implement shed after a spark from a welder lit a hay bale - fire started while one of the occupants was welding lugs onto the steel uprights of the shed to renew the wooden beams, and one of the hay bales caught fire)

HOTWORK Construction causes fire in vacant area of RI Mall (workers were cutting and welding the vacant part of the mall and somehow a fire started in a vacant area of the mall - smoke and fire that made its way through the walls set off smoke detectors in Kohl's at 6:30 p.m. - mall was closed for the holiday and no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Fire guts furniture shop, godown (major fire broke out at a furniture shop and a scrap shed destroying goods worth Rs 15 lakh - incident occurred at around 2.30 pm  - welding work was going on in one of the sheds where scraps were stored)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Blaze at Pune mattress unit: Owner, joint owners, welding contractor booked; 2 held (a huge fire at a Mattress factory due to the spark from the welding machine and the gas cylinder explosions claimed four lives - police have registered a criminal case in connection with the fire that broke out at a mattress-manufacturing unit located adjacent to an eatery which killed four persons and injured two more - police have booked the owner of the plot where the unit was located, two joint owners of the unit and the welding contractor - no safety precautions were taken as the welding work was going - gas cylinders for the welding were carelessly kept next to the spot where mattresses were kept)

HOTWORK Boulder County Sheriff: Welder sparked fire in unoccupied home (a contractor was welding inside a home when he sparked a fire that burned a hole through the roof and caused extensive damage throughout the house)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE Nearly $60 million settlement reached in Taylor Bridge Fire (authorities say the fire likely was caused by sparks from welding or cutting work on a bridge project - settlement of nearly $60 million has been reached for people who suffered damages as the result of a 2012 blaze - the settlement of about $59.8 million was reached between contractors, the state of Washington and more than 120 clients the firm represented after the Taylor Bridge Fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire at Burlington recycling plant caused by welding mishap (fire started when workers were doing some repairs on the roof that included some welding - welding sparks fell on the roof - once the fire started, it was hard to stop - when firefighters got to the facility's main warehouse the fire was too hot to even get inside, so crews set up "defensive operations" to stop the fire from spreading - building was evacuated, and officials are reporting no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire Caused By Welding Spark Destroyed Heredia Furniture Factory (spark from a welding torch was the probable cause of the fire that engulfed the factory warehouse - the fire originated outside the structure, were some work was being done - inside the building was full of woods, residents, paints, solvents and polyurethane foam, all highly flammable, causing the fire that started from a spark to quickly propagate)

HOTWORK Gas cylinder catches fire during welding work (gas cylinder caught fire when welding work was being done on the fencing along the road - nobody was hurt in the incident)

HOTWORK Naugatuck mechanic suffers burns in blow torch mishap (automobile mechanic suffered second degree and possibly third degree burns after an accident involving a blow torch - an equipment failure in the airline on the torch caused it to put out too much oxygen and consequently cause a much larger flame than the worker expected just before 11 a.m. as the man was underneath a car working on brakes - he suffered burns to his abdomen, a wrist and possibly elsewhere)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Industrial accident: Fuel tank explosion at Lahore steel factory kills five (at least five workers were killed and four others were injured when a fuel tank at a factory exploded - workers were busy in welding at the Steel Factory when a fuel tank caught fire and exploded - a nearby fuel depot, which holds about 750 gallons of fuel for the generator, suddenly exploded)

HOTWORK Structural fire at Malakwa mill (all were accounted for and no one was reported to have been injured - reports indicate the fire may have stemmed from welding work done sometime in the morning - reports were that two people in there were doing some hot works welding in the morning and, over a break, either the fire could have ignited when they weren’t in the building)

CONFINED SPACE HOTWORK EXPLOSION SHERIFF: 3 men injured in explosion at Proliant plant in Lytton, IA identified (explosion sends three to hospital - worker, 34, was inside a large storage tank and was going to patch weld a seam in the tank when the explosion occurred - worker, 32, was assisting and worker, 52, was in the room at the time of the explosion - explosion occurred in the rendering section of the plant - one worker’s injuries were life-threatening and another were severe - investigators are still on scene to try to determine a cause of the explosion)

HOTWORK Fire at Sports Complex-42, no casualty (a huge quantity of chemical rubber meant for pasting astroturf field at the Sports Complex and a charcoal mixing machine were gutted in a fire - there was no casualty - the machine in which charcoal was prepared caught fire due to overheating - the fire engulfed the machine and spread further sending packets of chemical rubber, which were lying nearby, aflame - the fire occurred due to a spark at the spot where welding work for raising grills was on)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Explosion kills 19-year-old welder at worksite in Saskatchewan (worker, 19 was opening a barrel with a torch - the barrel contained a type of spray foam - they all believed it was water-based and it exploded - teen was pronounced dead at the scene)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Volga expresses loss for worker killed in explosion (a tank explosion at a soybean processing plant kills a welder, 39, just after 2:30 pm Thursday - workers were installing catwalks high above storage tanks, then one of them exploded, killing the worker)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welding explosion near Kinistino kills 19-year-old worker (worker, 19, had been performing welding work was pronounced dead at the scene - no other details)

HOTWORK FIRE 2 injured in welding fire at LG&E power plant (workers are being treated for burns after a welding accident at a Generating Station just after 1:30 p.m. - fire started while two contractors were welding something at the power plant - crews rushed the workers to the hospital - it is not clear how badly the patients are injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire causes evacuation of General Cable mill building (dozens of workers had to be evacuated when a welding operation sparked a fire that damaged the outbuilding attached to the loading dock - it took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the fire and another 15 minutes to blow smoke out of the basement level of the mill building)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire breaks out at mushroom plant in Fillmore (a welder was using a torch while doing welding work on the roof of one of the straw covers - due to strong winds, sparks from the torch were blown to the straw bales down below - there were no injuries)

HOTWORK Spark in welding area causes small fire at NTC in Wausau (fire started in the filtration system - crews were able to put out the small fire quickly - everyone was evacuated from the building and no one was hurt)

CONFINED SPACE HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two burned in fire at airport (a flash fire in a tanker at an airport sent two workers to area hospitals with burn injuries - contractors were grinding and welding inside a fuel tanker at 11:30 a.m. when the tanker exploded - at least two workers were injured and taken to a Hospital - both men were in serious but stable condition in the hospital’s emergency department, and would eventually be transported to the hospital’s burn unit)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Scrap Yard Worker Killed by Military Bomb Blast ID'd (metal worker, 46, was killed when high explosive inside a military bomb he was cutting into detonated - he was using a torch to cut through a piece of metal that turned out to be a MK-82 general purpose bomb when it exploded at around 12:15 p.m.)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Factory Explosion Almeria, One dead and at least two injured (worker has been pronounced dead and at least two others have been seriously injured in a factory explosion - investigators have stated the blast was likely to have been caused by welding works accidentally igniting a canister of inflammable waste - the deceased is believed to be a sub-contractor who was welding pipes to a fuel storage tank when the explosion occurred - two other men suffering from smoke inhalation have been treated and released from hospital)

HOTWORK @ GAS STATION Cumberland gas station worker badly burned while cutting fuel tanks (worker, 34, was badly burned while cutting metal - he was cutting metal on or near a fuel tank around 7:32 a.m. when the fuel caught fire, causing severe first- and second- degree burns to more than 30 per cent of his body - he is currently in serious but stable condition)

NOT WORK RELATED, but you will NOT believe this one… Motorist sets lighter to spider at gas station, burns pump (a man with an apparent case of arachnophobia caused a fire at a gas pump by putting a lighter to what he says was a spider near his fuel door - he escaped injury and his vehicle suffered little damage, but the gas pump was destroyed - a clerk shut off the pump from indoors and called the fire department)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man killed in South Akl explosion named (worker, 24, was killed when a tank explosion blasted him across the road and into a car park - another man was injured - witnesses say the worker was flung from the top of the tank, across the road, and into a car park - he was welding when the explosion happened)

 

FATAL CONFINED SPACE EXPLOSION w/ HOTWORK DSME fire kills two, injures seven (two people have died after a vessel under construction at a Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. caught on fire - worker, 39, was found dead at around 5 p.m. in a fuel tank of the 84,000-ton liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier - second victim, 30, who had been missing at first, was found about an hour later - the fire occurred on a vessel that is under construction also left an additional seven injured - the fire appeared to have been caused by a welding spark inside the vessel that was being constructed at one of the company's building docks - seven have been hospitalized for treatment after they inhaled fumes from the fire, while 38 others are confirmed to be unharmed)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Dozens of firefighters worked to put out fire after explosion; exact cause still not determined (two employees were welding on a large chemical holding tank when it exploded at about 11:15 a.m. - although firefighters were told the two men were welding, what exactly caused the liquid holding tank to explode is not yet known - the chemical holding tank contained a mixture of about 80 percent water, 20 percent sodium hydrosulfide - the assistant manager was welding on the outside of the tank with the help of a co-worker - the two men were working at the top of a ladder approximately 40 feet above the ground - explosion ripped open the metal top of the holding tank, sending pieces of it flying into the air)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding starts fire at Valenzuela warehouse; 1 dead (worker, 45, died after fire hit a fabrics warehouse - he was on his way out of the warehouse when he suffered a heart attack)

HOTWORK MFD: Sparks from welding torch start fire at metal recycling center (no one injured in fire at facility - sparks from a welding torch reportedly started a fire in an industrial metal shredder around 10:45 a.m. - Investigators said the fire was caused by sparks from a welding torch used in the area just before the incident)

HOTWORK FIRE Diesel storage tank ignites fire on Highway 82 (according to the incident report, there was an unintentional cause of ignition while cutting on the tank - there was residual fuel in the tank and sparks from the welding caught the diesel fuel on fire - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire erupts at 24 unit apartment building in Viera during welding work (welders were working on stairwells in an apartment building when a fire broke out and moved into a few units - residents were evacuated and no injuries were reported - three units were directly affected, and up to 12 units suffered smoke and water damage)

HOTWORK (PLASMA) FIRE Two boats destroyed in fire at Apex Marine in St. Louis (pair of boats were engulfed in flames resulting in a total loss of both vehicles - Fire Department were called to the scene at 3:40 p.m. in response to the accidental ignition of molten metal, while a worker was repairing a trailer connected to the boats - employee was using plasma cutting, involving a flame, to repair a part of the trailer - he left his work for a matter of minutes and returned to find molten metal had began burning onboard one of the boats - both boats were completely engulfed in flames, along with the trailer - the loss will total in about $45,000 in damages - “It was an accident,” he said. “This has never happened before and it will probably be another hundred years before it happens again.”)

HOTWORK Welding work sparks fire at Michigan League building (welding work sparked a fire at a building on the campus - no injuries were reported in the fire, which started around 2:30 p.m. - fire started on the third floor of the building as contractors did copper welding work - building was evacuated)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed in ‘explosion’ while welding a pontoon (worker, 37, was killed in an explosion at a welding company - he was welding a pontoon boat when the blast occurred, killing him - it is not yet clear what caused the explosion)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Chemical Plant Explosion In South Korea Kills 6 Workers, Investigation Underway (an explosion at a chemical plant has killed six workers - explosion occurred when workers were welding the interior of a waste water storage facility - fire authorities suspect that the gas trapped in storage area might have triggered the blast - “Gas from the waste water, which had piled up inside the tank, was apparently ignited by the welding torch”)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION OSHA Investigating Nebraska Explosion (crews were cleaning out propane tanks when the explosion happened - two workers were critically burned and were airlifted to a hospital - in 2006 the company was fined $6,375 for two serious safety violations in Cheyenne, Wyoming when a worker was killed using a cutting torch)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Four dead in fuel tank explosion at Togo factory (four people were killed when a fuel tank exploded at a cement factory - six workers were carrying out welding work on the roof of the tank when the tragedy happened - the foreman and 13 workers in total had been working to repair the tank before the explosion)

HOTWORK One injured in rail yard fire (a fire caused minor injury to one worker - all employees exited the building before firefighters arrived - contractor was installing “fall protection” in the paint booth area, a process that requires welding - one of the employees was on a scissor lift welding when the fire started, a fire apparently sparked by a spark that came into contact with air filters in the paint booth - worker on the scissor lift told firefighters the fire spread so fast that he was unable to access the scissor lift’s controls and he climbed down the side of the scissor lift to escape suffering minor burns in the process - another employee standing watch on fire guard told firefighters that the fire spread so quickly that he was unable to extinguish it with an extinguisher - firefighters used about 2,500 gallons of water extinguishing the fire, which was also in part extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system)

HOTWORK Cell phone tower near Heritage High catches fire (insulation on a cell phone tower caught fire - fire started as maintenance workers were conducting welding operations on the tower just before noon - flames quickly spread along the insulation of wiring inside and outside of the tower - firefighters got to the scene and found “a massive amount of fire at the base of the tower, with wires burning along the full length of the tower” - no injuries - extensive damage to the tower, and it is completely disabled)

HOTWORK Employees evacuated after fire at Briggs & Stratton in Poplar Bluff (a fire broke out after some welding sparked dust to catch fire near a paint oven - the sprinkler system activated and the fire was quickly put out - employees were evacuated - no one was injured)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION 2 burned in gas-line explosion in Bellevue (investigation into the explosion that injured two workers at a commercial building will focus on how they ignited a gas line - workers were soldering in a utility hole at the building when there was an explosion - the plumbers pulled themselves out, still on fire, and other workers doused the pair with water - one worker, 45, was in satisfactory condition - the second man, 36, was in serious condition and transferred to the intensive-care unit)

HOTWORK Welder hurt following a fire at work (worker was working on a fuel tank when it exploded - worker was treated for minor burns at the scene - workers tried putting out the fire before firefighters got there - took fire crews 20 minutes to put the fire out - only minor damage to the building)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire causes extensive damage to Imperial business (four employees of the company had safely gotten out of the building - investigation revealed that a worker had accidentally dropped a torch near some chemical soaked rags - the fire quickly spread - workers tried to use a fire extinguisher on the fire but were driven back - no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Officials: Worker was using plumbing torch before house caught fire (worker was using a plumbing torch before a fire that did $20,000 damage to a house that was being renovated - firefighters arrived to find flames spreading up a wall and into the attic - worker had been using a plumbing torch to work on pipes in the wall before the fire started - it appeared the worker tried to put out the fire with water - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK FIRE Roofer's blowtorch sparked 6-alarm fire in Hamilton Township, fire chief says (a roofer's blowtorch sparked the multi-alarm fire that destroyed nearly an entire block of homes - fire broke out around 3:45 p.m. and spread quickly, eventually engulfing 20 homes)

HOTWORK Welders Start Fire at RV Storage Facility (welders installing a vault triggered a blaze - the fire was caused by welders who conducting some sort of operation on the vault - no injuries were reported)

 

FATAL WELDING EXPLOSION Welder killed as lorry explodes (gas welding worker, 34, was killed after the oil tanker he was working on exploded - police said pressure built inside the tank, causing it to burst - he was working on an oil tanker which had developed an overhead crack - suddenly the tank exploded after the fire from the welding equipment created a pressure inside it and finally giving way - welder was killed on the spot)

HOTWORK Welders Start Fire at RV Storage Facility (welders installing a vault triggered a blaze - the fire was caused by welders who conducting some sort of operation on the vault - no injuries were reported)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION One dead, two injured in Chinese shipyard explosion (one worker has died while another two were injured in an explosion at about 14:00 while electric welders were working in a ship's cabin - ship was under maintenance at the yard - injured workers were taken to hospital)

HOTWORK Welding torches start fire at Canfield business (investigators believe a fire that prompted the evacuation of a business was caused by welding torches being used to repair an overhead door - authorities believe that heat from the torches started a fire that spread through the wall - no one was injured - estimates that the building sustained $30,000 damage)

UPDATE now a HOTWORK FATAL FIRE 'Welding near flammable chemicals caused Kentex fire' (Arson Task Force has released the results of its investigation on the massive fire that killed 72 people - investigation showed that fire started when sparks from a welding machine set ablaze flammable chemicals inside the factory - this was based on interviews with survivors, employees, the company's owners, and the welders working in the factory - group has also yet to decide whether to file charges against the welder, or to consider him a witness)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks fertiliser plant fire (six people were taken to hospital following a fire - one man, who was rushed to a Hospital with suspected smoke inhalation, was discharged a few hours later - five other workers were taken to hospital some hours after the fire, for precautionary checks for smoke inhalation - fire began shortly after 8am, during welding work in a duct - sparks ignited a rubber seal and the smoke travelled into an extraction fan)

HOTWORK Oil rig evacuated at Harland and Wolff after small fire breaks out (more than 300 factory workers had to be evacuated from an oil rig after a small fire broke out during welding operations - workers were back on board within 30 minutes - the fire was accidental and was contained and confined to one of the legs of the oil rig)

HOTWORK Welder accidentally sparks three-alarm grass fire (a person welding a fence accidentally started a three-alarm grass fire that burned about 3 to 4 acres)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire destroys electric warehouse in Monmouth (fire completely destroyed a three-story storage repair facility and injured an employee -employee was welding from a bucket truck when something from the welding operation ignited the truck's hydraulic lines - the flames then spread to the building, with the windy conditions feeding the flames)

HOTWORK Fire Forces Evacuation At Orange Grove Center (firefighters found the fire in a room on the second floor, on a conveyer belt - no injuries were reported - employees told firefighters that they were using an acetylene torch to install a new conveyer belt - it is believed that heat or sparks from the torch sparked the fire - fire damage was limited to the area around the conveyer belt)

HOTWORK Fire at GM Fairfax plant causes $600,000 in damage (fire caused an estimated $600,000 in damage - sparks from a welding torch ignited lubricating oil stored inside a paint shop at the plant - building’s sprinkler system doused most of the flames - $100,000 in damage to the structure and $500,000 in damage to its contents - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Welding spark may have caused Target fire (fire in the roof of a furniture store may have been caused by a welding spark as contractors renovated the building - fire caught on building paper lining the inside of a 9-metre-high arched iron roof - the suspected cause of the fire was a spark from welding work being done in the roof area at the time - no reports of injury)

HOTWORK Russian nuclear sub on fire, state news agency reports (a nuclear submarine being repaired at a Russian shipyard has caught on fire - rubber insulation between the submarine's light and pressure hull is on fire - insulation caught on fire as welding work was being done on the submarine)

HOTWORK Welding spark ignites shed fire causing evacuation of preschool (spark from a welding project was to blame for the cause of a fire - a wooden shed also caught a neighboring shed on fire, destroying it, before spreading to a Preschool located within feet of the original shed - fire was called in shortly before 11:00 a.m. by the person doing the welding - worker, 19, said he called 911 and then went next door to tell his mother who teaches at the preschool - children from the preschool were immediately evacuated, which quickly spread to it’s rooftop)

HOTWORK Firefighters douse small blaze at Tropicana plant in Bradenton (fire was caused by welding being done inside the building - fire was in between the walls, which is why the fire department had a bit of difficulty with it - they had to take down the inner peel of the walls and it's made out of different types of aluminum - there's about 8 inches of void in between there that has insulation, and that's where the fire was - no injuries - everybody safely evacuated)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION At Least One Dead in Southeast Siberia Oil Refinery Blast (at least one person was killed and four injured in a blast at an oil refinery - according to a local police source, the blast occurred during welding works - four people were hospitalized with light burns - three workers do not need treatment, while one person will undergo out-patient treatment)

HOTWORK Spoonemore welding fire (sparks from cutting or grinding metal ignited a fire at a business - a man had been cutting or grinding some metal when sparks set something on fire - he had noticed that he set some stuff on fire and put it out and didn’t get it completely out - he reportedly got distracted by a visitor and when he turned and looked, the fire was out of control)

HOTWORK ignites GRAIN DUST Three Hospitalized After Flash Fire at OK Foods Feed Mill (three people are hospitalized with severe burns after a flash fire at the feed mill - two people remain in critical condition at a hospital - the other worker was transported to a Hospital with minor injuries - flash fire happened on the third floor of the mill, where two contract welders were working - grain dust suddenly caught fire - several employees were inside the building at the time of the incident jumping to safety from three stories up)

HOTWORK Fire at Lexington business deemed accidental (employees do a lot of grinding and welding in the building where the fire happened so he said he thinks the sparks got into the attic and started the fire - employees from the last shift in that building left at 4 p.m. so it’s possible that sparks got up there and were smoldering but didn’t actually catch fire until overnight)

HOTWORK Welding sparks ignite small fire at construction site for new Sanford hospital (sparks from welding ignited building materials at the construction site for a new hospital - small fire broke out just before 8 a.m. and was put out by construction workers before firefighters arrived on scene)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at work site (fire broke out in the basement of a multi-storey

building under construction - no one was injured - fire broke out around 12.30 p.m. when sparks from a welding work in progress fell on foam placed in the basement of the building - fire started raging despite efforts by the construction workers)

HOTWORK Niagara Falls Fire Department (workers using a hand-held torch, in an attempt to thaw out frozen pipes, caused the insulation, siding and wood underneath the siding to catch fire - fire was confined to the outside of the home, but did damage the water pipe inside the home, resulting in a water leak in the basement - total damage was estimated at $4,000)

HOTWORK Fire at Dairy Queen causes smoke damage (no one was injured in the fire that set part of a Dairy Queen ablaze - fire was contained to the rear storage area and had been suppressed by the building's automatic sprinkler system - owner was working with a torch on some parts he had to fix in the storage area, and it appears as though the torch was laid too close to combustible material when he put it down to go out and talk to the delivery guy)

HOTWORK Former Grain Mill owner cited for fire code violations (a cutting and welding torch sparked the flames - no 'hot work' permit was obtained - 30 fire departments called to fight fire at the grain mill - Owner of the Grain Mill is cited for several fire code violations - cited for a total of five violations, including failure to maintain fire extinguishers, failure to obtain a hot works permit and failure to possess a permit for LP-gas - a cutting and welding torch (hot works) that was being used to remove machinery in the building sparked the March 6th fire inside the grain mill - March 26th is the one-year anniversary of the Boston fire that killed two firefighters on Beacon Street. That fire was caused by cutting and welding that was being done on a building next door. The work there was also being done without a permit.

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting on DRUM Worker severely injured in explosion at Cadott business (worker, 24, was severely injured in an explosion - full extent of the man's injuries isn't known - he was attempting to cut open a 55-gallon drum with a blow torch when the drum exploded - drum was not full, but contained some oil-like substance)

HOTWORK Construction Crew’s Torch Sparks Fire At Santa Cruz Hotel (a construction crew using a torch caused a fire at a hotel - arriving crews found a “moderate” amount of smoke coming from the roof of a two-story building - firefighters reached the roof of the building, found the source of the blaze was at a corner under construction by a roofing company and extinguished the fire - it appears fire started by accident and was caused by a roofing crew using a torch to make repairs)

HOTWORK Fire at West Fargo Welding Building (firefighters put out a fire at a welding building around 9:00 a.m. - wooden pallets caught fire in the middle of the building and the area filled with smoke - cause of the fire is under investigation)

HOTWORK No One Injured After Fire At Steel Manufacturing Plant (a spark from work being conducted to close to a combustible metal caused a fire to break out at a steel manufacturing plant just before 1 a.m. - a box filled with aluminum caught fire, possibly due to welding that was happening near the bin - four people were inside the building at the time - no one was hurt - according to the Arson Unit, the fire was caused by an accidental spark from a cutting tool)

HOTWORK Fire damages Letcher business (business suffered minimal damage and will remain open after a fire broke out around 3 p.m. - business that specializes in the restoration and sale of stagecoaches, wagon and cannon wheels and horse-drawn vehicles - it is suspected that a spark off the welding equipment went askew, catching on insulation and setting the upper section of the building on fire - no injuries)

HOTWORK Sawmill fire destroys Easton business (worker was welding as another repaired an exhaust system in the mill - sparks from the welding equipment ignited sawdust that sparked the fire - he attempted to put the fire out but the flames spread and he fled the burning building)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION on TANKER TRUCK No one injured in tanker explosion (no injuries or residual fire were reported after a tanker exploded at a welding business - one man was working on a tanker truck inside the welding shop - a man and a woman working in an administrative office in the building at the time were not injured - the tanker trunk, which was used to carry used fracking water, was empty and had been cleaned before coming into the shop - the tank was not cleaned well enough and sparks from a grinder used by the man working on the truck ignited residual petroleum product in the tank - shop door on the building was forced off its hinges from the explosion)

HOTWORK Sparks from spot-weld operation likely cause of Holland industrial fire (sparks from a spot-welding operation likely caused a roof fire that caused an estimated $10,000 in damage - firefighters responded about 6 a.m. on a report of a fire on the roof - workers had evacuated the building and firefighters discovered the fire was in the wood framing to a skylight assembly)

HOTWORK Fire caused by cutting torch at Rogers building (fire broke out when sparks from a cutting torch got into the vent system and ignited metal dust - a construction crew was in the process of removing line equipment - workers had been using a cutting torch to dismantle equipment inside the building - sparks got into the duct system, igniting residual magnesium and aluminum dust - the ventilation ducts are large)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE AvalonBay workers who sparked massive Edgewater fire never called 911 (workers who sparked a massive blaze that displaced 1,000 people didn't delay their call to 911 for 15 minutes, in fact, at no point did they call the emergency number - a review of dispatch logs, 911 tapes as well as interviews with officials has revealed no record that any employee alerted authorities to the Jan. 21 fire - one of the two complex buildings was destroyed in the fire, permanently displacing about 500 residents)

HOTWORK Welding spark blamed in Utah mechanic shop fire that hurt 1 (a welding spark is believed to have caused a two-alarm blaze that injured a shop owner and gutted a mechanic shop - a man was treated at a Hospital after firefighters were called about 7:15 p.m. - the mechanic shop a total loss)

HOTWORK Firefighters extinguish oil fire on barge at South Roxana scrap yard (a cutting torch set fire to a partially-sunken barge being scrapped along the Mississippi River - leaking oil was captured by containment booms already in place - fire occurred about 11:43 a.m. after a spark apparently ignited pads put down to absorb some spilled oil - fire was brought under control within 35 minutes)

HOTWORK ASU football stadium fire caused by construction (construction work going on at the press box resulted in the fire - roof of the former press box had a plywood floor down and they were up there welding and cutting it looked like and it caught the plywood on fire)

HOTWORK Welding sparks 2-alarm fire in Rapho Township metal shop, firefighter injured (workers were welding when the fire started - sparks caught the wall on fire and quickly spread - “The biggest obstacle was opening up the walls to get to the insulation. That, and the bitter cold” - the sheet metal barn sustained severe damage — much of it from firefighters ripping open the walls and roof to get to the fire - listed the damage at about $10,000)

HOTWORK Fire burns employee at Canady's Landscaping and Erosion Control (a small fire damaged a business and caused an employee to receive minor burns - officials believe an employee was grinding or welding in one of the buildings when a spark flew into some pine needles at the facility - fire took about 15 minutes to extinguish - building was damaged by heat and smoke - a lot of equipment was damaged by the fire)

HOTWORK Torch cutter likely cause of industrial fire (fire investigators say a torch metal cutter likely started a fire that destroyed a business - investigation is near completion, but investigators say after a dozen interviews with employees, the torch was being used to cut metal from the southeast corner of the building - witnesses told investigators that is where they first saw flames and the sprinklers went off there first - owner of the building says the metal being removed did not happen with his approval - no one was hurt)

HOTWORK FIRE 15-min delay in calling 911 ‘big contributor’ to Edgewater, NJ fire disaster (workers that caused the massive fire at an apartment complex waited 15 minutes to call the fire department, having first phoned their supervisor - the fire displaced over a thousand people was ruled accidental - plumbers were using a blowtorch to make a welding repair in a first-floor apartment around 4:20 pm when the fire began in the walls of the unit - the fire quickly spread - the workers called a supervisor when the inferno began, and did not choose to call 911 for another 15 minutes - the 408-unit building was quickly evacuated, but the delay allowed 240 of the apartments to be destroyed as the fire grew to five alarms)

HOTWORK FIRE – 30 MINUTE FIREWATCH RULE Morning fire destroys Unionville business (a business has been destroyed following a hotwork fire - the owner was welding in the garage, then took a break - when he came back a short time later, the garage wall was on fire - building was completely destroyed)

HOTWORK WELDING KIT CAUSES FIRE AT AMAZON CONSTRUCTION SITE (a data site still under construction caught fire - welding equipment has been blamed for the fire - estimates put the damage at up to $100,000 - no people were hurt - fire was started when welding equipment ignited building materials which had been stored on the roof)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION w/ DRUM Warning on drums after Orange man injured in explosion (WORKCOVER NSW inspectors are urging workers to be cautious when working with storage drums after a worker, 41, at a plumbing business suffered serious injuries when the 44 gallon drum he was cutting exploded - worker was cutting the lid off a 44 gallon drum with a plasma cutter at the business when the drum exploded - it caused serious fractures to his head and upper body)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on TUGBOAT 2 dead in HCMC boat blast (two workers were killed after a tugboat exploded while docking at a port around 9:15 a.m. - some workers were welding some parts of the boat when the explosion happened - explosion sent one worker, 25, flying 50 meters away from the boat - he died immediately - worker, 44, was thrown into the river, severely injured and died later in the hospital - sparks from the welding job in the boat may have flown towards the fuel tank and ignited the explosion)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire breaks out in foam factory (fire broke out in a foam factory - no casualties were reported, one person inside the factory got injured after he fell from the factory's terrace - fire was due to sparks from welding work - led to a total loss of over Rs 1 crore - worker were installing a lift in the building, for which welding was going on - sparks released during the welding came in touch with the foam and that led to a fire)

HOTWORK FATALITY Elkhart man dies from burns suffered at Green Stream Recycling plant accident (worker, 51, injured during a welding accident has died of his injuries - he died as a result of thermal burns he suffered in the accident)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out in oil processing unit (fire broke out in an Oil Processing Unit when the mechanics were welding a bucket elevator - sparks that came out from the welding spread across the oil palm bunches - no one was hurt in the incident - preliminary estimates the loss was put at Rs 3 lakh)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding equipment sparked fire at a data center under construction in Loudoun (welding equipment on the roof of a data center that was under construction likely sparked a three-alarm fire at about 10 a.m. -five construction workers were on the roof of the building when the fire started but were able to escape without injury - officials estimate that the fire caused $75,000 to $100,000 in damage)

WELDING EXPLOSION – CUTTING DRUM Officials: Man welding drum badly burned when it explodes (explosion happened just before 11 a.m. at a recycling business - an employee was welding on a 55-gallon drum outside the business when the drum exploded - the man was burned over his entire body)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION in CONFINED SPACE Torch ignited gas, causing blast and fire at La Crosse plant (the cause of a tank explosion and fire at a plant has been determined - Fire Department said a torch ignited flammable vapors from a tank at an Asphalt plant and that caused the explosion just before 7 a.m. on November 19 - the tank that exploded and caught fire was destroyed)

HOTWORK FIRE Killeen: Apartment Maintenance Worker Burned (a maintenance worker was burned at an apartment complex after some insulation caught on fire as he soldered pipes - worker received second-degree burns on his hands as he extinguished the flames)

HOTWORK Welding sparks gasoline fire at LaGrange auto body shop (fire started just before 1 p.m. as employees were pulling a gas pump out of a truck and also welding when sparks flew onto leaked gas and caused the fire - the building is not a complete loss)

2014

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE Flash fire at the Plantation Pipe Line site (a flash fire at a pipe line system sent four contractors to the hospital - fire was put out by handheld extinguishers - the four contractors affected had been welding a pipe-that had previously leaked 8-thousand gallons of gasoline - those workers were released from a local hospital after an evaluation with no injuries - county emergency services director thinks there was some "product" in the pipe)

HOTWORK American Museum of Natural History Evacuated Because of Smoke (thousands of visitors at the American Museum of Natural History were evacuated after a blow torch being used outside sparked a small fire that filled an exhibition hall with smoke - fire broke out near the museum’s West 77th Street entrance around 3:30 p.m. and filled an exhibition hall on the first floor with heavy smoke that set off fire alarms and water sprinklers)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Four injured as truck’s diesel tank explodes (four persons suffered burns injuries when the diesel tank of a truck caught fire during welding work - welder was working close to the tank that exploded due to excess heat)

HOTWORK Two men hurt in north Wichita house fire (two men, 52 and 56, were hospitalized after being burned in a fire shortly after 6 p.m. - the men were welding copper pipes in a crawl space when the torch ignited surrounding combustibles - they were taken to a Hospital for treatment of burns and released - crews were able to extinguish the fire in less than 15 minutes - damage to the house was estimated at $5,000)

HOTWORK Equipment catches fire, damages Athens Street business (no one was injured when equipment being repaired caught fire and damaged a business -fire started about 1:37 p.m. on a piece of heavy equipment called a skidder - skidder was in an area where an independent contractor was making repairs and had just finished welding. - fire appeared to be accidental in nature and is being turned over to the insurance companies - damage to the building was $75,000 to $100,000, and the skidder was valued at $50,000)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE Storm Lake, IA plant damaged by fire will reopen (a turkey plant will returning back to work over the next couple of months - on March 22nd a fire caused substantial damage to the plant - it took fire departments from four surrounding communities nearly three hours to contain the flames 0 State Fire Marshal's Office said the fire started in a wall of the plant following a welding operation - fire caused more than $30-million in damage)

HOTWORK FIRE Spark from welding gear caused Shanghai hospital blaze (a spark from electric welding equipment is believed to be what triggered the fire - the flames were ignited near the middle of the building, possibly by sparks falling from welding gear being used above - the blaze was likely fueled by bamboo boards used on scaffolding)

HOTWORK Lafayette shopping center damaged in Friday fire (fire investigators say an accidental fire caused damage to a shopping center just after noon - fire was extinguished within 15 minutes - fire caused substantial damage in the area of origin - the fire originated around the roof hatch - construction crews were welding on the hatch before the fire - investigators believe the heat from the welding ignited combustibles around the hatch, then spread to the roofing material - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK FIRE – SPRINKLERS SAVE THE DAY!  Fire Officials Say Welding Caused Minneapolis Building Blaze (welding is to blame for a fire at a downtown building at about 7:30 a.m. - when firefighters arrived, heavy black smoke was showing on the eighth floor of a 10-story structure - crews went into battle the fire from the interior - nobody was inside the building at the time of the fire - two workers who were not injured in the fire escaped to the roof and were rescued by emergency personnel - the cause of the fire was accidental due to welding - fire started on the eighth floor and three sprinkler heads went off, holding off the fire until crews arrived)

HOTWORK Fire damages South Side playground (a piece of playground equipment that is being removed from the old Elementary School playground was damaged by fire - public schools maintenance personnel were in the process of removing the equipment from the lot - a torch was being used to cut metal supports - workers ceased using the torch around 10 a.m. approximately 45 minutes later they left the scene to get more supplies - it was during that time the fire ignited - once the fire erupted there was an ample supply of wood chips beneath the equipment to feed the flames)

HOTWORK Flames Damage Verizon Wireless Tower (workers were welding on the tower and heard "two loud noises" - worker stated he looked up and saw flames and a lot of smoke - all power to the tower was cut off - a coaxial cable caught on fire as welders worked - fire was up too high on the tower for firefighters to extinguish - no injures were reported)

EXCAVATION HOTWORK FLASH FIRE 2 workers burned in Newburyport construction accident (workers were welding in a trench near a gas line when a flash fire burned two workers - residual gas in the trench lit, causing the fire - one of the workers, contractor, was taken to a local hospital with severe burns to his face - the other worker, employee, helped the contractor out of the trench and was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Fuel tank explosion leaves one dead, another injured (worker, 52, is dead and another suffered minor injuries after a fuel tank exploded at a business - the explosion occurred around 10:30 a.m. - witnesses at the scene say the employee was welding near the fuel tank at the time of the explosion)

HOTWORK on TANK FIRE Two injured in flash fire at biodiesel producer (two workers were injured in a flash fire atop a tank at a Biodiesel plant at approximately 11:40 a.m. - the workers were doing some welding repairs on top of one of the roughly 50-foot-high tanks when some ethanol inside the tank caught fire)

HOTWORK Pepsi conveyor belt caught fire in Newport News (a welding accident caught a conveyor belt on fire - crews were doing some repair work around 10:15 a.m. when the belt caught aflame - the fire was contained to the piece of machinery and the portion of the belt burning - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Cutting torch sparks fire in vacant building near Sioux Gateway Airport (a fire inside an empty building was caused by a cutting torch construction workers were using on the already damaged building - the fire was reported just after 2 p.m. and was quickly extinguished - no injuries were reported - workers were removing some of the sections of roof that had fallen in about six weeks ago during the heavy storms)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two injured in flash fire at biodiesel producer (two workers were apparently making welding repairs to the tank - one of the injured as having “multiple lacerations” from the blast - ethanol residual in the top of the tank reportedly caught fire and flashed on the workers - workers were doing some welding repairs on top of one of the roughly 50-foot-high tanks when some ethanol inside the tank caught fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder killed in explosion (worker, 28, died after an explosion at his workplace - he was welding when the accident occurred)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting on drum Worker using torch killed in Moncks Corner blast (worker, 33, has died after an explosion as he cut a barrel with a torch around 8:45 a.m. at Scrap Metal business - he was cutting off the top of a barrel that once contained flammable liquid when the explosion happened)

 

HOTWORK FATAL EXPLOSION Welder, 1 other die in Misau fire accident (a welder and a staff member of the Water Board, lost their lives in a fire explosion, which occurred at the office of the water board - the explosion occurred when the technician was said to be welding a leaking tank on the premises, which was said to have suddenly exploded leading to an inferno which gutted a section of the water board building)

HOTWORK Update: Four-alarm blaze at Sylvan Thirty lofts caused by welding, same as March fire (investigators determined the cause of the four-alarm fire was accidental, started by welding within the walls of a residential unit - the March fire, which destroyed one building, was also ruled an accident due to welding - out of 200 units only 10 sustained some damage - no injuries were reported - it’s the second fire at the $50 million development)

DUST EXPLOSION and HOTWORK Arizona Pet Food Factory Explosion burns Four Workers (four workers have suffered burns in a grain dust explosion at a pet food factory - workers were welding in a grain elevator - grain dust caught fire, which further resulted in explosion - one worker was in critical condition and was airlifted to local burn center - another worker was transported to the same facility by an ambulance - third worker had moderate burns and was transported to a nearby hospital, while the fourth worker was released from the same hospital after treatment)

HOTWORK Welder ignites hay in Pocatello shed (according to fire officials, a worker was welding on the roof of a shed and some of the sparks fell into some hay in the shed and ignited - employee began pulling the smoldering hay out of the shed with a tractor so that firefighters could douse it with water - no one was injured and minimal damage was done to the structure)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed in explosion at S. Idaho dairy (worker, 30 , died in an explosion at a dairy - the explosion occurred at about 6 a.m. as he did welding work on a trailer - the explosion damaged the shop and other equipment - it's unclear what caused the explosion, and authorities are continuing to investigate)

HOTWORK Welding torch ignites massive Port of Los Angeles fire (fire broke out at a Port, burning part of a dock and threatening a warehouse and ship - flames broke out on the wharf about 6:40 p.m. shutting down the main channel - a welding torch started the fire that burned the chemical-coated pier, sending clouds of smoke over the sprawling complex and forcing worker evacuations and the closure of at least one school - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Blaze destroys cafeteria (fire ripped through a popular coffee shop and restaurant after a stray spark from a welder's torch sent the roof up in flames - no-one was injured - Coffee Shop and Restaurant was completely gutted in the blaze that firemen fought for almost three hours to contain - it broke out at around noon and is thought to have been caused by a welder fixing a sign to the roof)

HOTWORK Welding sparks blamed for morning fire (lingering sparks from a welding job were blamed for a small fire - it appeared that a smoldering fire started on large timber logs that had being burning overnight after some welding - “It’s not abnormal to see a fire start after some time has passed because of sparks that flew in the right place and being helped by the wind,” - he referenced a structure fire that happened earlier in the week at a Storage business after sparks burned through upholstery a couple of hours after the owner was using a grinding wheel)

WELDING GASES EXPLODE inside truck Truck explodes in Northglenn (a truck exploded while its 21-year-old owner was only three feet away - the explosion blew the windows out of nearby homes and cars, and enveloped the truck in flames - the owner uses the truck for his plumbing business - he was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, and expected to be ok. The fire from the truck was immediately extinguished - the explosion came from two tanks used to fuel a torch for welding that were stored inside the cab of the Ford F350 - what caused the tank to explode is under investigation - debris from the explosion was scattered throughout neighbors' yards, causing superficial damage to six homes but no structural issues)

HOTWORK on BARREL EXPLOSION Barrel explodes, injures two industrial workers (two workers were transported to the hospital after sustaining burns from industrial accident at 2:40 p.m. - at the time of the accident a worker was attempting to cut a 55-gallon barrel with a cutting torch - while the worker was cutting the barrel it exploded - he received burns to his arms, face and part of his chest - the barrel was empty but had residue of the chemical Xylene inside, which is used as paint thinner - worker thought he was cutting into a barrel that previous contained coolant - the second worker who was assisting the injured worker sustained burns and was transported to a Medical Center)

HOTWORK Fire destroys Sterling fertilizer plant (the fire that destroyed a fertilizer plant is being blamed on a welding accident - 95 percent of the factory building was destroyed - several workers who were in the building escaped)

HOTWORK Fire at welcome center caused by welding (with three weeks left to go on the project, fire broke out at the new welcome center, causing damage to at least two sections of the roof - no injuries and the Fire Department had the fire under control in less than an hour - a state fire marshal was on the scene getting ready to do an inspection, was able to see the fire and smoke coming off the roof - the fire started when a worker, who was welding the guttering, stepped away from the welding to get another tool -“ When he came back the fire had broken out in the roof system”)

HOTWORK w/ GRAIN DUST EXPLOSION Flagstaff plant explosion injures 4, authorities say (four people were burned in a grain-dust explosion - four contractors were doing welding work on the fifth floor of the plant when dust produced during the food-making process ignited - the explosion blew out several metal doors and burned all four contractors, who were sent to the hospital - one has severe burns)

HOTWORK Fire that damaged Colossus roller coaster sparked by welders (welders working on a roller coaster sparked fire that damaged the wooden coaster - no one was injured in blaze - the fire that damaged the wooden coaster was sparked by welders working on the ride - a portion of the structure collapsed, opening a hole in the track)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION on DRUM Man injured after welding project atop oil drum causes explosion (a man was hospitalized after his attempts to build a lawn roller resulted in an explosion - incident took place at about 9 a.m. when the man was welding atop of a 55-gallon drum in his garage - sparks ignited remnants of fuel in the drum, which caused an explosion and sent the top of the barrel through the wooden garage door - the man sustained burns to his arms and face, he extinguished a small fire on the wooden garage door before authorities arrived - he was then taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries)

HOTWORK 95% of Sterling fertilizer building lost in Wednesday fire (a fire that broke out at a fertilizer plant has destroyed 95% of the facility - fire erupted at the production facility just after 3 p.m. - the blaze was started by a welding accident inside the facility - no serious injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Employees evacuated after fire in basement of high-rise (contract workers were welding in the basement of the building when the fire started around 2:15 - a few embers hit the plastic on a hot water tank, melting it and causing the basement to fill with smoke - workers evacuated the area while firefighters contained the fire and cleared out the smoke - no one was injured, and the building reopened a few hours later)

HOTWORK Fire damages Rockford galvanizing plant (a commercial fire caused about $250,000 in damages - upon arrival fire crews found heavy fire in the one-story structure and learned some welding had taken place inside the plant when a small fire started - employees tried to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but could not do so before it spread - there were several chemicals involved such as sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and hydraulic fluid)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION 1 Dead in Fire at Trailer Lot in Paris (one person is dead after flames broke out at a trailer sales lot - a cutting torch is believed to have caused a flash explosion, igniting flames that took area firefighters more than two hours to control - no other injuries were reported at the fire, and the identity of the person killed was being withheld until relatives could be notified)

HOTWORK on TANK FIRE Worker badly burned at Fox’s Biscuits in Batley after Ossett firm ignores safety risks (a worker, 61, was severely burned in a flashover during hot-cutting work at a biscuit factory - he was one of a team working, which had been hired to remove three disused oil tanks - worker was using an angle grinder to cut a hole in one of the tanks, which had only recently been drained of fuel, when sparks ignited flammable vapors causing flames to erupt - in a panic, the worker inserted a high pressure water lance into a pipe opening to try to put out the fire but instead caused a blow-back of flames to be ejected from the opening, engulfing his lower body in flames)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Glycol flash burned welder at Mattydale chemical facility (officials suspect a welding torch ignited fumes, causing a small explosion at an industrial facility, which burned a welder and knocked him from a ladder - the man had been welding a large tank)

HOTWORK Men suffer burns after welding tool sparks fire at Burslem business (two men needed immediate hospital treatment after suffering burns when a piece of welding equipment set a car on fire shortly after 2.05pm - it is believed the blaze was started accidentally after a welding tool set a saloon vehicle alight)

HOTWORK and COMBUSTIBLE DUST Man welding in Ensley injured in flash fire (a flash fire burned a man who was welding on top of a storage container - the incident happened around 2:45 p.m. - the fire was caused by dust that ignited in the area where the man was welding on top of the container - victim fell approximately 35 feet and was taken to a Hospital to be treated for second degree burns to his face and arms, as well as a broken leg and other injuries)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION One injured in oil field tank explosion (a worker had used a cutting torch when an oilfield storage tank exploded and left him critically hurt - the worker was removing bolts from a catwalk atop the tank - the 12,000-gallon tank contained oil sludge during the blast - the worker was wearing a safety harness as he was thrown clear during the explosion, then the safety line slammed him face-first into the hot steel - the fire burned through a strap and the man fell to the ground - he was in critical condition when transported to a hospital)

HOTWORK Town Square blaze was accidental (fire has been ruled an accident - one building of the proposed complex was decimated by a blaze that began about 6 p.m. - losses are estimated at $15 million to $20 million - authorities think it was started by employees of a welding subcontractor cutting with a hand-held grinder before leaving the job site - the grinding had caused a small fire earlier, but workers thought it had been extinguished before they left - fire marshal’s conclusion is based primarily on interviews with construction workers)

FLASH FIRE during HOTWORK Worker injured when spark ignites gasoline during replacement work at gas station (a spark caused gasoline to ignite as a worker was cutting old storage tanks at a gas station - worker was seriously injured in the accident - worker was in a pit next to the gas pumps cutting away parts of gasoline storage tanks that are being replaced when a spark ignited the fuel - his clothes caught fire - he was taken to a Medical Center - fire was out before firefighters arrived)

HOTWORK Fire reported at Stillwater Mine (a fire in old timbers prompted an evacuation but no injuries - workers doing welding noticed the timbers smoldering at about 4 p.m. - after workers were evacuated, firefighters from the mine and volunteer fire departments re-entered the mine to fight the blaze using water and foam - the small fire near the surface level of the mine was fully extinguished by 2 a.m.)

HOTWORK Fire out at Fostek building in Bedford, no one hurt (fire caused about $30,000 in damage - no one was hurt - investigators believe the fire was caused by a crew cutting a pipe inside the building - the torch ignited some cardboard and the fire then spread to the walls of the room)

HOTWORK Welders cause small fire at Morton East (a small fire reported at a High School was quickly contained - a small fire was ignited on the roof of the building by contractors during the installation of an air handler unit - contractors were welding I-beams on the roof were believed to have caused some insulation to smolder, which led to a small fire the following morning - the building was empty at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported - the damage as minor and mainly contained to the insulation)

HOTWORK Edmonton warehouse blaze sparked by torch (fire investigators have determined the cause of a west-end industrial fire that resulted in over $800,000 in damages - the cause of the fire has been attributed to a torch that had unknowingly ignited some material and was left to smolder when construction crews, who were tarring the roof, had packed up for the day - crews responded to the call at around 5:30 p.m. on Friday evening after the fire began on the ceiling of the main floor of the partial two-story warehouse and quickly spread to the second floor)

HOTWORK Update: Cutting torch was cause of two-alarm fire at historic Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas Friday (Fire-Rescue workers have identified the cause of the two-alarm fire at the historic hotel downtown: a cutting torch - the fire was sparked when the torch “ignited the insulation of the duct work and caused a small fire inside” - there was no structural damage - fire was related to ongoing renovations at the historic hotel)

HOTWORK on TANK EXPLOSION Fuel tank believed to be empty explodes (a fuel tank that was believed to be empty exploded at a recycling plant - explosion occurred when employees at the plant tried to dismantle the tank by cutting into the metal, which created sparks -the tank was thought to be empty, some fuel residue remained inside, fire officials said - the explosion shot the lid off the tank, and no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Fire Causes "Extensive" Damage to Johnny Rockets at Knott's Berry Farm (restaurant suffered "extensive" damage because of a two-alarm fire - fire broke out around 2:20 a.m and the flames were under control within the hour - no one was injured by the fire that consumed the two-story burger joint - an arcade and laser tag area next to the restaurant also had some smoke and water damage - fire caused approximately $170,000 in damage - cause is still under investigation, but authorities believe it may have been caused by a worker that was welding)

HOTWORK Fire damage closes The Ranch Steakhouse & Grill restaurant (restaurant has suffered severe fire damage to its kitchen and rear after a fire broke out because of welding work - the blaze, which may have been caused by workmen welding, led to a serious amount of damage to the kitchen and rear of the restaurant)

HOTWORK Welding sparks Port of Providence boat fire (call came in around 11:10 a.m. for reports of a 70-foot fishing vessel fully engulfed in flames - a welding mishap started the fire - crews did use the department’s new foam pumper truck to help extinguish the flames - no one was hurt in the fire)

HOTWORK Fire engulfs Longview beer warehouse (owner of a beer distributor called damage to the business “too much” after a blaze - all employees evacuated the building before fire crews arrived at the plant - no serious injuries were reported - the fire originated in the warehouse after a piece of copper wire ignited the building’s spray foam insulation - air conditioning people were working on the insulation and caught it on fire with a torch)

HOTWORK Fire damages Canton shopping center, injuring one man (a rooftop fire damaged at a shopping center, causing minor injuries to one man and forcing the temporary closure - the accidental fire was started by construction workers using a torch to make roof repairs - one worker was treated at the scene by firefighter paramedics, but declined to go to a hospital)

HOTWORK SHIP FIRE INJURES TWO TEXAS FIREFIGHTERS (two firefighters have been hurt while battling a cargo ship fire sparked by welding - both men apparently inhaled hot gas - one firefighter was treated and released following the fire at the port - the other injured firefighter was improving Wednesday at a hospital and should be released in a couple of days)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FATALITY Barge captain convicted of negligence in explosion that killed deckhand and polluted canal (a barge explosion killed a 29-year old worker and released thousands of gallons of oil into a shipping canal - in a rare criminal conviction for a workplace fatality, a tugboat captain and his uncle’s business were found guilty of negligence charges for the death of a crewhand killed in a massive 2005 barge explosion - the captain, 35, was piloting a tugboat pushing a steel cargo barge on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal when it exploded, killing deckhand, 29, sinking the barge and spilling 600,000 gallons of concentrated slurry oil – a petroleum byproduct - the captain illegally ordered the worker to use a small propane torch to heat a frozen discharge pump moments before the barge was to be unloaded - judge convicted the captain and his uncle’s company of one count each of negligent manslaughter and negligent discharge of oil - he faces up to five years in prison, while his uncle’s company faces probation and a fine of up to $200,000)

HOTWORK Gas vapor explosion at salvage yard injures one (an employee at a local salvage yard was injured after an explosion just after 3 p.m. - employees smelled gas while welding in a part of the yard when the explosion happened - workers indicated they had an odor of gasoline in the area when there was an explosion - one employee was treated for minor flash burns to face area - no loss of property was reported)

HOTWORK on TANKS Two men burned after trying torch 250-gallon tanks in Roane County (two men were burned while attempting to scrap two, 250 gallon tanks around 2 p.m. - the men were using a torch to cut the tanks into smaller pieces, so they would be easier to scrap - they were torching the tanks in a yard - it was evident that one man was able to cut a square in the tank - shortly afterwards, there was an explosion - that man holding the torch ran into the nearby creek in an attempt to put out the flames - he was transported to a burn unit with critical injuries - the second man suffered first and second degree burns on his body - fire marshal said the cause of the explosion seems to be an over-pressure rupture - contents inside of the tank looked to be crude oil, and tests ran on the substance appeared to confirm those findings)

HOTWORK Blast in Ooty Cordite factory; 8 injured (a blast at a factory injured eight persons - two persons were grievously injured in the blast, which reportedly occurred shortly before noon - the blast occurred at a Nitrocellulose (gun cotton) workshop of the factory - it was not in operation - maintenance works were in progress - when a corrugated pipe was being welded there had been an explosion - the presence of some residual explosive material is suspected to have triggered the explosion, he said that the building had been partially damaged)

HOTWORK Mill blaze extinguished quickly; damages of roughly $8,000 (a small fire caused by a welding spark at a mill did about $8,000 in damages - fire was reported at 7:53 p.m. - it was confined to that area and involved sawdust and a section of the conveyor belt)

HOTWORK Plastic dome of People’s Mall catches fire (a fire broke out at a Mall - no shop or other outlet was damaged - at time of the incident, there were not many customers around as welding work was being carried on - the fibre dome of the Mall was gutted in the fire that flared up when welding work was being carried on at the top of the mall building - as the dome was made of hard plastic, the fire spread quickly and clouds of thick, black smoke filled the sky)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK FIRE UPDATE Welder at Back Bay fire cited before for no permit (company being sued for failing to obtain a city permit for work that spawned a fatal, nine-alarm Back Bay fire in March has apparently operated before without a permit, a practice not that unusual in the welding industry - fire officials investigating the Back Bay fire say a company was performing repair work when welding sparks jumped over to the neighboring four-story brownstone row house - after festering under the clapboards for a time, the sparks eventually ignited the fire - whipped by fierce winds blowing off the Charles River gusting up to 45 miles an hour, the fire blasted up from the basement and raged out of control through the entire eight-unit building, gutting it and taking the lives of two Boston Firefighters)

HOTWORK Eastside auto body shop owner in critical condition (owner, 59, of an auto-body shop was in critical condition - he sustained second-degree burns from a fire at his business - he was working with a torch when somehow his clothes caught fire about 7 p.m. - worker, 59, saw his boss run out of the shop and ran after him, tearing his burning clothing off - both were taken to a hospital, owner is in serious condition and worker is in good condition - third worker in the building was not hurt)

HOTWORK Second fire in as many months at Calgary roof-tiling company (a fire forced a dozen people to leave the site of a roofing-tile company - it was the second fire in as many months at the facility - this fire was smaller than the one in March that heavily damaged part of the building - it’s believed it was started by a contractor dismantling some equipment with a cutting torch)

HOTWORK Downtown Building Catches Fire (a building under demolition caught fire - crews had been using welding equipment earlier in the day and suspect that was the cause of the fire)

HOTWORK Owner of Eastside auto body shop sustains second-degree burns in fire (owner, 63, of an auto-body shop was in serious condition with second-degree burns after a fire - he was working with a torch when somehow, his clothes caught fire about 7 p.m. - worker, 59, saw his boss run out of the shop and ran after him, tearing his burning clothing off - both were taken to a Hospital, owner in serious condition and worker in good condition - a third worker in the building was not hurt)

HOTWORK Welding sparks cause shipping container fire (sparks from a welder are believed to have been the cause of a fire which destroyed a shipping container - worker was welding beside the shipping container when he noticed smoke coming from within)

UPDATE on HOTWORK Petaluma company cited for huge San Francisco blaze (fire officials say work being done by a steel subcontractor is believed to have ignited a massive blaze that barreled through an apartment building construction site in San Francisco in March - the president of the contractor was cited and fined $1,000 this month for being out of compliance with the city's fire code - officials say the March 11 blaze likely started from sparks that came from cutting and welding work - a report estimated damage at about $40 million)

Torch sets auto repair shop on fire (a fire at an auto sales and repair shop was fueled by a torch underneath a car that was on an overhead lift around 8:15 a.m. - an oxy/acetylene torch was below a car on an overhead lift and was fueling the fire - investigators determined that’s where and how the fire started)

HOTWORK FATAL EXPLOSION Man killed in explosion at Southern California trucking company is identified (a worker, 51, was killed in an explosion at a trucking company while he was welding a petroleum tanker truck - another worker was taken to a hospital in critical condition - the blast blew a hole in the roof of the building but didn't cause a fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed when tank explodes (worker, 29, died about 4 p.m. after he was seriously injured when an oilfield bulk-storage tank exploded inside a metal building - he was standing on top of the tank and welding a hook onto it when the explosion occurred - the worker and the tank went upward and hit the roof of the building, then fell about 20 feet to the concrete floor - when firefighters arrived, they found co-workers spraying the fire with extinguishers, and the deceased wedged between the burning tank and an inside wall of the building - another man who was welding on the side of the tank at the time was blown against the wall, and went to a Hospital to be checked out)

HOTWORK I-15 bridge collapse occurs after worker's blowtorch ignites wooden supports  (an I-15 bridge collapse caused a traffic nightmare for commuters traveling to California on I-15 - the three lanes of Interstate 15 were closed in both directions after the blowtorch of a construction worker accidentally burned the wooden supports of an overpass that was under construction - dozens of firefighters battled the blaze despite the wind and limited access to water - the bridge collapse occurred just hours after the fire erupted while laborers worked to complete the demolition and begin cleaning the area)

HOTWORK El Dorado Fire Department called to storage tank fire (worker was using his torch to cut apart the tank - he had checked it out, but didn't realize the bottom side of the tank was made of fiberglass - the fiberglass ignited shortly after the man started the job and the tank was quickly engulfed in smoke and flames - no one was hurt)

HOTWORK Fire crews extinguish flames in Waterman Building (the blaze was caused by a cutting torch used to remove a sign from the building)

HOTWORK Fire Crews Quell Small Blaze on 5th Floor of High-Rise at Ninth and Broadway (a welding accident sparked a small fire in a high-rise building under construction - fire erupted about 9:15 a.m., when embers fell from a 12-floor work area and ignited waterproofing material on the fifth floor - workers were able to get the flames largely under control without help)

HOTWORK I-15 Closed In Hesperia As Crews Battle Bridge Fire (all lanes of Interstate 15 were shut down as crews battled a bridge fire ignited by a welder’s torch around 1:30 p.m. at the overpass construction site - a civilian has been treated for smoke inhalation - no further injuries had been reported - overpass was halfway through its construction when the flames erupted - contractors were still working on top of the bridge after it caught fire and were unaware of the blaze until being evacuated by firefighters because the flames were being pushed away by the wind - a third of the bridge has burned)

HOTWORK Fire out at vacant Charles Camsell hospital (firefighters were called to the scene around 10:30 a.m. after a torch used by a maintenance worker ignited insulation on the top floor - fire was contained to the insulation but still took awhile to put out - all the sprinklers and the standpipes were decommissioned)

HOTWORK Fire engulfing Dalian building suspectedly caused by welding work (the inferno took place at midday after a welding operation accidentally ignited heat insulation wall on the building surface - strong wild caused the fire to climb up through the air conditioning machines quickly and the building was soon completely on fire - no casualties reported)

oxy-acetylene torch EXPLOSION Mavis Tire employee hurt in torch explosion at Ulster store, police say (a worker, 28, suffered head and possible internal injuries in an explosion at a tire store - he as using an oxy-acetylene torch while working on a vehicle when the explosion occurred, throwing him to the floor of his work area - he was treated at the scene by emergency medical technicians - a medevac helicopter was requested and he was airlifted to a Medical Center - his injuries are not believed to be life threatening - a preliminary investigation determined that a disproportionate mixture from the torch caused the explosion - no one else was injured in the blast and there was no damage to the building)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding accident caused Storm Lake plant fire (officials ruled the fire that heavily destroyed a turkey plant was caused by a welding operation - Fire Department and Iowa State Fire Marshal's office announced the accident cause after an investigation of the March 22 fire at the plant - report cites property damage above $30 million - fire started in an east wall following a welding operation - the blaze took about three hours to extinguish - plant repair could take several months before reopening, although the company has announced no timeline - plant's more than 600 employees continue to receive their pay and benefits until the plant is rebuilt)

HOTWORK Welding Torch Blamed In Dallas 3-Alarm Apartment Fire (Fire-Rescue officials say the “careless use of a welding torch” by maintenance workers is to blame for a three-alarm fire that burned around 8:30 p.m. at the apartments - no injuries were reported in the fire, but a total of 30 units were burned, leaving 40 residents displaced - fire was a result of workers doing “hot work” on “an air conditioning conditioner mount on the roof”)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire breaks out on navy tugboat INS Matanga (a fire broke out at the naval dockyard - no casualties have been reported yet in the fire - this is the 14th mishap involving a naval vessel in the last eight months - the fire broke out when naval dockyard workers were carrying out hot work (welding) on the tug - the tug was parked in dry dock area and fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the fire)

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Two die as oil tanker catches fire (the driver and the conductor of an oil tanker died when it caught fire during a maintenance process at a gas station - the loaded oil tanker caught fire during the welding work)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire chiefs say the high rise blaze in Southampton was accidentally caused by a heat gun (fire chiefs have confirmed a devastating fire that brought the city to a standstill was started by accident - the fire was a result of a construction worker using a heat gun, which reacted with bitumen and insulation material - roads surrounding the blaze were cordoned off by police for more than three hours as firefighters ascended the 15-story high building and tackled the fire)

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Boston Officials: Sparks From Welding Work Caused Fatal Fire (sparks from a welding project for which no one had obtained a permit caused the wind-driven fire that tore through a brownstone last week, killing two firefighters and injuring 13 - investigators are confident the fire was unintentional, but they have not decided whether anyone will face charges - it did not appear anyone had obtained a permit for the work on an iron railing in back of an apartment building next to the one that burned - the sparks somehow got into the building and the fire, fanned by strong winds, spread quickly - officials declined to discuss specifics of the case, including the scope of the welding work, what firm the welders worked for, whether they called 911 to report the fire or whether they are cooperating with investigators - permits are required for all welding projects in Massachusetts and most also must have someone from the fire department watching to make sure they are being done safely - no such fire detail was assigned to the project - the company that owned the adjacent building where the welding took place, said in a statement that it hired an unnamed third party to install the railing and thought it was going to be built offsite - company would not comment any further - Firefighters, 33 and 43, died after they were trapped in the basement of the burning building)

HOTWORK Welding accident causes garage fire in Groby (a car inside a garage was damaged after a fire was started by a welding torch at about 7.40 pm - no-one was injured in the incident)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker suffered burns in explosion at town of Hudson business (an explosion was touched off when a worker attempted to cut off bolts on the underside of a liquid propane tanker at a business - the worker suffered burns to his face and hands in what was described as a flash fire than accompanied the explosion - the commercial building the business is located in also sustained some structural damage, including garage doors blown off their tracks - there was no fire damage to the building - the tanker was inside the building when the explosion occurred)

HOTWORK FIRE (???) Fire burns through roof of building in Midtown (a second-alarm fire burned through the roof of a building - no injuries were immediately reported - flames broke out in a closed clothing store that is undergoing renovation - authorities say the fire might have been started by workers - it appeared there were workers in the store with torches - took crews just under 90 minutes to bring the fire under control - cause of the fire is under investigation)

HOTWORK FD: Roof workers cause fire at Norfolk business (crews were dispatched for a report of a fire just after 12 p.m. - there they found smoke coming from the roof of the building and the fire had extended inside - construction workers were on the roof prior to the fire and they were using a torch to make repairs when they accidentally caught the insulation from the roof on fire - no one was injured)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION w/ SAFETY CAN Auto body shop worker injured in gas can explosion (a man is in stable condition following a gas can explosion at an auto body shop - the man was cutting on a car with a torch shortly before noon when a gas can exploded - fire investigators say they think slag from the victim cutting on the car struck the can, causing the explosion - victim told firefighters he tried putting the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but the can exploded before he could get the fire out - fire caused about $50,000 in damage to the vehicles and the building)

HOTWORK Welding blamed in South Side apartment fire (a welding torch sparked an apartment fire - workers were using the torch to repair plumbing in the laundry area of the four-unit building around 1:15 p.m., when the fire started - the fire was between the floors of the building - no one was injured - damage estimates have not been released)

HOTWORK Chip mill fire fails to slow production at Woodland Pulp (a fire broke out at 1:47 p.m. in the three-story-high metal building that houses the chipper and debarker - workers had been performing routine maintenance, cutting and welding metal, when a spark got into the walls where there is a great amount of dust - workers put out the fire, but five or 10 minutes later the operator of a crane in the building saw some smoke - they tried to put the fire out again, but it was difficult to get to it inside the walls - the fire caused extensive damage -the damage could amount to about $1 million)

HOTWORK Friday night fire in Clark County destroys sawmill (a sawmill is a total loss following a fire around 7:45 pm - when firefighters arrived, the sawmill was already smoking heavily - crews spent 8 hours putting out the fire, and had to have water trucked in to continue fighting the fire after the city's water supply ran low - building's owner says he was welding and that a spark may have started the fire - the loss is estimated to be between $1.5 million and $2 million - no one was injured in the fire)

HOTWORK FATALITY Man injured in STO oil tanker fire dies (the man, 61, injured in an oil tanker fire incident has died, after receiving treatment - the fire incident occurred while he was welding on the deck of the oil tanker)

WELDING BURNS LIRR worker recovers after welding incident (a worker is recovering after being injured while working on the tracks - the worker was burned while he was welding - worker is in the hospital, but is expected to be OK)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE Report: Features Caused Rapid Spread of Fort Detrick Fire (the fire last summer in the world's largest high-security research lab was blamed on a welder's torch - a welder's torch sparked a fire that caused $10 million in damage at the world's largest high-security research lab, still under construction at Fort Detrick - two people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and released the next day - about 300 others were safely evacuated from the 800,000-square-foot building - workers did not have the appropriate permits for work with an open flame at the site - fire alarm system had not yet been activated in the building, though its occupants were able to evacuate within 15 minutes - a welder was working at the construction site with a fire blanket and fire extinguisher when a fire started in an epoxy-coated room he had left just minutes earlier - he saw soot, then fire coming from a supply air duct nearby)

HOTWORK???? Welding work under investigation following fire (fire investigators were looking into whether welding work was to blame for a huge blaze that tore through an apartment building construction site, threatening nearby buildings, prompting evacuations and forcing officials to call in about half the city’s on-duty firefighters to prevent its spread - fire officials were looking into preliminary reports that workers were doing torch work at the site shortly before the fire was reported - the fire was fueled by wood frames and other materials at the site)

HOTWORK Blowtorch, spray paint set off Naperville worksite blast (no one was injured and no damage was reported in the blast that occurred about 11:52 a.m. at the indoor sky-diving facility, which is under construction - a lighted welder’s torch that came too close to a box full of spray paint caused an explosion that startled motorists and passersby - no one was injured and no damage was reported - 4-to-6-foot-tall flames shot up from the second floor of the sky-diving center - the blast occurred when a construction worker’s welding torch accidentally set fire to a cardboard box containing canisters of spray paint)

HOTWORK Fire at IKO Industries likely accidental (fire department investigators are fairly certain they know what caused the massive blaze that had crews calling in a third alarm - the blaze shut down several nearby businesses and fire crews remained at the scene for a few days to monitor hot spots - officials now say a contracting crew was dismantling a piece of equipment, called a Saturator, with a cutting torch and believe something ignited)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION 6 suffer burns in cargo ship explosion (six crew members of a cargo ship were hurt after an explosion rocked their vessel at port - blast occurred inside the ship, which was carrying construction materials, at around 10 a.m. - six crew members sustained burns on different parts of their bodies - some crew members were welding a tank inside the vessel before the explosion happened - all manholes of the ship were open at that time)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two men injured in industrial explosion (two people were injured in an industrial accident - two men were welding on a tank when residual gas inside the tank ignited and caused an explosion - first responders took both men to a hospital - they were in serious condition at the time)

HOTWORK Fire at Glatfelter Paper Company causes minimal damage (a fire at a Paper Company caused minimal damage to the facility around 5:45 p.m. - the fire started when crews were doing some welding and cutting on equipment)

HOTWORK Firefighters Battle Blaze in Grand Prairie (a fire destroyed an auto repair facility - flames spread quickly to a nearby storage and mattress warehouse, the building will have to be demolished - the fire began when employees were welding in one of the automotive shops and there was gasoline in the area)

HOTWORK Sparks from welding rod cause of warehouse fire (there is an indication that sparks coming from a welding rod caused the fire - the fire started at the ongoing construction - while the workers were using the welding machine, sparks from the welding rod may have hit the plastic wares or textiles inside the warehouse - firefighters had difficulty in stopping the fire, because of the flammable materials inside the warehouse - fire destroyed P2-million worth of plastic wares, woods, and textiles inside the warehouse - fire was put out almost 12 hours later)

HOTWORK Early morning fire sparked in oil pit at Portage warehouse (welding may have sparked fire in an industrial oil pit - Fire Department responded at 5:10 a.m. to find a large fire in an oil pit - crews found smoke coming from multiple locations of the large steel processing warehouse - crews located the fire in an oil pit underneath a rolling machine in the middle of the warehouse - due to the contents of the pit, firefighters used special foam to extinguish the fire, along with 1,000 gallons of water - maintenance workers said they were doing repairs to the machine and were using a welding machine when the fire started - damage was contained to the oil pit and rolling machine directly above the pit - there were no injuries)

HOTWORK Welding Sparks To Blame In West Dallas Development Fire (a 2-alarm fire ripped through part of a development project around 4:00 p.m. - the development is retail shops and apartments in the area - the commercial building was under construction at the time of the fire - the cause of the blaze was attributed to workers who were welding inside the structure - a spark from the welding is believe to have been picked up by the wind and landed on combustible materials, igniting - fire took about an hour to put out with roughly 40 first-responders at the scene)

HOTWORK Firefighters Contain Large Fire Near Phoenix (firefighters have contained a large fire burning at a plumbing supply and welding company - fire started shortly before noon - two employees were welding when the fire broke out - one of them suffered minor burns - the fire consumed three structures in about 20 minutes - there were several explosions during the fire)

FATAL HOTWORK Worker dies, 151 patients evacuated in hospital fire (a construction worker, 35, died while 151 patients were evacuated when fire broke out at a construction site next to a Hospital - the fire was believed to have been sparked by welding at the lower ground floor of a new wing under construction - he was believed to have suffocated from smoke inhalation)

HOTWORK FIRE Lancaster County man burned in workshop fire (worker is recovering from burns he suffered in a fire - the fire started just before 12:30 p.m. at a repair shop - a man was inside the repair shop welding, when a spark flew into an open container of gasoline - he was able to get out of the building and call 911, but he suffered second and third degree burns to his forehead and the top of this head)

HOTWORK Fire at cement mixing plant in De Soto (Workers at a cement mixing plant accidentally started a small fire while attempting to thaw out frozen pipes using a blow torch - the fire occurred around 9:25 a.m. - insulation in the building caught fire, spreading to some of the wooden studs in the walls)

HOTWORK Fire damages Ozark city well house (welder's sparks ignited leaves, investigator says - no one injured - a welding project and a pile of leaves are to blame for a small fire at a well house behind the former community center building - a fire investigator determined that a welder working on the roof of the former Community Center building on the south side of the downtown square likely started the fire unknowingly - workers were welding on the roof just above the well house - a pile of leaves tucked against a wall on the northeast corner of the structure is where the fire began)

HOTWORK Welding torch sparks fire at Greene Turtle (construction workers using a welding torch inadvertently ignited grease in an exhaust duct - the workers immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher and began putting out the fire - though the fire was small, use of the fire extinguisher caused “an awful lot” of damage)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder Injured in Explosion at Auto Shop (a welder working on an oil storage tank outside an auto shop suffered severe burns in an explosion - three explosions were heard just before 9 a.m. - employees at a neighboring tire shop ran over to find the man on the ground - the worker was doing welding and grinding work on the tank used for storing used engine oil - the side of the tank is now ruptured - the auto shop and three cars at were heavily damaged by the fire)

WELDING and HYDROGEN PEROXIDE Industrial Accident At Assembly Plant (a person suffered minor burns and was taken to the a Hospital around 8:30am. because of an industrial accident at an Assembly Plant - the worker was welding when they were splashed with hydrogen peroxide - worker was wearing protective gear at the time and the injury is said to be non-life threatening)

DUST COLLECTOR FIRE Welding machine at Dayton company catches fire (a welding machine at a metal fabricator is being blamed for a fire that forced workers to evacuate the building - an automatic welder apparently kicked out a hot piece of waste into a dust collector during the production process - the heated material is believed to have ignited the accumulated material in the dust collector)

HOTWORK FIRE Hydro Arena blaze was caused by a welder’s torch, an investigation has revealed (fire was caused by a welder’s torch setting fire to insulation, an official investigation has confirmed - fire took hold as the 12,000-seat stadium was still under construction - investigation found a welder working on a gutter running round the building noticed “ignited material” dropping onto insulation below, which started the blaze - a five-hour operation to battle the fire and secure the arena - report concluded the fire, which caused up to £5million in damage, was started accidentally - contractor (welder) stopped work on smelling smoke and went to investigate the source)

HOTWORK FIRE Welders sparked underground fire in Kakaako (a smoldering underground fire was caused by welding - a 4 by 6 foot piece of lumber, part of the shoring for underground work to replace the sewer lines, caught on fire when a piece of hot metal slag fell into the hole while workers welded metal plate shut - firefighters poured water through holes in the metal plates, before construction workers used heavy equipment to remove the plates so that firefighters could extinguish the blaze)

2013

GRINDING BURNS Student burned at vocational school (a student, 17, was badly burned after a welding class incident - the student is expected to make a full recovery -student was using a welding grinder when his shirt caught fire - students worked to extinguish the boy, who sustained severe burns to the shoulder and underarm area during the incident - the boy who was burnt was using a grinder at the time)

HOTWORK Maple Ridge mill damaged in weekend fire (welding is being blamed for sparking a fire that destroyed a section of a sawmill at 12:30 a.m. - electrical arcing from the mill's high voltage power lines illuminated the sky for miles and the building that housed the "chipper unit" was engulfed in flames by the time crews arrived - the mill's fire pump, designed to supply water from the river, had been removed for service a week earlier so water had to be ferried to the site via tanker trucks - investigators believe the fire started as a result of welding that had taken place earlier in the day)

HOTWORK Pennsylvania woodworking company destroyed in 2-alarm blaze; no injuries reported (a woodworking business is a total loss after a devastating two-alarm fire shortly after 9 a.m. - the fire was accidentally caused by a spark from welding or grinding maintenance work in the diesel room of a wholesale furniture manufacturer - there were only three or four workers in the building when the fire broke and they escaped without injury)

HOTWORK Fire damages Moorhead milk jug plant (firefighters quickly brought a fire under control at a company that manufactures plastic milk jugs - fire broke out at around 9 am - plant operations manager said the fire may have been started by a cutting torch - the fire was mainly confined to the building’s maintenance shop - the cause is under investigation)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION @ GAS FIELD Wyoming explosion in gas field leaves 5 injured, with one fighting for life (an explosion has left one man fighting for his life and four others injured - the gas field explosion happened about 10:30 a.m. - officials don’t know what triggered the blast - one worker was in critical condition after the blast - another worker is in serious condition - two other workers were taken to area hospitals and listed in stable condition - one of the injured was treated and released - officials report that there was some welding going on at the time of the blast, but it is not known if this is what caused the large explosion in the gas field)

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Welding spark causes fire at popular Vietnam bar, at least 6 killed (a fire broke out at a popular bar and killed at least six people - the bar is under construction and an initial investigation indicated the blaze began when sparks from welding hit an electric wire - the six victims were rushed to a hospital but were pronounced dead)

HOTWORK No blaze when I left, welder tells inquest into fire deaths (a welder who carried out works at a disused factory shortly before it caught fire said there was "absolutely" no fire when he finished the job and he would go to his grave saying that - he was giving evidence at Coroner's Court at the combined inquest into the deaths of two firefighters - they died fighting a fire at a disused ink factory - Coroner's Court heard that the metal fabricator had been asked by his friend to weld shut the main factory door because people had been dumping rubbish in the premises - the two men went to the building to carry out the welding works at 10am on the morning of the fire - no metal sheet was used to prevent sparks escaping while the welding took place - 90% of the welding carried out happened on the outside of the building - He said that when he finished inside he looked around to check and "absolutely nothing" was on fire)

HOTWORK Man welding gas tank airlifted to hospital after truck catches on fire (a man was flown to the hospital after a plow truck he was working on caught fire - it was the second day in a row that a Rochester truck fire resulted in a victim with serious injuries being airlifted to a medical facility - the man in Tuesday’s incident was making repairs under the truck when it caught fire - he sustained burns to his face - it is not known if those injuries are life-threatening or why the man was working on the truck in the motel parking lot - the truck caught fire as the man was welding its gas tank without first emptying the tank)

HOTWORK Renovation work sparks fire at Great Northern Casino (welding during kitchen renovations led to a rooftop fire at a Casino - the heat from welding operations caused combustible materials in the unit to catch fire around 12:20 pm - the work was being done as part of renovations to the building's kitchen - all staff and customers were evacuated from the Casino as smoke filled the building)

HOTWORK Welding sparks likely set off South Pattaya fire that destroyed 8 buildings (welding sparks blown from the roof of a restaurant to a storeroom filled with flammable liquids are believed responsible for setting off an area fire that damaged eight buildings and caused up to 100 million baht damage - worker, 28, said it took less than 10 minutes from the time she spotted smoke for the fire to spread - fire investigator believes sparks from welding equipment being used on the restaurant’s roof set off either an explosion or fire in a storage room for paint thinner and other chemicals at the adjacent construction-supplies depot)

Welder injury at factory site (worker, 23, had to be taken to hospital after he received burns while welding at a factory at around 10 a.m. - the man was not wearing safety clothing, despite asking supervisors for a safety jacket to be provided - a spokesman for the company said that safety clothing is optional but available for all workers - he added that the company was now considering making the wearing of safety jackets compulsory)

HOTWORK Police and fire briefs for Oct. 18, 2013 (a fire at a Field house caused the evacuation of a handful of students, faculty and staff from the building but did not injure anyone - an investigation pointed to a blow torch used during construction work as the source of the blaze that began in parts of the wall and ceiling - the use of a blow torch sparked the first flames as a roofing crew was covering an old skylight at the structure - fire was contained to a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling room, but the structure’s HVAC system spread smoke throughout the building)

 

FATAL EXPLOSION HOTWORK on DRUM Man Killed in Welding Accident in Joliet Township (a man, 52, has died from injuries he received in a welding accident - he was cutting off the top of a 55-gallon drum when the substance inside exploded, sending the lid into the man's head - victim was taken to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:23 p.m.)

HOTWORK Fire Damages Industrial Building in Fond du Lac (fire damaged an industrial building - when crews arrived on scene, they found flames and heavy smoke coming from a hydraulic pump house - firefighters were able to put out the blaze, but there was damage to the building and the hydraulic pump - investigators believe the fire was an accident, started by workers who were using a torch to cut a metal chute from a piece of machinery connected to the building)

HOTWORK Davenport firefighters battle fires caused by worker's torches (firefighters had to battle two fires caused by construction workers using torches - first fire occurred at 1:27 p.m. - workers were using a torch under the roof of the building when material caught fire - no one was injured - second fire occurred at 2 p.m. where workers are renovating an empty space - workers were using a torch in the upper area of the ceiling when insulation caught fire - the fire was quickly extinguished but firefighters were on the scene about three hours making sure the fire was out of the old building, and that all of the affected insulation was removed)

HOTWORK FATALITY Worker Dies After D.C. Metro Tunnel Welding Accident (a workman died and two transit employees were injured in a welding accident in a Red Line tunnel - the contractor was providing welding services in the tunnel when the incident occurred shortly after midnight - the welding may have ignited hydraulic fluid nearby - the incident was still being investigated - the worker was taken to a local hospital where he died of his injuries - two transit authority employees also were transported to local hospitals and are being treated for injuries that are serious but considered non-life-threatening)

HOTWORK Welding sparks fire at Greenstar Recycling in Northampton (workers who were welding at a Recycling business ignited a trash fire that took area firefighters more than two hours to extinguish - a stray spark apparently ignited recycled material at the processing plant - workers could not extinguish the fire themselves and called firefighters around 3:32 p.m. - fire was eventually isolated to a compactor bin in the facility)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at warehouse in Mattydale (a fire broke out in a business at about 1:45 pm. - two employees of a cabinet and counter top business were working in the warehouse at the time of the fire - employees told investigators that they were using a torch when a nearby rag caught fire - fire quickly spread out of control, causing extensive damage to the warehouse - took firefighters one hour and 20 minutes to knock the fire down)

HOTWORK Fire causes $2m damage at trampoline leisure centre (three people have been taken to hospital after a major fire at a trampoline leisure centre - one firefighter and two men were taken to a Hospital with smoke inhalation and minor injuries - it is estimated the fire caused about $2 million damage - the fire appears to be have been started by accident in a foam pit - a maintenance worker told fire crews that a spark from a welding torch started the fire)

HOTWORK Sparks from welding machine triggers fire (a fire broke out in a firm supplying scientific items when company workers were engaged in vacating the premises - workers were using welding machines to cut on equipment when the sparks fell on chemicals stored in the premises causing huge smoke in the thickly populated area of town - none of the workers was injured as they managed to immediately come out of the premises - fire and rescue service squad used five tenders to douse the fire by 1.pm after fighting for nearly 30 minutes)

HOTWORK Fire at sewage plant causes $400,000 in damage (four area fire departments responded after a water filter caught fire at a sewage treatment plant - the fire broke out just before 10 a.m. when a worker, 45, was welding the filter at the sewer plant

HOTWORK Cause of fire at Trane Company released (Fire Department said the fire was started with a torch during demolition work at the facility about 6:50a.m. - a contractor was doing demolition work with a torch when he started some insulation on fire - about 30-employees had to evacuate the building - everyone made it out safely)

UPDATE now a FATAL EXPLOSION Worker burned in waste water plant explosion dies (worker, 58, burned in waste water plant explosion dies - he was either welding or getting ready to weld in a tank at a wastewater treatment plant - something exploded, burning him over 96 percent of his body)

HOTWORK Preliminary cause of 5400 sq meter fire at Almaty flear market unveiled (preliminary conclusions on the causes of the massive fire at a flea market cites welding works being the cause of the fire - the welding was done in one of the containers)

HOTWORK Cutting torch sparks small fire at Monticello drive-in (construction crews were using a cutting torch to cut off the marquee on the back screen - sparks from the cutting caused the fire - the fire burned a hole about 4 feet by 8 feet wide - the screen is scheduled to be razed and replaced)

HOTWORK No Injuries in Glenview Ave. Fire Tuesday Morning (insulation caught on fire while contractors were using a cutting torch at the commercial property - contractors were using a cutting torch to remove the heating system when the paper-wrapped insulation caught on fire - damage is undetermined at this time - no injuries were reported in the fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION w/ ACID TANKS Explosion kills two in Bhagawati Steel Industries in Nepal (two workers died after acid-filled tanks exploded and caused a fire - both died after fuel tanks exploded and caught fire while they were trying to fix a pipe onto a tank at about 9:30 AM - the workers were welding a pipe onto the furnace tank, which exploded along with another one and caught fire - both the tanks were filled with acid, adding that the repair work was gong on for the past three days)

HOTWORK American Crystal Sugar plant fire (welding work caused a small fire at a sugar plant - firefighters found light smoke and dry powder residue from the plant workers trying to put out the fire with extinguishers - it took about 30 minutes to extinguish - most of the damage was limited to the mechanical room where the fire happened and the adjacent walkway above the room - no one was injured)

 

FATAL EXPLOSION Worker dead in Pennsylvania following industrial park explosion (worker had been welding near fuel oil tank when it exploded - a 10,000-gallon fuel oil tank exploded at an industrial park and went flying across a road, killing a worker who was welding nearby - the tank spilled 7,500 gallons of fuel and flooded a dike encircling the area, but the spill was contained - the man who died worked for the oil company and had been welding near the tank when it exploded - it was unclear what the man was welding when the tank blew up - he died from blunt-force trauma to his head, and no one else was injured or killed)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at Newport water treatment plant (welding work at an abandoned section of a water treatment plant sparked a fire that sent a column of smoke that could be seen throughout the coastal town - the fire broke out before 10:30 a.m., sending a cloud of smoke into the sky - Fire Department crews were able to bring the fire under control before it spread to any active sections of the plant - plant’s operations were never disrupted during the incident - no reported injuries - investigators later determined that hot work taking place inside a concrete containment caused the blaze, in part due to a plastic material within the containment that helped rapidly spread the flames)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder injured in Springfield fuel tank explosion identified (worker, 52, was seriously injured when a fuel tank exploded - he was welding a metal fuel tank he believed was empty - he suffered burns to his arms, a nose injury, and a laceration to his leg - the man’s condition had been upgraded to fair)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire At Erie Water Works Plant Ruled Accidental (investigators believe that roofers using a torch, ignited the fire that damaged the Water Work's Plant - three different fire companies were able to contain the fire in just about 20 minutes - the fire is being ruled accidental, and crews are now examining the equipment in the plant for damage before returning to full capacity - investigators believe that roofers using a torch, ignited the fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker Killed in Bridgeport Tanker Truck Explosion (a worker, 50, died when his welding torch sparked a blast - he was working on the truck when the explosion blasted him several feet back, killing him - he was welding on the back of the empty tanker truck, which is used to transport water from oil drilling sites - along with the water, the trucks often pick up gaseous fumes or vapors that can't be seen - "When he began welding on a hatch on the back of that trailer, we suspect that some of the vapors escaped, causing the subsequent explosion")

HOTWORK on DRUM EXPLOSION Westhampton welding explosion determined to be an accident (a man welding a 55-gallon drum shut suffered burns and cuts after vapors from residual flammable liquid in the bottom of the drum exploded - State Fire Marshal’s office has determined the explosion, which happened at about 2:30 p.m. was accidental - the victim was flown by helicopter to a Medical Center after the explosion - his condition is not known - the man had been welding a cover on the drum to make it water tight so it could be used to help float a dock)

HOTWORK Westhampton man injured in welding accident (a man was seriously injured in a small explosion and taken to the hospital by helicopter - accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. - the man is believed to have been welding when he was hurt - extent of his injuries are unknown - Fire Marshal's Office is investigating)

UPDATE HOTWORK Roof work caused Ore. seafood plant blaze (a two-alarm fire that destroyed a seafood plant last month was caused by maintenance being done with a propane torch - the fire in the seafood plant was reported at 10:30 a.m. on June 4 - all 80 employees inside evacuated the building while crews from six different agencies battled the blaze - the fire started while vents were being installed on the roof of the building - the vents were being sealed using a propane torch - the building was destroyed - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Fire quickly extinguished at Geisinger (a small fire caused by a welding torch in a room that is under construction at a Medical Center was quickly extinguished - no one had to be evacuated when the fire broke out on the fifth floor - there were no patients or staff on the floor, and no one was in any danger - a welding torch ignited insulation inside a wall - firefighters tore the wall apart to locate the insulation, used a water extinguisher and then vented smoke from the area - the fire alarm was sounded at 11:30 a.m., and it was extinguished by noon)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Blast in Baddi factory leaves three dead, two injured (at least three factory workers were killed and two others were injured in a blast at a paper mill - the blast occurred in a parked truck on the premises - two injured were admitted to a private hospital - preliminary investigations revealed that the incident took place in the noon when factory workers were loading the paper bundles in the truck number - investigations revealed that the blast took place shortly after the three deceased worker switched on the welding set to carry out some routine operations - police suspect that this might have led to heating up of fuel tank of the truck that suddenly blasted; leaving all three dead on the spot)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks cause Gedney Hill workshop fire (a fire at a workshop was caused by sparks from welding - the fire badly damaged a car, cylinders and other items kept inside - firemen spent about an hour tackling the blaze)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire started on roof by welders (a fire was apparently started by construction workers at a High School at 5:40 p.m. - a second alarm was sounded about 6:10 p.m. because of smoke reported in the building - blaze was extinguished about 45 minutes after it started, but not before creating a large amount of black smoke - the fire was believed to have been caused by contractors who were welding on the roof of the school, catching insulation in a wall on fire - there were no injuries from the fire and no damage estimate was available)

HOTWORK Blaze sparked by welding equipment (welding equipment at a health care products plant sparked a fire at about 1:40 p.m. - fire crews were able to locate and extinguish a fire inside the facility - employees were evacuated, and no injuries were reported - no major property damage and the company was able to resume operations)

HOTWORK w/ BURNS Welder injured when blow torch ignites fire on Boomtown Casino boat in Harvey (a welder was injured when a fire broke out in the underbelly of the Casino boat - he was taken to a hospital with second-degree burns on one of his legs - the boat's sprinkler system extinguished the fire before firefighters responded - workers were repairing several water control valves when a hydraulic control line broke - sparks from a blow torch ignited the fluid)

HOTWORK Hot Work Operation Sparks Brush Fire near Buellton (firefighters have contained a small brush fire - it was a result of a hot work operation shortly before 2pm - it scorched about two to three acres of dry grass, but was contained in less than an hour - no damages or injuries have been reported)

HOTWORK Welding Sparked Cell Phone Tower Fire: Official (two welders were working 70 feet in the air on a cell phone tower when sparks set off an intense fire ten feet above them - they tried to put it out, but ended up having to race down to get help - the fire spread quickly and left the tower, which stands nearly 10 stories high, leaning over precariously)

HOTWORK Spark from welder caused Amcor fire (a welding mishap caused this week’s fire at a Plastics plant at around 8 a.m. causing the evacuation of the plastics manufacturer - no one was injured, but one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion - the company had been doing some remodeling work along the building’s north wall when a spark from a spot welder ignited a plastic coating around some duct work - the fire quickly spread before fire crews were able to extinguish it by 10 a.m.- damage was estimated at $80,000 including equipment and products)

 

HOTWORK FATAL EXPLOSION on FUEL OIL TANK Man from Blaine dies from burns while cutting oil tank (a man, 72, has died after being critically burned while cutting up an old heating oil tank with a welding torch - he died in the overnight hours after being flown to a Hospital with burns to 80 percent of his body - it appears the torch ignited vapors as he was cutting apart the tank at his home)

WELDING ACCIDENT BURNS Two Injured in Foley Plant Accident (two workers were injured in a minor explosion at a plant just before 8am. - one person has been Lifeflighted from the scene with burns to the back - that victim was taken to a Medical Center's Burn Unit - another worker was injured and taken by ambulance to a local hospital - their conditions are unknown - witnesses on scene say it was a welding accident contained to building one)

HOTWORK Glasgow Hydro fire: Blaze caused by welding sparks (the fire was caused by sparks from welding on the roof causing damage to the roof and smoke damage inside the building - not yet known how much damage was caused by the water used to extinguish the blaze)

HOTWORK FATALITY One dead in OIL pipeline fire (a contractual welder working for a private firm died and another injured in a fire that broke out while welding a leaking crude oil pipeline - the deceased succumbed to 80 percent burn injuries at a private nursing home, while his co-worker is undergoing treatment at a Hospital)

HOTWORK @ POWER PLANT Fire Burns Xcel Power Plant’s Conveyor Belt System In Pueblo (firefighters say a blaze on a conveyor belt system at a coal-fired power plant caused an estimated $1 million in damage - the fire happened on a conveyor belt system that is about 180 feet above ground - it moves coal from trains to storage areas - according to initial reports, a subcontractor was doing welding work on the conveyor system when sparks ignited the conveyor belts, which had coal and coal residue on them - burning pieces of conveyor belt fell into a stack of coal that also caught fire - estimated damage at $1 million - no injuries were reported)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE State sues contractors for igniting Taylor Bridge wildfire (the state of Washington is suing to recover some of the millions of dollars it spent to fight a wildfire, started at the site of a bridge repair project - the fire destroyed 61 homes and burned 23,000 acres last August - the Department of Natural Resources is suing after a state investigation found that the fire was human-caused and that the contractors were negligent in their welding operation - the report concluded it was most likely that sparks from the welding ignited dry brush near the bridge - the state is suing for more than $5 million - dozens of landowners have also sued the contractors for negligence - the total cost of fighting the fire is estimated at more than $11 million)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE @ GRAIN ELEVATOR Iowa worker injured in grain elevator fire (authorities are investigating the cause of a flash fire at a grain elevator that injured a construction worker - the worker was taking apart equipment with a torch at the top of the elevator when the fire occurred - he was burned on his arms and face - authorities did not reveal how serious the burns were - the cause of the fire is not yet known)

FATALITY HOTWORK EXPLOSION on TANK Worker killed in bunker tank blast (a worker, 60,  was killed while another one is in serious condition when the bunker tank of an asphalt plant exploded - the other worker, 44, is still undergoing medical treatment - they were installing pipes at the top of the bunker tank using a welding machine when the explosion happened - according to reports, the heat from the welding machine might have caused the explosion - a fire started after the explosion, causing the victims to suffer from serious burns in different parts of their bodies)

HOTWORK Small Fire Breaks Out at Salinas High School, Students Using Torch to Cut Metal (a small fire was started at a High School just before noon - the fire started in the metal shop area, which is next to the gym - students were working on their projects and cutting sheet metal with a torch when the fire was started - it is believed that the equipment malfunctioned and caused the fire - part of the school was evacuated and the fire was contained to the workshop area - nobody was injured in this fire)

HOTWORK on DRUM EXPLOSION Explosion Injures One at Durham School Services (a worker suffered burn injuries - the man was welding a barrel, which still contained a combustible substance - the top of the barrel exploded in the man's face, giving him serious burn injuries - there was a small fire, which was quickly extinguished)

HOTWORK Workers set off tire fire at warehouse (a warehouse tire fire sent smoke into the air but caused no injuries - workers were welding a tire shredder but forgot to remove tires from under the machine, which sparked the fire just after 10 a.m. - the fire was limited to a small pile of tires but caused significant damage to the shredder - fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze within about 10 minutes by using foam)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out on large boat near Fisherman's Terminal (investigators are blaming a welding accident for sparking a fire aboard a 100-foot fishing boat - a crew member was using a welding torch below deck near the ship's stern when he accidentally ignited a fuel line just after 6 p.m. - crew members were able to seal off the area and get above deck, and firefighters arrived moments later and flooded the area - a vacuum truck then sucked out all the water and fuel - none of the ship's eight crew members were injured in the fire - it's unclear how much damage was done to the ship)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder caused explosion at E. Utah oil tank (an explosion killed a welder who was using his torch on a crude oil storage tank at a well site -the blast was sparked by welding and the contract worker was killed - two other people were injured - work was being done on the storage tank before the blast - the blast occurred during routine maintenance, killing the contract worker and leaving another person with minor injuries that didn't require medical attention - a third victim, a company employee, is expected to recover from injuries at a hospital)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Explosion in Watford City (a worker was welding on a non vented tanker truck that had oil and water residue inside - the truck exploded straight up into the air, and blew the entire left side of the roof wide open - the building was roped off after the explosion, and work was stopped - emergency workers have an idea of what caused the explosion - “You should never be welding on a non vented tank of any kind, especially if there is some residue of oil, gas, fumes, and we believe that’s probably what caused the explosion,” said McKenzie County Emergency Manager Jerry Samuelson - there were no injuries in the explosion)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding Sparks Fire At Chesterfield Aluminum Plant (a fire burning at a metal recycling plant began as crews were welding inside the plant, working to repair damage from a fire that broke out just two weeks ago - fire crews are working to extinguish the fire and have moved to a neighboring building's roof to try and break down the flames - no injuries have been reported)

HOTWORK on DRUM EXPLOSION Worker severely burned after torch touches off explosion in Kingman (a worker, 53, was severely burned after a cutting torch he was using touched off an explosion at a Tire Service business - he was using a cutting torch on scrap metal near a barrel when the barrel exploded, throwing the man back 20 feet and the barrel 60 feet in the air - he was flown to a Hospital - he suffered burns over 70 percent of his body)

HOTWORK DUST EXPLOSION Welder hurt in grain silo blast (a man has suffered burns to his face, after an explosion inside a grain silo just before 2:00 pm - the man was welding inside the silo when there was an explosion - he is in a stable condition in the hospital)

HOTWORK Small Fire at Duluth Manufacturer (a small fire broke out at a Manufacturing plant around 6 p.m. - when crews arrived a small fire was found between the walls near where a cutting torch was used - crews cut three holes into the wall and pulled out any insulation that was on fire)

HOTWORK Fire marshal: No financial loss in TreatCo fire (a two-alarm fire at a building complex didn’t result in any financial loss - the fire was in the same area that was damaged by fire in June 2011 - no repairs had been made since then - the fire was set accidentally when sparks from welding equipment ignited combustible materials and the building’s Styrofoam insulation)

HOTWORK on DIESEL TANK Explosion injures Alexander worker (an explosion at an oil and gas shop injured a 29-year-old man - he was transported by private vehicle to a County Hospital - he was later flown to a County Medical Center after the 10:45 a.m. explosion - he was welding a 100-gallon diesel tank when the explosion occurred - he suffered burns to his face and eyes)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE Welding work ignites small fire at Ki-Be High School (a welding contractor working on a fan inside the City High School’s Agriculture Building ignited a small fire - the welding was being done near a paint booth, which sparked vapor and dust in a vent inside the booth - this caused a flash fire, which was extinguished within minutes - sprinklers went off, and damage was minimal)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparked Grant Park blaze (a fire in the village maintenance building is being blamed on sparks from an early morning welding project that found their way into the walls of the structure - the loss was estimated at $500,000, based on the tractors and other maintenance equipment, tools and other materials destroyed in the blaze)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION No serious injuries in blast at Bismarck business (one worker had singed hair on his beard and two others reported hearing loss after an explosion, but there were no serious injuries - the blast blew a hole in the roof of the building - workers welding on a tanker used to transport petroleum products ignited fumes inside the tank - damage was estimated at about $50,000)

HOTWORK DRUM EXPLOSION West Bountiful man remains critical after welding-related blast (a man, 60, remained in critical condition the day after he suffered head injuries when a steel drum he was welding exploded - he had been sedated to aid his recovery from facial and head injuries sustained when a piece of the 50-gallon drum struck him when the container exploded about 2:15 p.m. - the drum had appeared to be empty, authorities were told, but apparently it contained enough fumes from an unidentified flammable residue to ignite the blast when it was heated)

FATAL HOTWORK Hudson golf course worker dies after explosion (a golf course worker, 35, may have been lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood for several hours before he was found - he was hurt when the sealed 55-gallon drum he was working on exploded at the Golf Course - he was using an acetylene torch at the time - the explosion caused the lid on that drum to shoot up and hit him in the head, causing severe injuries - a UPS driver found the worker semi-conscious)

HOTWORK @ MEAT PLANT OTTUMWA FIRE: Meat Plant Ignites (a fire at a meat packing plant could have been worse than it actually was according to firefighters - people first spotted flames coming from the pork processing facility around 2 p.m. - the fire broke out in an area where there weren’t any people or animals - there are no reports of injuries - it took firefighters 3 hours to put out the flames that were caused by welding - welding and maintenance on a new tank being installing, it got ignited and caused the fire, creating a tremendous amount of black smoke - there was a lot of grease built up, which is very flammable - approximately $250,000 in damage)

HOTWORK Embers start insulation on fire at BYU's Bean Museum (embers from a metal-cutting torch being used at the construction site at a Museum addition was the cause of a brief fire - a torch was being used on the metal frame on the second floor and embers fell, igniting insulation in the concrete wall at 11:10 a.m. - the fire was out in just a few minutes but did create a large amount of smoke that blackened the outside wall in the construction area)

HOTWORK Worker Injured In Fire At Camanche Plant (one person was injured in a workplace explosion around 9:30 - there were no visible flames outside the building, but they found smoke inside - employees had already put out the fire using fire extinguishers - an employee was burned after using a grinding wheel too close to flammable liquids - that person suffered burns to his hand and head and went to get medical treatment in a private vehicle - damage to the building is minimal, but damage to the contents is estimated at $500)

HOTWORK Minimal damage to Target store as welder sets off small fire (about $5,000 damage was caused to the new store when a fire broke out while workers were doing renovations at 9: 22 a.m. - the fire was burning inside an empty space in an exterior wall near the top of the building - the fire was extinguished using the department's ladder truck and some fortunate timing - fire investigators determined that the fire was caused by welding operations - there were no reported injuries)

HOTWORK MAN INJURED IN FIRE (emergency responders took the man to the hospital around 11:30 - the fire started because someone was welding too close to flammable material - the building was destroyed in a matter of minutes - Fire Department reports nearly $300,000 in total damage)

HOTWORK Man critically burned after welding too close to combustibles in body shop (a man was seriously injured in a fire that destroyed a body shop - he was significantly burned and was later flown to the University Hospital's burn unit where he is in critical condition - the damage and content loss was estimated at $300,000 - fire officials determined the blaze accidentally started when he was welding too close to flammable and combustible materials in the northeast corner of his shop)

HOTWORK Employee Accidentally Starts Fire At OKC Business (around 8:30 a.m. an employee accidentally started a fire in an office when he left a soldering gun on, and unattended - most of the damage was contained to the office, but other parts of the repair shop did sustain smoke and water damage - the business sustained about $30,000 in damage)

HOTWORK Cutting torches spark small fire at Zion nuke plant (cutting torches caused a small fire inside the nuclear power plant - officials said there was no radiation involved and no injuries - plant personnel from the company dismantling the facility reported at 11:21 a.m. that there was smoke on several floors inside the plant - while the initial fire companies went to look for the source, the alarm was upgraded to bring in more personnel from surrounding departments - firefighters discovered that torch work ignited residual oil in the vicinity of the work and the fire had been mostly extinguished by plant personnel with fire extinguishers kept on site)

HOTWORK Cutting Torch Sparked UP Fire (a contractor using a cutting torch is to blame for a fire - the fire burned about one- third of the 75 foot long pile of railway ties - the fire was contained to just those railway ties)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed in explosion in Elizabeth (two workers were working on the refrigeration system when some sort of explosion happened - one worker was killed and the other critically hurt - the workers were using an acetylene torch)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on HYDROGEN TANK Blast at paper mill kills 2 workers (two workers, 30 and 55, at a paper mill were killed and another was injured when a hydrogen tank exploded at the mill - co-workers said the blast occurred at the chemical plant of the mill around 11:30 a.m. when the trio were welding the tank to repair it - one worker died on the spot while the other succumbed to his injuries at a Hospital - another worker critically injured was admitted to a Medical College Hospital - the trio were temporary workers at the mechanical section of the mill)

HOTWORK FIRE Roofer's torch ignited fire at Athena's Diner in Howell (employees, patrons escape without injuries - fire apparently started when workers replacing a roof ignited it with a propane torch - the fire, which was reported at 4:30 p.m., destroyed the kitchen area and spread throughout the interior of the building within the walls)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on DRUM Construction worker dies in industrial accident in Rosenberg (a construction worker, 49, died in an industrial accident during an explosion when he was working on barrels with a cutting torch at about 11 a.m. - he was working on barrels marked as containing a cleanser - he was pronounced dead at the scene)

UPDATE on HOTWORK TANK FLASH FIRE Investigation at Elkhart’s Yoder Oil continues (a worker who was injured in an accident on Nov. 16, 2012, is still recovering from his injuries - he initially received 40 percent burns on mostly his stomach and back- he was sedated for 30 days - chief investigator for the fire department, said the company was replacing some tanks that are used to store large quantities of fuel - the worker was cutting one last tank to remove its pieces using a torch - however, he was working close to a tank that was empty but not scrubbed - the fumes from the tank got to the area where the worker was using a torch, causing an ignition - the tank, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 gallons in volume, buckled following the explosion)

FATAL EXPLOSION – WELDING ON DIESEL TANK Kings Mountain man killed in welding accident (a man, 69, died after an accident at his welding business - he was in the shop working on a diesel tank for a customer when it blew up)

FATAL EXPLOSION of GAS CYLINDER Three workers injured in welding gas cylinder explosion (three workers were seriously injured when a gas cylinder meant for welding and cutting of iron exploded in a private steel mill - the engineer and two of his associates were working in the welding unit of the stage-II plant when the cylinder filled with oxygen and acetylene gas burst - the gas was being used for welding and cutting purpose when the mishap struck - the injured were first admitted to a hospital and then shifted to another hospital)

HOTWORK FIRE by CONTRACTORS 4 sent to hospital after fire at Ohio GM plant (four people were taken to local hospitals after a small fire at a plant - the fire began just before 9 p.m. - an early investigation traced the fire to welding work being performed by contractors - three of those taken to the hospital were treated and released, with one remaining hospitalized for observation - firefighters were on the scene for about two hours)

HOTWORK FIRE by CONTRACTORS Firefighters: Roofer's torch causes fire at Mead Johnson Nutrition (a roofer's torch caused a fire in the roof of a building around 11:30 a.m. - a group of workers was making repairs to the top of the building when one person's torch caught roofing materials on fire - workers in the affected building at the facility were evacuated for a short time, but were back at their jobs by afternoon - no estimate yet on the extent of the fire damage)

HOTWORK INJURIES Rail Workers Burned (two employees have been taken to a burn unit for treatment after they were injured while working on a rail car - the two and another worker were using a blowtorch on the coupler end of a car when the accident occurred - a hot oil, likely hydraulic fluid, spilled onto the workers, burning hands and faces - all three workers were taken to a Regional Medical Center - one was treated and released - the other two were taken to a burn unit)

HOTWORK FIRE Arpin fire damages feed mill (a fire damaged a feed mill - it ignited around noon, right across the street from the Fire Department - the quick response may have saved the building - a welding project in the basement of the feed mill sparked the fire - employees were inside at the time of the fire, but no one was hurt - seven fire departments responded to the blaze)

HOTWORK FIRE Officials release new details about fire at former AK Steel Coke plant (Fire Department has determined that the fire started when contractors were working to dismantle a part of the plant using cutting torches - they were cutting bolts from a manway cover when material was ignited inside - the vessel was made of wood, steel, and plastic and some residue material inside caught fire - the material was believed to be coal tar residue and was burning inside the vessel which was impassable to firefighters - they contained the fire and let it burn itself out - no one was injured)

2012

FATAL EXPLOSION from HOTWORK on STORAGE TANK Saudi- 6 die in Jubail plant explosion (six workers were killed in the explosion of a chemical waste plant - there was an explosion in the diesel and chemicals tanks - two trucks also caught fire - the fire broke out at 10.30 a.m. and was put out within two and a half hours - a firefighter sustained minor injuries - the explosion occurred while maintenance staff were doing welding work on a tank containing benzene and blended diesel)

HOTWORK Fire destroys Fremont machinery shop building (the building that housed a machinery shop will have to be demolished after a four-alarm fire - fire investigators combed through the debris trying to determine exactly how it started - a molten piece of material that was a product of a grinding operation getting into a part of the exhaust system igniting a fire in the exhaust system - that fire then spread through the shop's ventilation system and to its roof - no one was injured - many of the more than 50 workers who were looking forward to the holidays wonder when they might get back to work)

HOTWORK Fire causes $75,000 damage at auto repair business (a fire caused more than $75,000 damage to an auto repair shop around 10:30 a.m. - workers saw smoke and flames coming from the basement - no one was injured - the fire started in an oil-change pit beneath a repair shop bay where welding work was being done - investigators from theFire Marshal’s office believe the welding residue fell into the pit and ignited combustibles stored below)

HOTWORK Welding sparks started big wildfire in Washington (an August wildfire that destroyed 61 homes and cost $11.1 million to suppress was likely caused by sparks from welding or cutting work on a bridge project - the agency released the results of its investigation into the Taylor Bridge Fire that blackened 36 square miles - the fire started Aug. 13 as a contractor and subcontractor were working on a Transportation Department project on the Highway 10 Bridge - investigators found the fire started about 30 feet from where one worker was cutting rebar with a power saw on the bridge deck, while a second worker was welding under the bridge - the work was taking place while industrial activity was supposed to be shut down because of the high fire danger in the area)

HOTWORK Spark ignites part of Lambeau Field wall (a small section of the structure burned for about 45 minutes after sparks from a worker’s torch set some insulation on fire - one firefighter sustained a minor injury - damage was estimated at $5,000 - workers on the fourth floor had been cutting a piece of metal from the new part of the stadium to the existing building when sparks spread to some nearby insulation)

HOTWORK Officials: Maintenance worker ignited fire in Naugatuck (a maintenance worker using a blow torch to melt glue off old bathroom tiles started the fire at the Apartments complex that displaced three families - the man, a subcontractor, was trying to remove the glue before retiling the upstairs bathroom of an apartment)

HOTWORK Welding Sparks Trigger Beijing IKEA Site Fire (a fire that broke out in an under-construction IKEA site was caused by sparks from welding torches which ignited flammable building materials - work on the site has been halted, while contractors and builders have received administrative punishment with a fine of 30,000 yuan (4,815 US dollars) - the project's manager will be kept in detention for 13 days - two welders who were directly responsible for the accident will be given 10 days in detention - construction will not be allowed to restart until it passes the examination of the fire department)

UPDATE on HOTWORK EXPLOSION – CUTTING DRUM Ipswich worker hurt in CVS garage oil drum explosion (a repair garage has been fined £40,000 after an employee was left unconscious for five days when an oil drum exploded - worker was trying to remove the end of the drum using a oxyacetylene torch when the explosion happened in November 2011 - he was knocked to the ground by the force of the blast, but has since made a "good recovery")

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker burned in Gulf oil platform fire dies (one of the men critically burned last week in an offshore oil platform fire died early Friday morning, according to the Philippine Embassy - he died at a Baton Rouge hospital - the Nov. 16 explosion and fire on a production platform also killed a worker, 42, whose body was found in the waters near the platform the following night - the search for another missing worker, 28, was called off earlier this week - the recently deceased was among 11 workers injured, four of them critically, during the explosion and fire on the platform, located about 18 miles off the Louisiana coast)

HOTWORK TANK EXPLOSION Man injured in tank explosion in critical condition (a man who was injured in an explosion at an Oil Company is in critical condition at a hospital burn unit - workers were cutting some large tanks down to scraps when a 10 – 15 gallon diesel tank exploded - it is not clear whether the worker was an employee or a contractor)

 

HOTWORK EXPLOSION FATALITY Two workers still in critical condition after fire on oil platform (two workers remain in critical condition and two others are in serious but stable condition after sustaining serious burns from a fire on an oil platform - the news on their condition comes as the search for their two missing co-workers from Friday’s fire continued - the U.S. Coast Guard is still looking for the one worker while divers found one - four workers had sustained second- and third-degree burns over a large portion of their body - a total of 11 workers were air-lifted to be treated for injuries - the remaining seven were released after being treated by paramedics - workers on the platform, which produces oil and natural gas, are contractors and do not work for the company directly - at the time of the fire, the workers were cutting a 75-foot long pipe that was 3 inches in diameter and contained as much as 75 gallons of product - the process for cutting the pipe calls for a “cold-cutting device,” or a non-sparking tool - However, he confirmed that a cutting torch was used instead, which ignited the vapors in the pipe - there is a half-mile by 200-yard oil sheen from the platform - platform was not in production at the time of the fire and remains structurally sound - this is not the first accident the company has dealt with in the past two years - in August, a crane was lowering two workers in a basket when the equipment failed - the two workers fell into the Gulf, but were not seriously injured - in February 2011, a small fire broke out on a platform  - the fire was quickly put out and a battery charger was blamed for the fire - in September 2011, Black Elk Energy paid a $307,000 fine - according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the company failed to do a leak test on a safety valve and it took them 117 days to fix it once a problem was discovered - none of these incidents happened at the platform where Friday’s fire took place)

HOTWORK Fire put out at former NewPage mill (firefighters put out a fire at the former paper mill around 8:40 a.m. - demolition crews were taking apart a piece of equipment inside the former mill when a spark from a welding torch they were using caused a minor explosion when it reached an oil or gas can - there was heavy smoke inside the building, but the fire was quickly put out - no one was hurt)

HOTWORK Fire at former Liberty plant blamed on sparks (a fire at a former denim plant was caused by sparks from a torch being used by construction workers to tear the building down - no one was injured as a result of the fire around 8:36 a.m. - 20 construction workers were inside the former plant which has been closed for about eight months, but they were all able to get out - they initially tried to extinguish the fire themselves but were unsuccessful - construction workers were cutting metal in the roof as they were preparing to tear down the mill building - they were using cutting torches and a spark from the cutting torches fell and caught fire on the roof - the fire at the plant was contained to a small area)

HOTWORK Fire discovered at Columbus North (a smoldering fire was discovered at a High School - second-shift custodians smelled something burning and were unable to determine what it was and called 911 - the source was traced to an insulation-wrapped pipe in a crawl space, where a laborer earlier that day had been using a welding torch that firefighters believe sparked the smoldering fire)

HOTWORK Welding accident causes small fire at O.C. boardwalk (a welding accident nearly caused a large fire along the Ocean City boardwalk - workers were doing some welding on the Ocean 17 Condominiums - at some point, the welding started a small fire underneath the floor - emergency crews say they had a hard time extinguishing the blaze because of it's location, but were able put out the fire before it caused any major damage to the building, or the boardwalk - authorities are still investigating)

HOTWORK Welding works cause of Naviti Resort fire (fire is said to have started as a result of some welding works being carried out in the resort’s main building - a spark may have most likely ignited with some material causing the fire to spread - it has also been confirmed that there were some repair works being carried out at the back of the kid’s club area earlier in the day which is where the fire is said to have started from)

HOTWORK Small construction fire extinguished at the Galleria (a small fire at a mall has been put out around 12:30 p.m. - some construction workers had set fire to some insulation with a blow torch - by the time fire fighters arrived on scene, the fire had been extinguished - there was little to no damage)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire started by welding sparks at Sterling Marlin's garage in Tenn. destroys 3 race cars (a fire has destroyed three race cars and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at a garage owned by a retired NASCAR driver - the fire destroyed his 2,500-square-foot garage and three cars that belonged to his son-in-law - he believed that there was a leak on a propane heater and welding sparks ignited the fire - a shop worker who was inside the garage when the fire stared was treated at the scene for minor injuries - crews had to work to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and fuel tanks)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE during POST EMERGENCY OPERATIONS Evacuations ordered after fire at derailment site; workers hurt (people who live and work within 1.2 miles of Monday's train derailment site were ordered to evacuate again afternoon after a fire injured five contractors working on a derailed train car containing butadiene - the contractor was in very critical condition, a second contractor was in critical condition and a third contractor was in serious condition - two others refused treatment at the scene - the contractors were using a blowtorch to try to separate a derailed car containing butadiene from another car when chemical vapors accidentally ignited - "The workers that are here are highly trained, and this is one of those accidents that occurs, unfortunately," he said - 1,800 gallons of water were flowing on the insulated, double-walled tanker car to keep the situation in check - adjacent cars were also being cooled - in addition to the evacuations that were ordered, a "shelter in place" warning was issued for people within five-miles of the derailment)

HOTWORK FIRE – WELDING ON METAL WALLS Welding leads to fire (at approximately 3:30 p.m. firefighters arrived to find a metal storage shed with large amounts of smoke rising from inside - the fire was a result of the owner welding on the side of the shed - the person was trying to weld some storage brackets on the side of their metal storage shed and some of the contents had caught fire - nobody was inside of the shed at the time - "The heat from the welder that he was using to weld the metal brackets to the metal storage building transferred into the storage building itself. We're not sure whether he actually had welded a hole through the side, or the heat just transferred")

HOTWORK FIRE Freightliner fire won't stop work (a fire broke out around midnight and was under control by 2:30 a.m. - the small fire did not damage any production equipment or the building - flames broke out deep inside the building in a filtration system for a welding area - fire department reported estimated damage of  $75,000 to $100,000 although the company would not confirm the accuracy of those reports - a manager at the plant estimated the company lost $1 million in production time - no one was injured but more than one employee said some workers went home due to the smell)

FIRE Fire briefly shuts down Mercury Marine Plant (fire briefly shut down a plant around 6:50 a.m. - a spark ignited oil in one of the machines and started on fire - the blaze was contained to one of the machines - the machine's operator was evaluated after the fire, but returned to work without any injuries - the plant was shut down for about 90 minutes because of the incident - the building had no structural damage - there was no damage estimate given for the machine)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Charges laid in fatal explosion at Terrace Bay Pulp (a mechanical contractor, and three individuals are facing charges in connection with a fatal explosion at the pulp mill last October - a worker was killed in the explosion - they are charged for failing to ensure a tank being worked on was free of an explosive or flammable substance - the three individuals face similar charges - all are charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act - the charges specify the tank was being worked on without “adequate instructions (being) given to a worker performing welding-related work on a cracked tank that normally contains a hazardous substance”)

HOTWORK Fire at former east end Shell refinery (twenty-five firefighters made quick work of a small fire at the former refinery around 2:35 p.m. inside an old oil tank during demolition - workers using a welding torch most probably sparked the fire on some wood scraps - there was no immediate danger to firefighters or the public because there was no oil or gas in the tanks - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man severely burned when oil tank explodes (a man, 21, was severely burned when an oil tank he was using a cutting torch on exploded about 1 p.m. - he and his father were using an acetylene torch to cut an oil tank which had previously been used to store gasoline - the tank exploded and ignited nearby building - the younger man was flown to a Medical Center Burn Unit with second-and-third degree burns to more than 90 percent of his body - his father was taken to a Medical Center)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man critical after tank battery explosion (a tank battery explosion severely injured a man, 51 - he was burned around 9 a.m. when the tank battery he was welding on exploded - they were welding on a tank battery that they thought was dead - they were welding on it the day before - they thought it might have had a little residue that got stirred up and when he hit it with the torch it ignited - he suffered thrid degree burns to over 80 percent of his body - another employee nearby at the time received burns on his hands - the other employee was treated and released at a Medical Center)

HOTWORK Fire damages Uptown Kingston commercial building (fire damaged a building housing offices and a jewelry store - the fire is believed to have been started accidentally as a worker was using a torch in a nearby parking lot and it is believed that started the fire that started in the rear of the first floor and worked its way to the second floor - firefighters were able to bring it under control in about 20 minutes - there were no injuries)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION One killed in tanker fire during repair (one person was killed and two others were seriously injured when an empty tanker caught fire during welding - suddenly the tanker caught fire and there was an explosion - three persons were on top of the tanker)

HOTWORK Worker set centre ablaze by accident (the roof fire was started accidentally by workmen who battled in vain to put it out before firefighters arrived to deal with the incident - the fire is believed to have been started when felting was being heated by a workman using a heat gun - no-one was using the centre at the time and the workmen were working on the outside of the building)

HOTWORK on DRUM Solvent explodes, burns repair worker (a freak accident sent a man to the hospital onboard an emergency helicopter - a worker was using a blow torch to open a 55-gallon drum of solvent when it exploded - he was burned on his arms, face and chest)

HOTWORK Cutting tool accident caused fire at Memorial Union (a fire caused about $10,000 in damage to the attic and roof of a University building at 7:38 a.m. - the fire started near the ground level of the theater - the fire worked up a wall and into the attic and roof - a worker was using a cutting tool and accidentally ignited flammable materials in the area)

HOTWORK Welding torch may have sparked fire at UVA practice facility (investigators believe a welding torch may have caused the roof of the new indoor practice facility to go up in flames - the fire may have started when construction crews cut a hole in the metal deck with the tool - the $13 million football facility is currently under construction)

HOTWORK Welding sparks West Linn High fire (a fire at a High School has forced administrators to cancel classes - around 2:30 p.m. firefighters evacuated the High School after smoke was reported coming from the roof of the building - a welder was doing work hen some nearby bushes caught fire - the fire spread into a heating and air conditioning venting system, above the sprinkler system - no injuries have been reported)

HOTWORK Two workers hurt in Machine Guns Vegas fire (a pair of maintenance workers using welding torches accidentally torched a gun range when air filters caught fire inside the building - the store's sprinkler system managed to keep the fire in check, and firefighters were able to extinguish it - the workers were taken to a Medical Center with minor injuries - damage was estimated at $100,000)

HOTWORK Fire causes evacuation at Shannon facility (employees evacuated their facility around 10:30 a.m. after the filtering system for the facility’s welding system caught fire - the fire was relatively small and extinguished fairly easily - the fire was contained to the filtration system)

HOTWORK Fire extinguished at oilfield service business (firefighters have extinguished a blaze at an oilfield service facility at about 2 p.m. - two buildings were on fire, one of which contains explosives - all employees were safely evacuated - there were no injuries - a welding spark ignited nearby building-insulation material)

HOTWORK Roofer’s torch sets fire to home in Park Ridge (use of a torch during roof repairs is being blamed for a house fire last week that spread through the attic and left workers stranded atop a home)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE Green Bay warehouse fire ruled accidental (a warehouse fire last week caused by a cutting torch flame igniting paint chemicals has been ruled accidental - a high-end door manufacturer previously operated inside the warehouse - the fire began just after 11 a.m. Sept. 20 when someone tried to cut through a semi-enclosed metal booth where items were previously spray painted - paint chemicals were all over the booth, and the flame from the cutting torch caused a fire that spread quickly - no one was injured)

HOTWORK Roof catches fire at Otis Elevator (at 1:20 p.m. a first level roof had caught on fire while workers were welding on the test tower - a small portion of the roof was damaged and firefighters ensured that the fire did not extend beyond the point of origin - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Welding Accident Causes Hotel Fire in Glenview (about $550,000 worth of damage occurred when trees and the building's exterior caught on fire at approximately 5:10 p.m. - a passing motorist made a 911 call to report a tree on fire next to the Courtyard Hotel - while en route, more 911 calls were received reporting smoke was in the building too - first on-scene firefighters extinguished the exterior fires, while additional firefighters gained access to the attic and extinguished spot fires that were not fully extinguished by the building fire sprinkler system - fire investigators determined through evidence and interviews of hotel employees and construction personnel working at the hotel that the fire was caused by a welding operation taking place on a third floor balcony - hot sparks fell to the dry landscaping below and started the bushes on fire)

HOTWORK Crews extinguish mall fire (firefighters were called to a shopping mall and some stores were evacuated there after a giant trash compactor caught fire - someone using a blow torch to cut out the compactor to replace it with another one was cited as the cause - the fire started sometime around 4 p.m. and was contained in about 50 minutes - no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Green Bay Warehouse Fire Forces Workers to Flee (a warehouse catches fire - five people were inside the building at the time - they were doing some construction when their torch sparked flammable material, and within minutes the space was engulfed in flames - "It spread so fast it was unbelievable to the point that all we thought we could do was ask for help and get out" - they were cutting into a structure that was not all steel and they didn't know that until they started cutting into it, a steel exterior and something flammable inside of it)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE in TANKER Worker injured in shop explosion (a man received burns to his face and nose, as well as inhalation injuries, after an explosion - he was welding on a tanker trailer used to transport crude oil at the facility just before 3 p.m. - preliminary reports say they were doing some welding on the truck, and they must have hit a pocket of gas that caused the explosion - there were no flames when fire crews arrived on scene, but there was smoke coming from the top of a manhole on the tanker trailer - the explosion burned a hole into the roof of the facility)

HOTWORK 1 hospitalized after fire at Planet Hollywood (a fire in a trash chute in the north hotel tower was reported at about 10:11 a.m. - welding was being done in the area - guests on floors five and six were evacuated because of smoke - one person, a woman in her 60s, was taken to the hospital - no information is available about her condition)

HOTWORK Flames damage business in W.G (a two-alarm fire destroyed the warehouse building and an attached large two- bay garage around 1:53 p.m. - the fire started when a worker was using a cutting torch in the open garage - a piece of metal had dropped from the vehicle and caused him to drop the torch, and that started the fire around the base of where he was working - the state fire marshal was called in for the investigation and the preliminary report is consistent with the fire having been started by a cutting torch in that area - there were multiple explosions from mostly tires and possibly smaller gas cans - within five minutes, the fire had spread into the warehouse - the warehouse was a total loss)

HOTWORK Official: Worker's torch sparks South Shore Mall fire (a demolition crew was using a torch to remove plumbing pipes from the site of the old store when the wall on the other side of the pipes caught fire - the fire forced officials to evacuate the shopping center - workers and shoppers from the 86 stores at the mall were evacuated shortly after 10:30 a.m., when a fire broke out in an area adjacent to a demolished store - there were no injuries)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding caused Lewis Boulevard business fire (the fire at a business was caused by welding - insulation between the skins of a trailer caught fire when a man was welding - employees reported the fire around 3:45 p.m., and 12 people evacuated the building - the fire destroyed several trailers inside the building, and authorities said the structure sustained major smoke and fire damage)

HOTWORK FIRE – SPRINKLERS SAVE ANOTHER! Fire reported at Titan Tire plant (no injuries were reported after a manufacturing facility caught fire because of sparks thrown from a welding machine at about 8 a.m. - employees evacuated - employees were welding in the basement when sparks caught nearby combustibles and machinery on fire - the flames were contained to the machine by the building’s sprinkler system)

HOTWORK FIRE Crews put fire out at auto business; no injuries reported (an employee was welding in the body shop and he says a piece of insulation may have caught Fire - it took 25 minutes for crews to put  the fire out - two workers were inside the building but no injuries have been reported - the fire was contained to the paint body shop)

HOTWORK Cutting torch sparks fire (a fire started when employees attempted to use a cutting torch to remove the door of a trailer - the accident occurred at about 10:59 a.m. - two trailers filled with various recycled items were set ablaze in the recycling field - no one was harmed as a result of the fire, nor did it spread beyond the trailers)

HOTWORK Fire consumes Fort Lauderdale gas station (gas station was being demolished - a crew was in the process of tearing down the gas station and were working with a welding torch in the gas station's car wash - workers said something then sparked)

HOTWORK Welding May Have Sparked Fire At Greenville Shopping Center (welders doing work on some air conditioning units have have caused a fire at a shopping center - a police officer spotted smoke coming from the roof of one of the stores - workers were welding pipes on rooftop air conditioners and left for lunch - it's possible some hot spots, combined with the wind, may have started the fire - fire caused no structural damage to the vacant store and nearby businesses that were evacuated were allowed to reopen about 30 minutes later)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at gold mine (a fire broke out at a gold mine as a result of sparks caused by welding activities - the fire damaged around 120 metres of timbering from the mine's level 2 up to the surface - there were no injuries during the incident)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION with DRUM Man Badly Burned After 55-Gallon Drum Explodes (a man was badly burned after a 55-gallon barrel drum that he thought was empty exploded when he tried to cut it open at about 1:30 p.m. - it turns out the barrel was full of fence paint that was extremely flammable, and the cutting tool caused an explosion so big it set off house alarms in the neighborhood, and led to a flood of 911 calls - officials transported him to a Hospital with what police termed severe second and third degree burns all over his body)

HOTWORK on TURPENTINE TANK EXPLOSION Turpentine tank explodes at Jacksonville plant (a 250,000 gallon tank of turpentine products, a little less than half full, caught on fire, causing a vapor explosion - sixty firefighters and hazmat crews worked to put the fire out - officials aren't sure what triggered the explosion - there were workers on top of the tank doing welding work when the tanks exploded, but they weren't hurt - the only damage done was to the roof and surrounding trees - no one had to be evacuated and vapor exposure was not a concern)

HOTWORK GRASS FIRE Crews quickly handle fire near Clinton (firefighters state that a welding crew sparked a small grass fire near I-90 at around 7 p.m. - the fire burned about 3.5 acres and train traffic was halted in the area)

HOTWORK Welder sparks start fire at Sioux City business (sparks from a welder get the blame for starting a fire at a business around 9:00 a.m. - employees were evacuated, however, no one was injured - fire fighters extinguished the flames and determined sparks from a welder got inside duct work, and ignited some lint - "There was a guy welding beside the duct work. Sparks from the welder flipped-off, blew into the duct work, which ignited some lint that was in the duct work... Which spread through the duct work, and into the wall" - other than smoke, there was no major damage to the building)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Explosion rocks Calgary asphalt plant (an explosion that blew the lid off of a containment vessel in the yard of an asphalt plant - workers were heating a plugged valve on an asphalt emulsion tank - as the valve unplugged, gas in the tank caught fire and flashed, causing an explosion - the top of the storage tank blew off and landed one and a half blocks away, knocking down electrical lines at about 11:30 a.m. - the container explosion scattered debris over a large area and damaged nearby businesses - there was no fire and no one was injured)

HOTWORK Fire damages roof at Lazar Storage (a local business attempting to repair its roof is now dealing with thousands of dollars in damage - construction crews working on a roof accidently set the building on fire with a gas torch - the blaze was under control in just minutes, however damage is estimated at $10,000)

UPDATE on HOTWORK FIRE Welding work sparked blaze at Pier 29, fire officials find (a $2.4 million fire at Pier 29 last month isn’t expected to affect construction for the America’s Cup - a four-alarm fire that caused $2.4 million in damage was apparently caused by welders doing work in the building - they apparently inadvertently started the blaze while doing some welding - crews were welding a ladder to a wall near a crack in the concrete and “a spark got in there,” setting the building ablaze)

ACETYLENE CYLINDER WELDING FIRE Construction torch sparks hotel garage fire - cylinder catches fire (a fire broke out in Level 1 of the Hotel garage just after 10 a.m. - the fire started on a control knob of a 3-foot high acetylene tank, and fire crews doused the tank to keep it cool - an independent contractor was in the basement of the parking garage building a new restaurant when a welding torch malfunctioned, causing the small fire - the contractor had the proper permits for the torches, but they will be amended to include a fire watch any time welding is taking place at the site - the fire was extinguished and the tank, which was on a cart, was removed)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION – CUTTING DRUM W/ GRINDER Worker dies after factory explosion (a man who died in an explosion at a factory was using an angle grinder to cut a fuel drum just before 2:00 pm - it is understood the man was cutting the drum inside a sea container when the explosion occurred - it is believed fuel vapours inside the drum were ignited by a spark from the grinder - the man died at the scene - no-one else was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Alpine mattress factory torched in welding fire (foam of one mattress was set ablaze in a welding accident - fire crews responded to the 911 call at 11 a.m. to find flames erupting throughout the two-story brick building - after 15 minutes, firefighters were able to contain the flames, but the interior of the building was left in ruin)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding equipment sparked huge blaze in hanger at former RAF base at Manby (a welder carrying out work on a bus sparked a huge blaze that destroyed a hangar at a former RAF base - flammable material caught fire as the welder worked inside the building, starting a blaze that burned for hours - structure has suffered severe external and internal damage)

HOTWORK FIRE w/ GRINDER Construction work sparks small fire at Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center (construction work sparked a small fire at a Technical Skills Center - workers put out most of it before firefighters arrived - sparks from a construction worker’s grinder ignited insulation material beneath the two-story building’s roof - "They were using a fire blanket. They were doing everything right," Fire Department Battalion Chief said - no injuries were reported - estimated damage at $5,000)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Shipyard blast leaves 1 worker dead, 2 hurt (a welder, 24, was killed while two others were injured after a portion of a cargo vessel exploded at the shipyard - an explanation offered for the accident was that welding equipment caused a spark that ignited the residual gas fumes collected inside the ship’s newly painted six-storey accommodation area - worker powered up the equipment to seal several manholes at 3:14 p.m. - an explosion tossed him overhead the ship, where he crashed to the ground and died on the spot - co-workers, 20 and 30, sustained minor injuries - they were hoisted into the air but they got caught on the railings)

HOTWORK WELDER'S SPARK STARTS BLAZE (the fire began in two hay sheds and spread to an adjacent workshop at the agricultural freight company - sparks from a welder's blowtorch are believed to have started the blaze - several employees had been welding near the shed - "A little spark started up and had a little bit of a fire there yesterday and we managed to get it out" - "But then nobody bothered to check it and when I came out to get in the ute to go to town I noticed the fire was started up again in the straw where they were working yesterday" - estimates put the damage at about $30,000)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Surviving worker from Arvin explosion released from hospital (a man was rushed to the hospital following an oil tank explosion that killed his co-worker, 24 - a metal recycler is recovering at home after being burned in a oil tank explosion that killed his co-worker - a two-person crew was using a torch to remove pipes for a scrap metal recycling company when vapors inside the tank ignited and caused the explosion - one worker died at the scene)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Victim dies from burns after explosion (a man, 50, was severely burned in an explosion and fire at a trucking business has died - the man was a contractor employee who was welding when the fire and explosion occurred - he was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition with burns on 90 percent of his body - investigators are trying to determine the cause of the explosion at the trucking business)

HOTWORK Plumber Caused Million Dollar Tenderloin Blaze (a fire that caused more than $1 million in damage to an apartment building was apparently caused by a plumbing accident - the two-alarm fire was reported at 6:13 p.m. at a seven-story building - it took firefighters more than three hours to extinguish the blaze, and they eventually got it under control at 9:54 p.m. - the fire was apparently caused by a plumber who was using a torch to solder a pipe on the second floor - the flame spread upward through the pipe all the way to the fifth floor - no one was injured in the blaze, which caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the building itself and $250,000 in damage to its contents)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION @ TANK FARM One person killed in plant blast in Texas (one person was killed and another was injured in a plant explosion - a welding machine malfunction should be blamed for the accident - the person who died in the accident was an employee of an independent contractor and the injured man was also a contracted worker, who has been taken to a hospital for medical treatment - there was no fire, environmental or health threat that occurred, and a thorough investigation was underway)

HOTWORK FIRE Dry conditions lead to chipper mill fire (for the third time this week, a fire broke out at the chipping company - fire started when sparks from welding repairs ignited dry material around a machine that loads logs into the mill - fire destroyed the loader and damaged the chipper mill - no one was injured)

HOTWORK Fire at VFW post injures 10 (volunteer, 77, suffered first- and second-degree burns to his hands, neck, ears and face from a fire that started in a basement rifle range where a welder had been repairing a metal wall - he was one of 10 people injured during a fire at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2801 - he had been selling bingo cards when he stepped into a first-floor vestibule to make a phone call - of the 10 people who were injured, four were still hospitalized Wednesday, and three of them had been or were expected to be released during the day - the fire spread rapidly when a welding tool ignited a spray-on foam material used for minimizing sound on the back of the metal wall - when workers repairing the gun range left they closed the door, and a backdraft was created in the concrete room - it erupted through the weakest point, which was the door - estimated at least $150,000 in damage)

HOTWORK ON TANK EXPLOSION St. Paul: Welder burned in "flash of fire" ( a flash fire burned a man, 47, who was welding - he was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries - he suffered burns to his face and possible fractures - the victim had been welding atop a tank of roofing tar when the welding ignited flammable tar vapors - the "flash" knocked the man to the ground, approximately 10 feet - there was no fire to extinguish)

HOTWORK Small fire breaks out on roof (a small fire that broke out on the roof was caused by nearby construction efforts - fire crews arrived to find a small area of the roof to be smoldering - a construction contractor had extinguished most of the flames with a portable fire extinguisher by the time fire crews arrived - fire personnel determined the fire was started by sparks thrown from cutting and welding operations taking place in the east part of the structure - the fire caused no loss, as the area that burned was being demolished)

HOTWORK Welding near huge vat ignites fat (an empty vat intended to hold thousands of gallons of kitchen and restaurant waste oil and grease for recycling caught on fire at 3:56 p.m. - no workers or firefighters were injured - the plant sustained no significant damage - a contract welder had been doing some welding below and around or at the bottom of the large vat, and apparently the temperature of the grease reached ignition point - there must have been residual oil and grease in the vat which caused the fire - firefighters arrived to find about 2 feet of flame - the vat itself was terribly damaged, and neither nearby equipment nor the structure was damaged)

HOTWORK Fire reported in potato chips aisle of McAllen supermarket (authorities are investigating a welding accident that created a small fire in the potato chips aisle of a supermarket - a small fire started following a welding accident - no injuries were reported and the store was closed at the time of the incident - some potato chips were reportedly burned but employees were able to put out the fire on their own)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Oilfield accident west of El Dorado kills three men (three men were killed while dismantling an abandoned containment vessel for petroleum - the workers were burned when a spark apparently ignited residual oil vapor in the vessel - the explosion happened at an abandoned oil well site and the resulting fire spread to nearby woods - the fire in the vessel was put out, and the Forestry Commission contained the woods fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welder Dies In Explosion (a welder died in an explosion while welding a 55-gallon steel drum - it appears the explosion occurred about 2:30 p.m. when the man accidentally ignited fumes inside the container he was welding - no one else was injured in the explosion - he was pronounced dead at the scene)

HOTWORK Aiken County Fire May Have Started from Welding (a business experienced a roof fire - the roof burned approximately 10 foot wide by 15 foot long - the cause is not official, but it appeared to be from welding performed on the roof within the past few days - Plant Engineers are trying to figure out if someone welded on the beam or arced, causing the fire)

HOTWORK Fire hits construction safety products factory (eighty firefighters were needed to tackle a blaze at a factory which makes safety products for the construction industry - twelve workers were on site at the time and one was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after being rescued by a colleague - a spark during welding work is believed to have caused the blaze - the fire developed very quickly and one man got trapped and he was rescued by a colleague who managed to force his way into that part of the building)

HOTWORK Fire strikes scrapped mill (workers using a cutting torch on the plant's third floor sent sparks down into the second floor where the fire started - "They had hot work procedures in place but we think a spark came down into what they call a chest area under some kind of machine. It fell into this pit. This pit had a cover over it where some oil had dripped down. We think (the spark) got into that hydraulic oil and started a fire inside that pit area.")

HOTWORK in TUNNEL PROJECT Accident in tunnel sends three men to hospital (an accident in a water diversion tunnel sent three men to hospital with non-life threatening injuries - one man received burns to his leg, another injured his shoulder, and another man is being treated for shock - the workers were injured when they hit a natural gas pocket while welding through the tunnel lining, causing an explosion - extent of the injuries is unknown)

HOTWORK Fire guts Job 600 (fire gutted the sixth floor of the building - the timely intervention of fire personnel saved what could have a further set-back plans to bring the historical edifice back to life - extent of damage is minimal - sparks of fire from a welding machine burnt a tools box, causing a near explosion)

 

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY and FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man killed in Midland industrial accident (emergency crews were on the scene of a fatal industrial accident around 8 p.m. - workers were welding on top of a truck when an explosion happened - the man was found dead inside the truck - no other details at this time)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire strikes Osisko Mining mill in Quebec Mill closed for 2 to 3 weeks (preliminary indications suggest the fire was started around 11:45 p.m. by welding in proximity to the No. 4 cyclone separator portion and spread to the mill roof of the sector - damaged areas include the No. 4 cyclone, the overhead crane in the cyclone bay, the roof area above the bay, with limited damage to the walls and another crane - as a result the company will close the  mill for two to three weeks - about 50 employees were in the plant but no one was injured and it appears that no industrial chemicals or toxic gases were released during the fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Explosions, fire damage Delray Beach welding shop (no injuries reported in fire ignited by cutting torch - an oxygen tank caught fire in a welding shop and led to multiple explosions that damaged the shop and neighboring units at an industrial complex)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire contained at Elk Falls Mill in Campbell River (a spark from a welding or cutting torch nearly resulted in a huge blaze at the defunct mill - the fire started on the second floor of the five-storey thermomechanical pulping  building - crews were dismantling the mill, and salvaging machinery for auction, when a spark from a torch apparently ignited hydraulic oil)

HOTWORK Minor damage caused by fire at industrial plant (a fire at a facility caused minor damage and no injuries were reported - fire officials praised workers for a quick evacuation - a small fire was discovered in a welding area - sparks from the welding ignited particles in a filtration system - power to the welding station was shut off and firefighters used water to put out the small fire)

HOTWORK Plant officials say welding sparked business fire (no one was hurt and the fire was confined to a piece of equipment that had been prepared for removal - it was believed that welding done earlier in the day caused some internal material to smolder and finally ignite - plant personnel were evacuated as a precaution)

HOTWORK Welding torch the cause of Select Foods blaze: fire officials (fire officials have fingered a welding torch as the ignition source behind a $750,000 fire - an employee was welding a metal door frame at the building when the fire started - the plant manager immediately went to call 911 and then came back with another employee to try to extinguish the fire - despite the attempt to extinguish the fire, it spread to nearby walls - no reported injuries)

HOTWORK Torch Causes Fire at Lincoln County Business (firefighters say a torch is to blame for a fire at a recylcing business - when crews arrived on a scene they found a pile of about a dozen cars on fire - an employee was cutting off a vehicle's bumper with a torch, when some of the sparks started the vehicle on fire - since it was located next of a pile of other cars, the fire spread - because some of the vehicles had flammable liquids in them, there were some small explosions)

HOTWORK Welding torch sparked N. Brookfield fire (a stubborn fire started by a welding torch is under control)

HOTWORK Welding-caused fire at INL prompts evacuations (welders working on the roof of a building at the Laboratory nuclear research site caused a fire that prompted the evacuation of employees - nobody was injured in the blaze - flames were extinguished quickly - evacuated workers were delayed in their departure from the site)

HOTWORK FIRE Cutting torch suspected cause of March plant fire in Bassett (fire marshal says a cutting torch is the likely cause of a fire that destroyed a former furniture plant - a demolition crew used the torch to cut pipes around a large air compressor and investigators believe the fire began after workers left - fire caused an estimated $260,000 in damage - the 230,000-square-foot plant closed in 2007)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Old fuel tank explodes (a man, 33, suffered second- and third-degree burns in an explosion that occurred while he was attempting to saw an old fuel tank in half - he was using a gas-powered saw to make the cut at about 1:15 p.m. - he had burns on his face and arms, was taken from the scene by ambulance and then transferred to a LifeFlight helicopter to finish the trip to a Medical Center)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting drum Chemical explosion injures man at recycling facility (a worker at a metal recycling facility was injured in an explosion - he was using a plasma torch to cut into a 55-gallon metal drum The drum contained residue of Naphtha, a flammable substance used in lighter fluid and fuel for camp stoves)

 

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES due to IMPROPER HOTWORK Seven Die in Factory Fire in Peru (seven people died in a fire at a fish oil plant - the fire was apparently started by improper use of welding equipment, but the cause is still under investigation by the fire department and police - the workers died inside a storage tank that they started repairing without taking adequate safety measures - six other people working outside the tank managed to get out of the plant alive - the factory lacked hook-ups for hoses, complicating the work of firefighters, who needed two hours to extinguish the blaze - the workers were trapped in the tank when the fire started and the remains have been sent to the coroner’s office for identification)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at N.Ky. business (investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire that damaged a business - the fire broke out at an Automotive Services business shortly before 3 p.m.  - the two-story building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived - the business was closed at the time of the fire which may have been started by a worker using a torch - there were no injuries reported)

HOTWORK Fire in old paint booth damages Rick Weaver Buick GMC building in Erie (a building that is being converted into a collision center for a Buick GMC dealership was damaged when a fire started in an old paint booth at about 1:10 p.m. - crews arrived to find smoke coming from the roof of the one-story building - firefighters had the fire knocked down by about 1:21 p.m. and cleared the scene about 20 minutes later - the fire started in a paint booth inside the building and was contained to the area - an exhaust stack and a portion of the roof also were damaged by fire - there were no injuries in the fire - workers inside the building were using a torch to remove bolts when they ignited some paint, setting off the fire)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting drum Worker burned while cutting metal drum in Forest Grove (a farm worker was using a cutting torch on a metal drum when it exploded, setting fire to the man’s clothes - the man immediately “dropped and rolled,” extinguishing the flames on his clothing - the drum was thought to be empty but fire officials think it likely contained enough diesel residue to cause the explosion)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION – cutting drums Worker badly burned in explosion at Industry pottery company (a chemical explosion at an pottery company left a worker, 36, hospitalized in critical condition - employee was cutting an old metal barrel with a torch when it exploded, apparently due to residue of an unknown flammable material that had been stored in it - the badly burned man was hospitalized in critical condition)

HOTWORK Spark starts fire at industrial site (a blaze that heavily damaged an industrial building began while a worker was welding metal when a spark hit a piece of wood - it kept firefighters busy for hours - much of the building's roof collapsed)

HOTWORK Roofers’ welding torch spark fire at old plant (roofers using a welding torch started a fire on the roof of the old plant - the fire in an outside wall was quickly put out by firefighters after it was called in at about 1:46 p.m. - damage was listed at $3,000 - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK 2 workers hurt in small blast at Johnston school (a small blast injured two construction workers - the men suffered minor burns - no injuries were reported among the students, who were evacuated for a time - the fire was confined to an exterior wall of new construction - it's believed sparks from a cutting torch caused a flammable adhesive to explode and burn - the workers have been taken to a hospital for treatment)

 

FATAL EXPLOSION – HOTWORK Gas Explosion At Waste Center In Goyang Kills 1, Injures 5 (one worker was killed and five others injured when the explosion happened at a waste recyclying center - the workers were cutting gas pipes to dismantle an unused generator when the explosion occurred - fire officials suspect the accident happened after a spark came into contact with gas leaking from an open valve - the recycling center treats sewage and other waste)

HOTWORK and AEROSOL CANS Welding sparks fire at Ford dealership (fire was in the Pre-Owned portion of the dealership - it looks like most of the fire was contained to the service bay area - it appears that the fire started when workers who were welding and the sparks hit some aerosol cans that were nearby)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two men burned in explosion at Seattle drydock (two people were hurt in an explosion at a dry dock - workers on the scene were able to put out the fire - two welders were working on a 46-foot metal dredging boat when the explosion and fire occurred - the workers were welding near two 80-gallon gas tanks when the tanks caught fire and exploded - one tank flew over a chain link fence and landed near Train Tracks - the second tank was completely destroyed - workers say about 3 to 6 inches of gasoline was inside the tanks at the time of the fire - worker,  59, was in critical condition with second and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body - a worker, 33, had burns over 20 percent of his body and was in serious condition)

HOTWORK Fire Destroys T&J Hopper Building Supplies Structure (a welding spark that ignited dust caused a fire that destroyed the building - the employees were doing some cutting and welding on a metal hopper inside - the sparks seemed to have caused the fire - welding and grinding on steel created sparks that ignited dust in the building - the building was a complete loss)

HOTWORK Welder sparks city blaze (a fire is believed to have been sparked by welding - at least 30 firefighters rushed to the Building, which is under renovation, after numerous callers reported seeing flames and smoke at the construction site - workmen on the seventh floor of the 10-storey building were believed to have sparked the blaze - sparks from the brass oxy welding got into ducts that contained conduits and electrical wiring - the damage to the building was not expected to be extensive)

HOTWORK DOT fire damages home, land (a residence sustained extensive damage when a wind-driven grass fire started as a torch-wielding Department of Transportation crew sealed cracks on the shoulder of a U.S. Highway - the fire, first reported at about 3 p.m., finally was brought under control about 2 a.m.)

HOTWORK Fire destroys Wiscasset business (a welding accident led to a fast-moving fire that destroyed a business - no one was injured - owner and his son were working in the building when there was a welding accident that led to the blaze - though fire crews arrived within a few minutes, they were unable to save the metal-clad structure from near total destruction - occupants of the building were welding on a car when the fire broke out)

HOTWORK Fire destroys saw mill in Volney (a saw mill went up in flames and was destroyed as workers used a cutting torch - fire officials said they got the call around 8:40 a.m., and the building was engulfed in flames by the time they arrived - it took eight fire departments plus the county cascade unit about an hour to get the flames under control - it was made even more challenging by a propane tank that exploded during the fire - the fire started as two mill employees were working with a cutting torch - they tried to put it out and thought they had, but at some point it reignited - the workers got out safely and no injuries were reported - the mill did not have insurance - they lost all of their equipment and several machines in the fire)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting open DRUM Explosion at Elizabethton leaves one man in critical condition (a man at a garage was injured while using a cutting torch to open 55 gallon drum - he is currently in critical condition at a Medical Center with serious head and face injuries - the nearly empty drum exploded when being opened reportedly due to some type of fumes inside - another employee was knocked down during the explosion)

HOTWORK Southwestern Illinois College-Belleville fire quickly extinguished (a small fire in the Liberal Arts Building under construction at a College was quickly extinguished - campus emergency workers used a fire extinguisher to put it out - a welding spark caught insulation on fire in the portion of the building that is under construction - about 50 people who were in the other side of the building had to be evacuated because of thick smoke - the fire department came out to check the area as a precaution - no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE Firefighters respond to small fire at KL Industries in Muskegon, no one injured (a welding machine inside a business caught fire and set off the building's sprinkler system - there were no injuries - when "combustibles" got too close to the machine and it started a small fire - no one was injured during the incident - the fire forced eight employees working at the time to evacuate)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting DRUM Worker seriously hurt in scrap metal explosion (a man suffered serious head injuries following a gas explosion at a scrap metal yard - he was using a gas cutter to open a metal container - the metal container had previously contained methanol, also known as wood alcohol, which be used as an alternative fuel for internal combustion and other engines)

HOTWORK Fire breaks out at Lorain industrial plant (firefighters spent more than an hour and a half extinguishing a blaze that ignited inside an exhaust system at a manufacturing center - the fire started at 11:53 p.m. when sparks from one of the welding machines set one of the exhaust systems on fire in the 150,000-square-foot production facility - there were no injuries - a dollar estimate of the damage is not yet available, however, the bulk of the damage was contained to the exhaust system)

HOTWORK – PERFECT EXAMPLE of delayed fire Small fire ignited in St. Clair building under construction (roof joists still hot from being cut with a torch sparked a small fire in a gutted building under renovation - workers were cutting away at the roof earlier and nothing was amiss when they left around 5 p.m. - officials believe the still-hot roofing materials smoldered until they caught flame, and emergency crews responded just after 6 p.m.)

HOTWORK Fire at Wakefield motorbike repair shop (a fire broke out in a motorcycle repair workshop - two men were treated for smoke inhalation at the industrial unit - workers were doing some welding in the unit when the fire broke out)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Freeport fire victims still in hospital (two workers, both 30, were hospitalized with burns and 14 pleasure boats dry-docked at a marina were destroyed by fire - one worker was in satisfactory condition and the other was in critical but stable condition - the two injured men were extracting a fuel tank from a boat that was in storage at the marina - believing the tank held no fuel, the men began to cut it out from its position using a power saw - this caused sparks that ignited residual fuel and fumes - over a million dollars' loss)

HOTWORK  Welding work sparks explosion, fire in Hyannis (welding work and a gas leak sparked an explosion at an automobile recycling business at about 11:30 a.m. - an old camper that was being cut apart caught fire as a welder was working on it - the blaze started with a loud explosion and a large plume of black smoke - nobody was injured in the fire - the explosion turned out to be a tire)

 

FATAL EXPLOSION during HOTWORK Worker killed in blast at MRPL (a worker, 25, was killed and five others sustained injuries in an explosion at the Sulphur Recovery Unit - all the injured were rushed to a hospital and they are out of danger - the blast occurred during welding work at the site)

HOTWORK FIRE  Welder's torch ignited Pearsall tanker fire (preliminary information shows sparks from a welding torch may have ignited vapors around a storage tank, causing an explosion - three employees were injured in the blast - it took them about an hour and a half to put the fire out, and another hour and a half to cool it and make sure it didn’t flare up again - at one point the tank that was burning was starting to turn pretty red on the outside)

HOTWORK Four workers suffer burns in BIA fire (hundreds of travelers had a narrow escape when a fire broke out at an International Airport around noon - the fire erupted after sparks that flew from a welding worksite set tarpaulin sheets ablaze near the VIP lift in the departure terminal - four workers are in a critical condition with 80% burns - the travelers were waiting at the check-in counters, a mere 30 metres away - the sheets went up in flames as they fell on the four workers. - the fire was put out in 10 minutes)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting a METHANOL DRUM  1 injured in explosion (one man, 48, was injured in an explosion and fire at 10:09 a.m. - upon arrival on scene, the crew discovered there had been an explosion at the Oil Well Service business, but the fire was out, and the employee reported to have been injured in the explosion had left the area - worker was transported to a Hospital and then flown to a Burn Center with second-degree burns to both legs and a possible broken arm - the explosion occurred when he was using a cutting torch near a 50-gallon barrel marked "Methanol")

HOTWORK Small fire at OxyChem extinguished quickly (the fire was out on arrival - a contractor doing torch work ignited a small fire that was immediately put out)

HOTWORK Fire aboard the Michigan causes $10,000 in damage (a fire aboard a fishing vessel docked at a Wharf caused approximately $10,000 in damage to the boat - the fire was reported at 4:12 p.m. - it was caused by welding operations on board the vessel - sparks from the welding caused the insulation to burn after which the fire spread to one of the fish holds - there were no injuries)

HOTWORK  Blaze, explosion leave Fort Wayne auto business in ruins (put a cutting torch and fuel line together in a garage, throw in a few propane tanks, and you can get explosive results - a fire and explosion left a auto business in ruins after a worker accidentally ignited a car's gasoline line while trying to remove its engine)

FATAL HOTWORK  Factory worker killed in freak mishap (a plastic recycling unit employee, 30, was killed when an explosion resulted in an electric saw slipping off his hand and impaling his chest - at 12.45pm, he was cutting a sealed plastic drum filled with industrial waste with a hand-held saw when it exploded - he lost his balance and fell, while the saw slipped from his hands and landed right on his chest - the sparks flying from the whirring blades ignited a fire)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man injured in explosion at East Texas shop (a 19-year-old man has been seriously injured in an explosion at a machine shop - the man was burning the top off a barrel that contained flammable fuel in an unventilated area when the accident occurred - the worker's clothing caught fire and he suffered second and third degree burns from his torso on up - he was airlifted to a Dallas hospital for treatment - no one else was injured)

HOTWORK Nuclear submarine damaged, but reactors safe (a Russian nuclear submarine was badly damaged in a shipyard fire, but its two reactors are safe and there has been no radiation leak - the fire broke out during welding repairs on the submarine in a dry dock shipyard - from burning wooden scaffolding the blaze spread to the rubberized coating in the nose section - seven seamen and two firemen were hospitalized with smoke poisoning)

HOTWORK Fire at Modernistic in Plainwell caused by sparking tool  (a fire was likely caused by a spark from equipment being used to remove equipment from a service vehicle - a mechanic at the location was using a cutting torch to remove equipment from a service van inside a vehicle storage area when a spark ignited into flames - the fire was extinguished)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Demolition worker injured during fuel tank explosion (workers were using a blow torch to cut through a steel fuel tank, and the flames ignited vapors within it - two workers were salvaging a 10,000-gallon tank for scrap metal - it was empty of fuel, but did contain residual vapors - the men were using a blow torch to cut through the steel tank, and the flames ignited vapors within it)

HOTWORK 12 vehicles gutted in fire (twelve vehicles, including nine private buses were gutted after a major fire which broke out at a garage - the fire broke out when the garage workers were welding a seat - sparks from the welding machine fell on the seats and they caught fire - workers ran out of the bus and before they could try to douse the fire, it spread to the entire bus and later to vehicles that were parked in the vicinity)

2011

HOTWORK TANK EXPLOSION  Men welding on tank escape injury when it explodes an explosion rocked a Salvage business, seconds after two employees started using an acetylene torch to cut up an oil field drip tank for salvage - the tank blew its welded-on top several yards in one direction and moved several yards in another direction - an individual cut about two inches into the metal when the top blew off - welders hadn’t purged the tank of vapors, by filling it with water, before cutting into it - internal vapors exploded the tank within seconds of when the welder began cutting it with a torch - firefighters had to use foam to cool the hot tank, since it initially didn’t react well to water)

FATAL HOTWORK in TUNNEL Toxic fumes kill 6 workers in SW China tunnel (six workers suffocated to death in a smoking railway tunnel under construction at 12:30 am after welders inadvertently ignited rubber materials, unleashing toxic fumes into the tunnel - two workers died at the scene, and another four perished in the hospital)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION cutting drum Barrel explosion in Melbourne injures one (a man is recovering from minor burns to the face after an explosion - he was cutting a makeshift fire pit out of a barrel in the parking lot of the business around 5 p.m. - some ethanol residue on the 55 gallon drum caused the explosion after the worker used a Skil saw to try and cut it down into a make-shift fire pit - worker had second-degree burns to the face)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION PORT EXPLOSION REPORT REVEALS TANK CORROSION ‘EASILY’ DETECTABLE (an investigation into the cause of the port explosion last May has uncovered a litany of alleged physical faults and management shortfalls at the sullage plant, including claims that storage tanks were heavily corroded and badly maintained - investigators attributed the explosion to holes in the roof of tanks used to store petroleum products, which allowed highly flammable vapour to escape - the tank rooftops were dotted with 60 perforations caused by long term corrosion - two men welding on top of one of the tanks caused the vapour to ignite, resulting in the explosion - one of the welders, 40, later died as a result of the burns he sustained - investigators also found evidence that, in their view, suggested serious flaws in the way the plant was operated - they were also critical of the degree of control that Nature exercised over subcontractors, including the two men who were welding on top of the tank when it exploded - management had failed to act on recommendations relating to the upkeep and maintenance of the plant)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Welding truck explodes, worker on back escapes serious injury (a man escaped serious injury after he was blown clear from the back of an exploding welding truck - the man was treated and released at a Medical Center - the explosion happened sometime after the man had been using a torch to cut bolts from a train car - none of the fuel cylinders inside the truck ruptured, "but that doesn't mean they couldn't have leaked and caused the explosion" - the cause of the explosion is still under investigation - the blast at about 10 a.m. heavily damaged the truck - a piece of it was found more than 100 feet away)

HOTWORK FATALITY Worker, 50, dies from major burns at John Pointons and Sons (a welder, 50, died after suffering serious burns at an animal rendering plant - paramedics battled to save him, but the sub-contractor died hours later at the burns unit of a hospital - he was carrying out routine maintenance work at the factory when the alarm was raised)

HOTWORK Fumes from fire send downtown construction worker to hospital (fire dept was called out to an apartment building under construction just before 2:00 pm - a welder was working on the exterior of the building, when hot slag dropped from the twelfth floor to the seventh floor - a flammable liquid ignited in a bucket, the fire spread to the building and ignited exterior polyvinyl sheets that were covering a window - the workers were able to extinguish the fire themselves, but one of them had to go to hospital after inhaling fumes - damage to the building was roughly $2500)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION installing SOLAR PANELS Two injured in Henderson explosion (two people were injured when a welding torch ignited methane gas at a call center, causing an explosion - a solar panel is being installed at the back of the building, and a member of the construction crew was welding copper pipe when the explosion occurred - the worker was knocked about 20 feet by the explosion and was taken to a Medical Center with minor injuries - a second worker was injured but didn't need to be taken to the hospital - the explosion didn't cause a fire and any structural damage to the building)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire breaks out at Sessions Peanut (a fire at peanut company caused minor damage to an old storage silo shortly before noon - the silo was no longer in use and contractors were in the process of disassembling the silo when the fire broke out - a torch ignited some peanut oil residue inside the silo)

HOTWORK Man injured in explosion at St. Louis construction site (a construction worker suffered burns on more than 90 percent of his body in an explosion at a worksite at about 9:15 a.m. - it was triggered when the worker used a blow torch to try to cut open a barrel marked "flammable" - other workers who were at the site were uninjured - the explosion caused a small fire, which firefighters were able to extinguish fairly quickly)

 

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – HOTWORK SPARKS FLASH FIRE Explosion at MRPL kills 1, injures 4 (a teenage worker, 19, was killed and four suffered severe burns when an explosion ripped through a crude oil storage tank - worker, 22, suffered 100 per cent burns and is said to be critical - workers, 26 and 32, sustained injuries - the incident took place around 11.55 am when they were working inside the tank - grinding work (smoothening of the tank surface) was going on and some painting work was being done nearby)

HOTWORK Fire guts cotton factory (cotton worth millions of rupees was burnt to ashes when a fire broke out in a cotton factory - it has been determined that sparks emanating from a welding operation started the fire - fire engulfed the heaps of cotton and suddenly spread in the whole factory)

HOTWORK FIRE Eight suffer smoke inhalation in Intel plant fire (a fire outside a plant has left eight people injured - all eight were treated for smoke inhalation and three of them were taken to an area hospital - workers apparently were welding outside of the plant when nearby plastic caught fire around 2:30 p.m. - it was out by the time the Fire Department arrived - seven people were injured at the same plant in June when a flash fire started inside a solvent-collection room)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire at blast furnance in Bethlehem (an accidental fire broke out around 2:00 p.m. at one of the blast furnaces at the former Bethlehem Steel site - workers were using welding equipment in blast furnace C when leftover grease caught fire - no one was hurt and no other buildings were damaged - it took firefighters less than a half-hour to douse the fire)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION – cutting drums Small accident at Cobourg plant (an employee was injured just after 9 a.m. when a small explosion occurred - a man was cutting steel barrels for recycling when a piece of hot metal punctured the top of a 45 gallon steel barrel containing a tar-based chemical - police believe the fragment caused internal combustion within the barrel, causing the explosion - the employee suffered minor injuries to his left arm)

HOTWORK and FLAMMBLES Construction Accident Burns Worker (a construction worker, 36, was sent to the hospital after being burned in an accident where sparks from cutting a pipe ignited the ground and burned the man - he was taken to the hospital with burns on 30 percent of his body - he was cutting a pipe at a construction site around 4:40 p.m. - the sparks from the saw ignited something on the ground at the site that had been exposed to oil, also catching the man's clothing on fire - he was taken to the burn unit with serious but non-life threatening burns)

ACETYLENE HOTWORK FIRE Tank catches fire in building (an acetylene tank caught fire in an industrial building - the individual tried to shut the tank off - the flames were two high - the fire started while a worker was grinding something he had just cut with a welding torch - the sparks from the grinder led to the tank fire - there was minimal damage and no injuries)

HOTWORK 8-alarm fire leads to evacuation of 2,500 students in 3 Lachute schools (the blaze was first reported at 10:25 a.m., after a construction crew working on the ventilation unit located on the roof accidentally sparked a fire while welding - the construction workers attempted to put out the fire, which spread quickly along the roof, that is located above the school’s library)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE Man burnt while cutting pipes (a man, 23, cutting a pipe with an oxy-torch has been burnt - he was using an oxy-acetylene torch when some oil ignited and flashed-back - he was using an oxy-torch to heat a pipe on a refrigerated container and it’s thought some oil in one of the pipes caught fire - the fire flashed back causing burns to the man’s face, arm and leg, with his eyebrows also singed - the man wasn’t wearing any protective eyewear and only had shorts, t-shirt and runners on - the flash-back was at waist height so he is incredibly lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries – he was taken to a hospital in a stable condition)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks ignite fire at recycling center (firefighters put out a fire that started on a conveyer belt - no one was hurt in the fire, which burned a conveyor belt and plastic refuse - parks touched off the fire - employees had been welding brackets on a conveyer belt system, and the sparks ignited the refuse below it, which was stored in semi-trailers - the fire, which destroyed the trailers, then spread to the conveyer belt and burned scaffolding above it - the belt feeds into a grinder, which was also damaged - employees at the recycling center attempted to put out the fire for about 10 minutes before calling the fire department)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION 9 teams used to control Mehsana dairy fire (a major fire at a Dairy ended up killing six and injuring 25 - the fire is believed to have happened due to a leakage in a gas pipe - the gas caught fire allegedly due to the welding work in the nearby area - the fire led to a blast in the boiler of the cold storage department - five people were killed in the incident)

HOTWORK Welder ignites fire at Carbon Plant (a rooftop blaze at a Carbon plant led to congestion in morning rush hour traffic, but caused little damage and no injuries - the blaze started when a subcontractor with a wielding torch attempted to remove a scrubber used to eliminate carbon dust - the fire was contained inside that machine, which is on the roof between buildings 5 and 6 - the fire was small, but the manpower involved was not - it took 16 public safety officers nearly two hours to extinguish the flames - it was difficult to get to the fire because the only access point was on a catwalk and firefighters burdened with full turnout gear and carrying a hose had to scale narrow fire-escape stairs to make their way to the blaze)

HOTWORK Two men burned in Airport Link tunnel fire (two men had their faces and heads burnt during a welding operation - shortly before 8am this morning a fire ignited during a welding operation in the tunnel - two workers were taken to a Hospital with burns to their heads and faces - all workers were evacuated from the immediate underground area as a precautionary measure - both workers had been released from hospital a short time ago)

HOTWORK Fire Marshal Rules on Cause of Chili's Fire (the fire that destroyed a Chili's resturant was due to the improper use of an open flame, which ignited roofing materials - a contractor had been performing repair work on the building's roof on - with this type of roof, a propane torch is used to heat the edges of the roofing material, then pushed down to seal it - the contractors stopped working about 5:30 p.m. and it appears that the fire was smoldering from that point until it ignited early the next morning - patrons and employees smelled rubber burning early in the evening, then smelled smoke, but did not call the fire department)

HOTWORK Northeast Austin warehouse fire blamed on welding torch (a welding torch is said to be the cause of a warehouse fire)

HOTWORK Fire at Newport Industrial Fabrication (there was a fire just after 11 - fire chief believes it started when employees were using welding materials - it was under control in ten minutes)

HOTWORK FIRE Police: Worker error caused National Plastics fire (an employee inadvertently started the fire that badly burned the plastics recycling plant last month - a worker was conducting a burn test on a piece of plastic and did not extinguish it properly and that the burning plastic was mistakenly discarded into other plastic debris at the plant - the state police released its findings, following an investigation by its fire marshal unit - the fire caused extensive damage to the north side exterior of the building)

DUST EXPLOSION & HOTWORK (possibly?) Worker Hurt In Explosion At ADM Plant (fire officials are investigating an explosion at a plant - when firefighters got to the scene there was no fire, but there was an inured worker in the New Feed Plant where the explosion happened - the worker was taken to a hospital with what are said to be non-life threatening injuries - the explosion also caused heavy damage to a cyclone dryer in the plant - earlier in the day, welders were working on duct work that exhausts the dryers - the explosion occurred about a half hour after they left - there is no word on whether that had anything to do with the explosion and the investigation continues)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker dies from injuries in Tomball church water tank explosion (a contractor working on a water tank at a church has died after an explosion on the tank - the explosion happened around 10 a.m. as the man was cutting on the top of the tank to provide ventilation - the tank was about three quarters full of water but there was a build-up of combustible vapors above the water - sparks or a flame caused by the cutting ignited the vapors, causing the explosion - the victim was transported to a Hospital, where he was pronounced dead - the explosion did not cause a fire and there were no other injuries)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Explosion at World Cup 2014 stadium leaves one worker seriously burnt and the rest on strike (worker was badly burnt in an on-site explosion - his legs were also injured when an oil barrel with chemical residue exploded at the facility)

HOTWORK Blow Torch Blamed for Fairfield Fire (a large fire burned at a plastics manufacturer - a five acre parcel filled with stack of empty plastic crates - it looks like workers doing repair work at a plastic plant sparked the six-alarm fire - the work, which included some kind of blow torch, was being done in the area where the fire started)

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Blaze kills 13, injures 25 in workshop with no fire escape (thirteen people, 10 of them female, died while 25 were seriously injured in a blaze inside a shoe workshop - investigations have shown that the fire, which had been extinguished within one hour, were triggered by welding cinders - without a business licence or a fire escape, the 100 sq.m workshop had been operating for the last three to four months, employing 70 regular workers, before it burnt to the ground - police have arrested six people suspected culprits)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire At Ansonia Copper And Brass (there were no injuries reported - a worker was using a blow torch - a spark from the blow torch sat smoldering overnight in a pile of wood blocks that previously were part of the factory’s floor - there was a large amount of smoke inside the building when firefighters arrived, but they were able to quickly get water onto the wood pile)

HOTWORK FIRE Three Injured in Fire (a fire sent three people to the hospital - it broke out in the back of an Industrial Fabrication Company around three o'clock - the fire started in the walls of the building, but didn't spread far - fire officials believe welding dust may have helped ingnite the blaze - two people suffered minor injuries, while a third had to be taken by lifeflight - worker was trying to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher - he fell approximately twenty feet onto the pavement - he sustained some injuries - the damage was minimal)

HOTWORK Non-injury fire breaks out at LAX Terminal 6 (a non-injury fire broke out in an escalator area of an airport around 2:30 a.m. and was put out by airport-based firefighters - it appears that welding was under way where the fire occurred - firefighters used fans to blow the smoke out of Terminal 6 and adjoining terminals)

HOTWORK Small fire caused Fort Myers City Hall to evacuate (firefighters determined there was a small fire in one of the elevator shafts that had been extinguished prior to their arrival - workers doing maintenance on the elevator were using a cutting torch and some of the hydraulic oil used to operate the elevator heated-up and caused smoke to fill the first three floors of the four-story building - the building was evacuated and no one was hurt)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire At Chicken Processing Plant (some workers were welding in the back of the plant when sparks caught some insulation on fire - firefighters responded and helped the worker to extinguish the fire - there was minimal damage done to the building and no one was injured in the blaze)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire Chief: Heat Made Fire Spread At Recycling Plant (the heat turned a small trash fire into a massive blaze at a recycling plant - crews were using a torch to cut through steel when a spark set a pile of debris on fire, sending flames and smoke shooting up in the air - a pile of scrap that was about 25 feet tall caught fire at the recycling plant - workers at the recycling plant helped them battle the flames by using a crane with a claw that helped separate the piles of debris)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker dies due to explosion in CNG pipeline (a worker was burnt alive after a CNG pipeline, on which he was doing some maintenance work, exploded and caught fire - a section of CNG pipeline caught fire and a person, who was doing electric welding on it, was killed due to burn injuries)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire in old San Diego building started by accident (investigators say workers putting a new roof on a restaurant accidentally started a fire in an adjacent 100-year-old building, causing about $1 million damage - the fire was accidentally started by workers using a torch to put a new roof on the adjacent restaurant - because the building is so old, it has no fire stops in its hollow walls, making the fire more intense)

HOTWORK Small fire extinguished on roof at Lee's Summit North High School (firefighters extinguished a small blaze in the field house at a North High School at 12:49 p.m. after the maintenance staff noticed smoke and a small fire near the ceiling - the school was evacuated - the fire was extinguished with little damage to the building, and it was deemed under control at 1:21 p.m. -the fire was contained to about 10 square feet on the roof - investigators determined that combustible material was ignited by a roofer's torch - a roofing contractor had been working shortly before noon, applying a roofing membrane with a propane torch - the crew had left for the day before the fire was found)

HOTWORK FIRE Three propane tanks exploded during fire (residents were advised to stay indoors much of the evening after a mammoth fire sent thick acrid smoke into the skies - flames were probably 40 to 50 feet in the air - the fire was started accidentally by an employee with a torch, cutting metal, and it caught insulation on the walls and then just took off from there - lost two structures - three propane tanks exploded - two firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion)

CONFINED SPACE – HOTWORK EXPLOSION Owner of North Dakota trucking company says worker burned in weekend explosion doing well (a worker who was burned over the weekend is doing well in a burn center - the worker suffered third-degree burns and underwent plastic surgery - the worker and another worker who touched off an explosion inside a tank while welding a crack in a pipe - the tank had some fumes from oilfield waste that ignited and blew a manhole off the tank and through the roof of a shop - the worker who touched off the explosion has been fired - no estimate on the shop damage)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION @ OIL WELL Worker badly hurt in Azerbaijani oil well explosion (a worker suffered third-degree burns in an explosion at an onshore oil well - explosion took place during welding at oil well #642 in field #2 - the well had been out of operation for a long time - the injured man suffered burns to 70-80% of his body - the explosion was caused by gas that had accumulated in the long abandoned well)

HOTWORK FIRE Construction worker sparks fire at United Methodist church in Hattiesburg (fire investigators say a fire that damaged a Church was accidentally caused by construction workers building an addition to the church - a worker was using a cutting torch to cut steel on top of the addition when embers blew into the attic, starting a fire in the old part of the building nearest to the addition - a secretary said she smelled smoke but they wrote it off as coming from the construction site - but they then saw and smelled smoke coming through the building's ducts)

HOTWORK FIRE Firefighters Put Out Blaze at Port of Brownsville (workers were welding on the shrimp boat - a spark ignited the blaze shortly before 2 p.m. - it burned for more than an hour - a few weeks ago, firefighters were called out for a fire on the same boat)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE w/ GRINDER Worker suffers burns in explosion (a worker, 52, suffered burns in an explosion in a engineering workshop - no fire was found and the man was being treated by ambulance staff when firefighters arrived - there had been an explosion in the man's workshop caused when sparks from a grinder ignited a container of solvent used for cleaning engine parts - he was taken by ambulance to a Hospital with superficial facial burns and burns to his hands and arm)

HOTWORK FIRE Blow torch use caused Marysville fire (firefighters believe something hot fell on a foam membrane used to separate interior and exterior concrete walls, sparking a blaze at the Water Filtration Plant construction site - a construction worker was using a blow torch to cut rebar when the fire started - when firefighters arrived, flames were leaping from a concrete wall and heavy black smoke was covering a City Park - no one was injured)

HOTWORK FIRE – TANK LINING Welding eyed as cause of Searsport tank fire (the fire may have been caused by welding work that was being done on top of the large tank - the day of the fire, the fire broke out in the tank while routine maintenance and upgrade work was being done - the tank was empty at the time and the fire started in a rubber ring or lip around the top of the tank - the fire was contained inside the tank - officials do not yet have a dollar estimate of how much damage was done to the tank)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on GAS TANK Seven Killed in Gas Station Blast East of Beirut (seven people were killed and 15 were injured in a fuel tank explosion - the incident occurred in a diesel warehouse at a petrol station - the explosion set off a huge fire that caused serious damage to the surrounding area - the explosion was the result of a malfunction during the welding of one of the fuel tanks)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire destroys Tuscola recycling facility (a recycling business was destroyed by fire - a spark from a worker's cutting torch caused the fire - the alarm came in at 4:27 a.m. - the rear third of the building was engulfed in flame and smoke when firefighters arrived four minutes later - using two tanker trucks, firefighters got the bulk of the fire knocked down, but had to wait for more water and the fire "regained control"  - it had progressed at that point into the middle third of the building - several firefighters were treated at the scene for heat-related stress)

HOTWORK FIRE & PROPANE TANK EXPLOSION Meat packing plant saved from fire (firefighters were able to keep flames from destroying a meat packing plant - the fire started around 7:30 by a worker using a blow torch - he set the torch down near flammables - a small propane tank exploded and sent fire into an addition in the back of the old building as well as the attic - the USDA is on the scene and they will determine if the meat packing plant can re-open)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE cutting drum Employee injured in metal recycling business fire (an employee suffered underarm burns after materials he was cutting ignited in flames - details were sketchy but that the employee was using a battery-operated hand tool to slice up a 55-gallon drum in an area of the business where fuel is recycled - a spark from the hand tool, which was not a cutting torch, might have ignited some fuel or another liquid that was in the area)

HOTWORK FIRE Plant sustains fire damage, No injures reported, cause being probed (fire officials were investigating the cause of a fire at a beef processing plant that forced the evacuation of a warehouse - no one was injured in the blaze - the fire likely started from welding equipment outside a storage warehouse at the site - the stockyard area caught fire and flames spread to a wall of the building - four engines took roughly eight to 10 minutes to extinguish the fire - the warehouse held combustible materials, such as pallets of packaging cardboard, which did not catch fire)

 

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man dies from burns (a man, 31, died in a hospital from burns he received following an explosion in a mechanic's shop - he was cutting the top off of an empty barrel with a torch when the barrel exploded -  the explosion may have been caused when the torch ignited petroleum fumes that may have been in the barrel)

HOTWORK FIRE Metal cutter started fire at former furniture plant (investigators say sparks from a metal cutter ignited lacquer and started the massive fire at the old furniture plant - fire investigators say the sprinkler system was in full working order despite earlier reports of problems)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire damages former Little Gem Diner's roof (a fire broke out at the former Diner causing minor roof damage - construction crews had been using a torch on the roof and left combustibles too close to the heated area - it wasn't until a couple hours later that smoke was noticed coming from the building - the fire was put out quickly and no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker hurt in tanker truck explosion in Belton (a mechanic was injured after a tanker exploded and sent pieces of the truck flying more than 300 feet - employee was using a welder to repair a tanker when the fumes ignited and caused an explosion - worker was transported to a Medical Center for a broken arm and injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening - no other injuries were reported - the trucking company sustained damage to windows and gutters)

HOTWORK Fire Sparks at Lumber Yard in Ogemaw County (a fire caused more than 20,000 dollars worth of damage - flames spread quickly at the lumber yard after welding sparks fell upon sawdust and oil - firefighters were able to quickly control the flames - a board cutting machine, some lumber, and part of a shed were destroyed from the fire)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION  Tanker Truck Explodes; One Injured (fire officials are investigating a tanker truck explosion at a company that does service work on tankers - a worker was on top of a gasoline tanker making repairs when it exploded - flames from the welding torch may have sparked some residual fumes that could have been in the tanker – the explosion blew off the back of the tanker, sending it 50 feet and debris flew as far as 300 feet - one person was taken to a medical center with a broken arm and minor burns)

FATAL HOTWORK FIRE Airport fire kills Artesia worker (a contract worker cutting metal in an airport hanger apparently ignited flammable material and died in the resulting fire - Fire Department responded to the airport and extinguished a fire in an unoccupied hanger - firefighters then found the worker's body, 29 - he was

working on a project to modify the hanger - it is believed he died from the flames and smoke inhalation, but an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION  Welding linked to Drayton winery blast (a blast that killed two men and severely burned another at a winery three years ago could have been triggered when one of the victims began welding a tank - the explosion killed boilermaker, 59, and winery owner, 52, and left a young winemaker with burns to 80 per cent of his body - one of them had been welding a tank that contained a highly flammable liquid - he was welding a metal plate to tank 104, which he was unaware contained spiritus vini rectificatus (SVR) - a type of liquid ethanol used in the production of fortified wine)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire destroys Calvary Chapel Church in Enid (a fire broke out at a Church when some plumbing work was being done - a workman’s torch caused a fire that destroyed the church - a worker doing plumbing work started the fire but the man was able to get out of the building unharmed)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks ignite stubborn fire at Recycle Ann Arbor (a small but persistent blaze caused by welding sparks just before 9 a.m. kept fire crews busy for two hours at a Recycle business - the call for help went out when employees using extinguishers were unable to douse the flames - the sparks ignited “probably paper products” beneath a conveyor belt that was under repair - employees escaped uninjured - the conveyor, used for moving recyclables in the sorting process, was situated in a concrete “pit” inside a stainless steel housing - with no access door opening into the housing, firefighters had to use rotary saws on the hardened, plated steel to make openings for the fire’s suppression)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker Burned In Explosion At Texas Scrap Yard (a worker was
seriously burned in a tank explosion at a scrap yard - the tank exploded as he used a cutting torch - the injured worker was taken to a Hospital which has a burn unit - the accident involved some type of flammable substance in a tank, which exploded)

HOTWORK FATALITIES 4 workers overcome by fumes pronounced dead in hospital (four men died after they were overcome by fumes from a fire in a telecommunications building - the blaze broke out in an empty equipment room which was being renovated - five workers were inside the room when, according to an initial investigation, sparks from a cutting machine ignited insulation materials - four were overcome by the smoke and fumes - another managed to escape - the four were taken to hospital but later pronounced dead - the city government said the fire had been caused by "workers's improper operations" and that "no safety precautions had been taken")

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two workers killed in factory blast in east China (two people were killed when an oil tank exploded in a factory - an initial investigation showed that one man was filling the oil tank while another worker was welding nearby - sparks from the worker{apos}s welding torch caused the tank to explode)

BOOM TRUCK & HOTWORK Sign worker burned in freak accident (a sign worker attempting to take down a sign was severely injured in an accident - he was using a cutting torch and a boom to remove bolts from the  sign when one of the hot bolts fell and melted through a hydraulic hose on the boom - that caused pressurized hydraulic fluid to shoot out of the hose and into the path of the worker’s torch, in turn setting the worker and the sign on fire - he was on fire and jumped out of the boom, injuring his legs and breaking his ankles in the process - his back and lower body were severly burned - the sign, which was almost completely burned, stands more than 20 feet high - the worker’s boom was approximately 18 feet in the air when he jumped out of it)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed in explosion at metals recycling plant (a contractor, 30, died in an explosion at a metals recycling company - no other injuries were reported in the 1:45 p.m. incident - the explosion was sparked during a welding operation - he was cutting on a tank and it exploded - officials didn't know what was in the tank)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION - cutting drum Worker injured in explosion (a worker, 42, is in serious condition after an explosion - he was cutting a 55 gallon drum when the drum exploded - he received head and facial injuries and was rushed to a Medical Center - there was some oil left in the drum and possibly several other substances, which caused the explosion)

HOTWORK and DUST COLLECTOR Sparks, dust to blame for factory fire (welding sparks that got into a dust collection system are to blame for a fire at a factory - employees tried to douse the flames with fire extinguishers, but they couldn't contain them - firefighters were able to get the fire under control about two hours later - they estimate the fire caused about $10,000 in damage to contents inside the building - no one was hurt)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire damages Stratford business (a building in was nearly destroyed by fire - a large industrial building caught fire just after 1 p.m. when a welding torch ignited insulation - an employee was cutting some racks with a cutting torch and flames just took off up the insulation and crawled up the back wall - the employee opened a large overhead door, which allowed more oxygen into the building,

causing the fire to spread faster)

HOTWORK FIRE Tyson Plant Fire (a fire shuts down a food processing plant - the fire

started on the roof where workers were welding and was quickly put out - part of the plant was evacuated for a short time, but business is now back to normal)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION 1 dead, 3 hurt in blast at SE Texas chemical plant (one person is dead and three others are hurt after an explosion and flash fire at a chemical plant - witnesses report a worker was welding on a pipeline containing coal tar solvent when it exploded - two of the injured workers were airlifted to a

and another with burns and fractures to lower extremities - another worker was taken by ambulance with a concussion)

HOTWORK FIRE Minor fire erupts at IPL stadium (a minor fire erupted at the new cricket stadium being built - some 80 boxes containing LED screens and tiles were destroyed in the fire - no one was injured in the incident - laborers were busy completing the welding job, sparks emanating from the metal fell on the boxes kept in the storage room on the ground floor through the ducts kept for ventilation - people were alerted on seeing the smoke emerge from the room)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION - Cutting Drum Man injured in explosion at Clarksville hardware store (an oil drum that was believed to be empty exploded when the worker tried to cut into it using a blowtorch - worker was taken by ambulance for treatment for head injuries - the wounds were not thought to be life-threatening)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding accident leads to fire in Rome automotive business (two mechanics were welding inside when some sparks flew and quickly grew into a fire - fire department was called and worked for more than an hour to douse the flames - the structure is a complete loss. No one was hurt, but two dogs are missing)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire causes $50,000 in damages to Grandview P.S. (a small fire on the roof of a school caused about $50,000 in damages - a roofer’s torch sparked the fire at 2:47 p.m. - after fire crews removed the aluminum siding in the effected area, they were able to put the fire out on the roof before checking the interior of the school)

HOTWORK FIRE Oil tank fire snuffed out (a fire was doused at an above ground storage tank adjacent to an oil well - firefighters used foam to snuff out the fire - the fire started when heavy crude oil in the steel tank was ignited by a person cutting the metal tank's top with a torch during maintenance work - some 200 gallons of heavy crude were in the tank when the fire started but no oil escaped from the tank and there were no injuries - the tank stayed intact)

HOTWORK FATALITY City suspends building work after fatal accident (worker, 34, died after a drum that was being pried open by co-worker using welding equipment exploded - they were working on the 21st floor - as the worker started to pry open the cover, it exploded and hit the worker in the chest)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire at plant in Wilkins extinguished (firefighters have successfully squelched a blaze at an industrial plant that was likely sparked by a worker using a blowtorch - it was largely contained to four 55-gallon drums that contained aluminum metal shavings, a highly flammable material - the worker was using a blowtorch to open one of the drums - fire damaged a garage and some equipment in the garage)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Fines levied in Indiana Township explosion that killed 2 (OSHA has fined two companies involved in an oil tank explosion that killed two workers at a natural gas well in July - one company has been ordered to pay a $159,390 penalty and the other has been ordered to pay a $70,000 penalty - the explosion July 23 ignited a gas well fire that burned for 10 hours before being extinguished - one company owns the well and had contracted with the other company to repair a leaking barrel tank at the well site - one was cited for two "willful violations" involving: failure to ensure workers were welding on a thoroughly cleaned tank that did not contain flammable materials and failure to determine whether flammable/combustible or other hazardous materials were present - investigators found that oil had never been drained below a valve about a foot above ground - the contractor was also cited for "serious violations": failure to provide workers with flame retardant clothing protection while welding, failure to ensure that supervision determined the welder secured approval before beginning welding operations, failure to train employees in the specific procedures needed to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION One Killed, Two Injured after an Explosion at an Indiana Recycling Facility (one person, 45, was killed and two others were injured at Transfer and Recycling center after welding materials sparked a small explosion in a machine shop at the facility - two other people suffered burns and smoke inhalation during the explosion and small fire that resulted - fire department estimates damage to the building and materials to be around $10,000 - exact cause of the explosion and fire is still under investigation; however, published reports indicate that the worker was performing welding work on a tank that exploded)

HOTWORK Fire damages car dealership (damage from a fire at a car dealership was confined to the outside of the building - construction was being done on the building and the fire may have been caused by a cutting torch spark that spread into the walls)

HOTWORK FIRE Warehouse Fire Is Biggest in Pa. Town{apos}s History (about one million board feet of lumber was stored in the 50-foot by 300-foot building - two people were working inside the building at about 8:15 p.m., removing scrap metal with a

torch, when the fire accidentally started - no one was hurt - fire took about a million gallons of water, which drained two nearby ponds)

HOTWORK FIRE No injuries reported in Okla. grain elevator fire (fire officials say no one was hurt when fire broke out at a grain elevator about 7:30 a.m. - it appears a rubber conveyor belt system used to move grain had caught fire but there was no exposure to any of the grain bins - work had been done on the conveyor system Thursday, which involved welding, and that may have been the cause of the fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Sparks ignite truck fire at Luft Machine (a one and a half ton truck carrying a large water tank caught on fire - methanol had been mixed into the water in the tank to prevent it from freezing - employees were removing bolts on the tank using a torch when a spark caught the methanol on fire - fire dept used an alcohol-resistant foam to extinguish - roads around the business were closed as a precaution while firefighters worked to put out the flames)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE Repair shop worker burned by gas flash fire (a repair shop worker was injured Wednesday afternoon after an open bucket of gasoline ignited at a car repair business -workers had drained gasoline out of a vehicle into an open bucket on the floor - an employee used a torch to cut some bolts off a vehicle and do exhaust work and the gasoline caught fire - the burn victim said the fire flashed in his face and ignited his shirt, which he and another employee removed and threw on the floor - employees drove the man to the hospital after putting out the fire with a couple of fire extinguishers)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire at cement plant on Old Troup Highway (workers constructing a new roof on the structure were using a propane torch and accidentally ignited wooden material beneath the roofing - origin of the fire was located above the sales office and caused approximately $20,000 in damage - no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK Worker using propane torch on ice started storage fire (a massive fire that destroyed or damaged 58 units in a storage complex started when a manager attempted to melt ice with a propane torch - the property manager accidentally started the fire while attempting to melt ice with the torch)

HOTWORK and COMBUSTIBLE DUST Toner dust cited as cause of minor fire at Konica Minolta hazardous materials officials gave the all-clear after examining a structure fire where copy toner dust had caught fire - 40 employees were evacuated from the building just after the fire began at about 11:15 a.m. - workers, who were taking apart the factory’s manufacturing line, accidentally ignited with a blow torch residual toner dust inside a pipe they were dismantling – firefighters arrived to find only smoke at the scene)

HOTWORK Fire Crews Respond To Asarco Fire (employees were cutting metal with a cutting torch and inadvertently ignited titanium, which is a combustible metal - specialized equipment was called out but was not used because of lack of accessibility and high winds - water could not be used on the burning metal because the titanium would have reacted violently to the water - no injuries have been reported - fire reportedly took one hour to burn out)

HOTWORK FIRE in COOLING TOWER Fire breaks out at oil refinery in Romania, no injured (a fire broke out at the oil refinery at a cooling tower - the fire broke out around 10 a.m. at a 15 meter-high cooling tower, 200 meters away from the refinery's pyrolysis section - the refinery is closed for overhauling)

HOTWORK FIRE CREWS WORK TO TACKLE BLAZE ON SHIP (sparks from a welding torch had set fire to some clothing in the storeroom below the ship’s deck)

HOTWORK Small fire extinguished at Sacramento Bee press room (a small fire broke out in the press room of a newspaper but was extinguished without incident - the 8:45 a.m. fire forced an evacuation of the building and was apparently ignited by a spark from a welding job on new equipment installed in the room where the printing presses are housed - smoke worked its way into the building’s heating and air-conditioning system, spreading smoke to other areas of the building - workers in the press room were able to quickly put out the fire themselves before firefighters arrived, but there was still a lot of heavy smoke)

HOTWORK Fire at manufacturing building will slightly delay remodeling (workmen accidentally caused a fire while softening window caulking with a torch)

GRINDING HOTWORK and DUST COLLECTOR 1 person injured in fire at Yokohama Tire Corp. factory in Salem (a fire at a Tire factory injured one worker and sent others fleeing for at least the third time in a year - the fire burned inside the 41,560-square-foot factory for more than an hour before it was extinguished - one employee was taken to a Medical Center for smoke inhalation - the blaze started when a spark from a grinder on the factory's first floor ignited a dust collector - the machine caught fire, and flames spread through ventilation ducts to the second floor - flames were confined to the machine and duct work)

FLASH FIRE & HOTWORK on DRUM City Worker Critically Injured in Flash Fire at City Garage to be Flown to Burn Unit (at approximately 12:23 p.m. firefighters responded to a call at the City Garage - a city employee, 50, had been involved in a flash fire incident - he was tire repair person at the garage and was critically burned in the accident - he has worked for the city since 1978 - he had apparently been working with a blow torch on a 55 pound drum - he is listed in critical condition at a Hospital and will be transferred by air to a burn unit)

HOTWORK FIRE Oil tank fire snuffed out (a fire was doused at an above ground storage tank adjacent to an oil well - firefighters used foam to snuff out the fire - the fire started when heavy crude oil in the steel tank was ignited by a person cutting the metal tank{apos}s top with a torch during maintenance work - some 200 gallons of heavy crude were in the tank when the fire started but no oil escaped from the tank and there were no injuries - the tank stayed intact)

HOTWORK FATALITY City suspends building work after fatal accident (worker, 34, died after a drum that was being pried open by co-worker using welding equipment exploded - they were working on the 21st floor - as the worker started to pry open the cover, it exploded and hit the worker in the chest)

HOTWORK Small fire extinguished at Sacramento Bee press room (a small fire broke out in the press room of a newspaper but was extinguished without incident - the 8:45 a.m. fire forced an evacuation of the building and was apparently ignited by a spark from a welding job on new equipment installed in the room where the printing presses are housed - smoke worked its way into the building’s heating and air-conditioning system, spreading smoke to other areas of the building - workers in the press room were able to quickly put out the fire themselves before firefighters arrived, but there was still a lot of heavy smoke)

HOTWORK Fire at manufacturing building will slightly delay remodeling (workmen accidentally caused a fire while softening window caulking with a torch)

GRINDING HOTWORK and DUST COLLECTOR 1 person injured in fire at Yokohama Tire Corp. factory in Salem (a fire at a Tire factory injured one worker and sent others fleeing for at least the third time in a year - the fire burned inside the

41,560-square-foot factory for more than an hour before it was  extinguished - one employee was taken to a Medical Center for smoke inhalation - the blaze started when a spark from a grinder on the factory's first floor ignited a dust collector - the machine caught fire, and flames spread through ventilation ducts to the second floor - flames were confined to the machine and duct work)

FLASH FIRE HOTWORK on DRUM City Worker Critically Injured in Flash Fire at City Garage to be Flown to Burn Unit (at approximately 12:23 p.m. firefighters responded to a call at the  City Garage - a city employee, 50, had been involved in a flash fire incident - he was tire repair person at the garage and was critically burned in the accident - he has worked for the city since 1978 - he had apparently been working with a blow torch on a 55 pound drum - he is listed in critical condition at a Hospital and will be transferred by air to a burn unit)

Ephrata KFC Has Second Fire In 6 Months; Fire Damage Limited 
March 13, 2003 
EPHRATA, Pa. -- For the second time in six months there has been a fire at a fast-food restaurant in Lancaster County. The fire broke out Thursday morning at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on North Reading Road in Ephrata. Firefighters said the blaze started while a welder was working on an exhaust fan. There was only damage to an exhaust hood. In September, there was a fire at the restaurant that caused heavy damage to the building. The restaurant is still under construction from that fire. It is scheduled to open in three weeks.

UPDATE Maintenance mishap to blame
By RAQUEL EXNER, EDMONTON SUN
Maintenance workers at Ashbury Place were trying to thaw a frozen drainage line with a blowtorch when yesterday's fire broke out. Bill Watt, a maintenance man at the apartment building, said the line - traced to the parkade - was frozen and was causing water to leak into a suite. A couple of maintenance workers decided to use the torch and when some surrounding insulation caught fire, they used fire extinguishers to try and douse the blaze, he said. Watt then arrived on scene and also used a fire extinguisher to battle the blaze - but the fire wouldn't go out. "There were fire extinguishers right there," he said. "They were not going about this amateurly. They were well prepared." Fire investigators confirmed the torch ignited the insulation, which contained some cardboard, sparking the two-alarm blaze. "It's hard to see it go down," said Watt as he stood staring in disbelief at smoke pouring out of the building yesterday afternoon. "We put in security cameras, were just finishing off the roof, and put in hardwood and lino. The owner just purchased (the building) in mid-December." Late yesterday, Watt reached the owner, Allen Wasnea, who was out of the country on vacation. "He wasn't happy about it," said Watt. "He asked how it happened and said to make arrangements to find vacant suites (in other buildings he owns for the tenants)." Watt, relieved to later hear that the five trapped firefighters were all safe, said the owner changed the face of the neighborhood by renovating old buildings and cleaning up the area. The fire comes five months after a deadly apartment blaze in the neighborhood. A 48-year-old man died when he jumped from a burning suite at the River Valley Inn, 9710 105 St., and others had to be rescued from the 12-floor building. Five members of the Edmonton Eskimos football team who lived in the building rescued one woman who jumped to safety from the fourth floor.

Fire guts house
Barrie Examiner Wednesday, March 12, 2003 - 07:00 
Local News - Bright red Christmas ribbons are practically all that is left of a home that was gutted by fire yesterday on 8 Maw Court in Barrie. A plumber's soldering torch set off the blaze in the basement of the north-end home. Within seconds it got out of control and engulfed the entire home in flames at about 10 a.m. More than a dozen firefighters were called into action. A retired couple and their mother all got away safely when the plumber alerted them to the fire. “It really went up fast,” said the plumber, Jerry Johnson, who explained he was using a soldering torch when plastic insulation covering (vapor barrier) caught fire while he was doing some repairs. “When I realized I couldn’t control it, I got everybody out.” He said the mother, who was well into her eighties, did not want to leave the home. “She was sort of in shock and she just didn’t want to come out,” said Johnson. “I just grabbed her and took her out so that she was safe,” he said. “I can’t believe this,” said a grief-stricken home owner Linda Wozniak, as she walked away from her home that backs on to a quiet ravine. “I just want to get my mother to a safe place.” Her tiny mother, dressed in a skirt with pink-and-white sneakers and socks and bundled in a winter coat, clutched a plastic white shopping bag while fire fighter Tony Weir and the plumber gently held her elbows as they escorted her to a waiting car. “I just don’t know what will happen next” said Wozniak, in shock. “I can’t believe it. I don’t even know if my cat survived … I don’t know anything.” But a neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the little black and white calico cat was “safe and sound” after she brought it to her home. Several people witnessed the smoke billowing out of the bungalow that sits in an eight-year-old subdivision just off Ferndale Road in the north end of Barrie. “I just feel sick for those poor people,” said neighbour Arlene Lougheed as she clutched her hands to her chest and looked out her living room window, watching as flames licked through blackened windows of the home. “We didn’t know them well, but we often saw them out puttering in their beautiful garden.” Standing beside her, her husband Dan said he was shocked with how fast the home went up in smoke. “At first it looked like an innocent puff of smoke,” he said. “It spread so fast. Within minutes there were thick, black, dark clouds of smoke billowing out the windows in huge puffs.” While a bitter wind blew, it carried with it the acrid smell of smoke several blocks away from the scene, where walkers had to cover their noses and mouths with coat collars. Assistant fire chief Terry Dicks said it is undetermined whether the fire that started with the plastic insulation covering also ignited the underlying insulation. “In most cases the insulation is fairly fire retardant,” he said. “We are still investigating. Bottom line is … fire is unpredictable and any accident can happen in any house.” The owners did have home insurance and smoke detectors were installed in the house.

Man hurt in fuel depot blast
12mar03
A MAN is in a serious condition in hospital following an explosion at a Canberra fuel depot. It is the second industrial accident in a week following an electrocution at a building site. man aged in his mid-20s was welding at the depot in Fyshwick about 3.15pm when an explosion occurred, ACT Police said. He was taken to Canberra Hospital in a serious condition. No details were available on his injuries. Last wednesday, 34-year-old Craig Francis Ryan from Kambah died after being electrocuted on a building site in Fyshwick. ACT WorkCover is investigating both incidents.

Blaze traced to stairwell; NO ONE INJURED; WELDER'S WORK EYED AS CAUSE
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears And Laura Yuen HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Lexington fire officials are investigating whether a welder might have started a fire that apparently began in an open stairwell and raced through an apartment building yesterday, forcing at least 14 residents to move to undamaged apartments in the same complex. One cat was reportedly killed by the fire that began about 9:49 a.m., but no one had been reported injured by late yesterday at the Steeplechase Apartments at 305 Lindenhurst Drive. The private contractor apparently was working on a metal stairway on the outside of the building, Battalion Chief Jim Wells said. Wells said the fire could have started inside the building by the heat conducted from the torch or on the outside from the torch's flame, Wells said. Ten minutes might have passed before the welder noticed the fire, Wells said. Firefighters expected to contend with hidden fires and smoldering remains until at least 7 a.m. today, said Capt. Mike Gribbin. The cause of the blaze was still under investigation, Fire Chief Robert Hendricks. said, but fire officials said yesterday it probably was accidental. Amy Brunstetter, whose apartment was gutted, said she sat straight up in bed at the sound of two ringing fire alarms. Smoke filled her living room and was seeping under her bedroom door. "I got my animals out and went outside. Smoke was pouring out of the building, flames were engulfing the chimney. ... My window imploded," she said. Brunstetter, a massage therapist, said she expected that the Salvation Army and family and friends would all pitch in to help her replace what she had lost. "I think somebody has already notified my church," she said. By mid-afternoon, Brunstetter could account for her dog, but hadn't seen her two cats. In all, 16 units in one building were either destroyed or heavily damaged by the fire, but no one was living in two of the apartments, Hendricks said. In addition to being offered living arrangements in other Steeplechase apartments, residents had their immediate needs assessed by representatives of the American Red Cross by 2:30 p.m., Steeplechase officials said. 

Fire damages building, organization's efforts
By Bill Teeter Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - A welding torch sparked a fire that burned a portion of Southside Preservation Hall in the Fairmount neighborhood, leaving the non-profit group that owns it wondering whether the flames had consumed eight years of restoration work. The fire started in the northeast corner of the first floor of the 3-story, 1923 add-on to the 1909 church building operated by the Southside Preservation Association, said Fire Department Lt. Kent Worley. The fire was reported at 3:50 p.m., and firefighters needed about 45 minutes to put it out, Worley said. No injuries were reported and no estimate of the amount of the damage had been made Sunday night. A welder had been working Sunday to repair some bars over a window. Smoldering materials left after the job caused the fire, Worley said. Most of the fire, heat and smoke damage was in the northeast corner of the old church school, he said. Wooden structural pieces in the building burned readily, making firefighting tougher, he said. "There were a lot of heavy timbers that were put in there when it was built," he said. Many in the area consider the building at 1519 Lipscomb St. historically important, and it is used for a variety of community functions, including meetings of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association and swing dance lessons. It also houses the offices for Southside Preservation, a group dedicated to preserving buildings and homes in the area, said Rose Lynn Scott, the group's director. As smoke billowed from the upper windows and firefighters moved in and out of the building, Scott reflected on the work that had gone into it and the work that was yet to be done. She wondered if the group would have the resources to fix the damage. "I certainly hope it's not beyond saving. It looks like our job just got tougher, or it's over. One of the two," Scott said. The initial occupant, Central Methodist Church, moved out of the building in 1969, and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth occupied it from 1969 to 1995, she said. In 1995, the building was threatened with demolition, but the nonprofit association took control of it, paying $10 to the Boys & Girls Club. Marianna Thrapp, treasurer of the neighborhood association, said as she watched firefighters work: "It's our gem. It's good for the neighborhood. '"If there is a need, I'll go crawling through there and clean it up and we'll start again," Thrapp said. One resident who called the fire department was Carlos Serna, 31, who was at a nearby cookout when the thick smoke wafted through the neighborhood. Serna said he dialed 911 on his mobile telephone and watched as flames came through the windows and lapped far up the side of the building. 

Blaze damages railcar 
March 8th, 2003 By Nathan Isaacs Herald staff writer
Work to refurbish a railcar at Gunderson Northwest in Finley likely caused an insulation fire Friday. Firefighters from Benton County Fire District 1 had to take precautions against toxic smoke while fighting the blaze. Capt. Jeff Ripley said the railcar's polyurethane foam insulation is toxic when it burns. But he said the smoke quickly dissipated as it was blown east, away from nearby homes. He said no residents were in danger and no one was injured. Gunderson Northwest employees continued to work while firefighters fought the fire. Firefighters were called at 11:10 a.m. to the 40-acre facility on Cochran Road. Ripley said the fire was probably caused by grinding or welding work in the boxcar. The railcar looked ravaged, but Ripley believes it may be salvageable. After all, he said, Gunderson Northwest's business is refurbishing. Gunderson Northwest services about 1,800 railcars a year for 25 different customers across the country. The company recently signed a $20 million contract between Greenbrier and refrigerated boxcar leasing company Cryo-Trans Inc. to build and modify more than 200 railcars with nose-mount refrigeration units and global positioning systems.

UPDATE Company to pay $33,000 after worker dies 
Triple R Engineering prosecuted by OSH after a worker was severely burnt in an explosion. A North Island engineering firm has been sentenced to pay $33,000 after one of its workers died following an explosion. Triple R Engineering was prosecuted in the Palmnerston North District Court by OSH after the worker was severely burnt in the explosion and died five weeks later. Occupational Safety and Health Service says the accident happened when the worker was conducting welding work on a dual-compartment fuel tank which had contained diesel and petrol. The tank exploded, causing fatal injuries. OSH spokeswoman Linda Murphy says $20,000 of the money has gone to the victim's family. She says the company failed to identify the hazards involved in doing this work and did not have proper safety procedures in place to prevent this accident happening. Another firm, Abrasive Blast Cleaning Ltd, was also prosecuted last year in relation to this accident. They pleaded guilty to four charges and were sentenced to pay $27,500. 

Fire, explosions destroy building 
By RAED BATTAH NEW ERA / DANNY VOWELL 
Fire raced through a building on Mitch Lane Tuesday, leading to several explosions but luckily no injuries. Clay Mohon, of Northridge Drive, owns and manages Mohon Mowing Service, which was housed in the 40-foot by 80-foot building. Mohon said the fire destroyed all of his equipment including three tractors and three mowers. "Everything got burned," Mohon said. "But, luckily no one was hurt and that's all that matters." Mohon said at least three of his employees were in the building but were able to get out unharmed. David Grace owns the building, which housed Mohon's business, in addition to four other buildings nearby. Grace said it was hard to tell exactly what happened. "I know it got hot," Grace said. "You can see some of the roofing on the adjacent building bubbling from the heat." While the cause is still under investigation, the fire is believed to have started when sparks from either a welding or cutting torch ignited material nearby and spread quickly throughout the building. The fire made its way t an acetylene tank used for cutting torches, causing the tank to explode. The explosion blew out the southern wall of the building, sending cinder block debris all over the side drive of the building. West Side Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Beverly Farrington said black smoke from the fire was visible from several miles away. "It looks like it may have been a repair accident," Farrington said. "They do a lot of welding and cutting work on their equipment in there." "There were at least three or four explosions," one witness said. "I stopped counting after that." The other explosions were likely gas tanks on some of the equipment stored in the building. Jamie Butler, an employee at neighboring Maxwell Automotive, said he and co-workers tried to help with fire extinguishers but were too late. "By the time we made it over the whole inside was on fire," Butler said. "Then the fire caught the tanks and blew out the wall." The fire completely destroyed the building and all of its contents. Farrington said there appeared to be no danger from any chemicals that may have burned in the fire. "If we suspected some serious chemical problems we would call the Hazardous Material Team or Disaster Emergency Services (DES). West Side Volunteer Fire Department was backed up by Highland Fire Department to control the scene. The blaze occurred around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon. 

UPDATE Trash transfer station to reopen on Friday
MIKE ACKERMAN, Dispatch Staff Writer March 05, 2003 
SULLIVAN - The Madison County Department of Solid Waste and Sanitation is set to reopen the Bolivar Road transfer station, which burned February 7 when debris in a portion of the trash compactor caught fire after welders had worked on a section of wall. According to county landfill director Jim Zecca, debris from the fire has been removed from the facility and operation will resume Friday, March 7. "This is an interim measure that will satisfy the needs of the region pending a final decision regarding the construction of a new transfer station," Zecca said. ustomers will find the same services available, said Zecca, with hours of operation staying the same, Fridays and Saturdays from 7:10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The site has been reconfigured with a new traffic pattern. Trash will be placed in designated containers for an interim period. According to Zecca, the fire started long after the welders had left the scene. An apparent spill-over of trash behind the compactor smoldered for several hours before the fire was noticed by a Chittenango police officer. Zecca said the welding was routine maintenance and was performed properly with employees dousing the compactor with water before commencing the welding procedure. "It must have been a pile of trash debris on the back side of the compactor that built up over time," said Zecca after the fire. Since the fire, Sullivan residents have had to travel to either the transfer station in Cazenovia or to the main landfill in Lincoln. The station was closed for investigative and insurance reasons since the fire. The fire destroyed the transfer station building and completely burned a skid loader. "Safety is our top concern," he said. "Once the site was clear we were able to position receptacles for disposal of trash and recyclables and establish a new traffic pattern,'' Zecca added that the interim setup may be a bit awkward and slow at first, but it was his hope that users would be patient. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Madison County bridge crew and the Town of Sullivan Highway Department for assisting the Department of Solid Waste in removing the charred structure and clearing the Bolivar site, making it possible for us to reopen." During a recent Solid Waste and Recycling Committee meeting, the committee instructed engineering firm Barton and Loguidice, to design plans for a new station building, assuming the transfer station can be built within the preliminary cost estimates provided by the firm. "We hope to finalize plans with the county board of supervisors and bid out construction by early spring," Zecca said. 

UPDATE Propane torch likely cause of blaze, investigators say
By MARLA CRANSTON The Daily News 
A propane torch used by roofing contractors was the likely culprit behind last week’s blaze on Gottingen Street, Halifax regional fire investigators confirmed Monday. No criminal charges are pending in the accidental fire, which left 20 people homeless and destroyed three businesses, fire-prevention manager Mike LeRue and Craig MacDonald told a news conference at Halifax City Hall. The problems began when workmen from Five Star Roofing and Masonry repaired an outdoor canopy above the first floor of 2098 Gottingen St. “They were applying a roofing membrane that requires a propane torch to heat it to cause it to seal, to set it in place. This is a normal practice, and there are precautions that should be taken,” said MacDonald, adding on-site fire extinguishers and a fire-safety plan were in place at the time. But the torch heated up a nearby wallspace, and the smouldering spread throughout the building’s walls, floors and ceilings for 45 minutes before any flames were visible. Tenant John Bouris, also a contractor, spotted smoke coming up through his living room floorboards, alerting the roofers immediately. They used fire extinguishers and buckets of water on the area, and made periodic checks afterward. “I think it was an honest mistake,” Bouris said as he wandered around the rubble looking for his cat Geronimo, missing since the fire. “It’s a tricky business using torches on old houses. You have to be really, really careful, and they know that. I’m sure they feel badly enough. I’m just glad everybody got out.” Bouris and partner Sheila Burke, who owned the Glamourama clothing store underneath their flat, lost everything. They had tried to get insurance several times, but were declined. Bouris hopes tenants will be fully compensated for their losses, but in the meantime, he’s heartened by the fundraising efforts underway. “People have been wonderful. I’m amazed at their generosity,” he said. Tonight, the Khyber Club at 1588 Barrington St. hosts a benefit show with Superfriendz, Dusty Sorbet and The Debonnaires, starting at 9 p.m. for a suggested donation of $8. After raising $1,000 on Sunday, the Marquee Club hosts another benefit show March 15 with The Heelwalkers and guests. Metro’s Royal Bank branches are also taking donations for the North End Fire Relief Fund, through account number 1021195, transit 0003. The roofing company and property owner Steve Abbass, who also lost his home in the fire, did not return calls yesterday.

Fire ruins car dealership 
Tuesday, March 4, 2003 By AMY KLEIN Staff Writer 
CLIFFSIDE PARK - An intense fire triggered by a gasoline-tank explosion raged through a family-owned auto dealership Monday, totaling the building and reducing a fleet of pickup trucks and sedans to skeletons. No one was injured in the blaze at C & C Ford that took about 100 firefighters from nine towns two hours to extinguish, said Cliffside Park Fire Chief Frank Poerio. Fire officials evacuated the block around the dealership at 508 Anderson Ave., near Edgewater Road, along with some homes and a nearby day-care center. Plumes of smoke could be seen for miles. Monday's fire was the second blaze in nine months to destroy a family-owned Anderson Avenue business. In June, an electrical fire gutted the Garden State News convenience store several blocks north. The Ford dealership, which the Cella family has owned for more than three decades, was a second home for the 25 employees who worked in the small showroom and service area. Owner Bill Cella said his business was known as the place where people came to get their first car - and then returned to get their teenager's first vehicle. He said he plans to rebuild. "The most important thing was that we got everyone out safely," Cella said, staring at the hole where the front windows of his showroom once were. Twenty to 30 cars were inside the showroom and service area at the time. Huddled in the parking lot of A.K. Macagna Funeral Home across the street, many longtime employees mourned the loss, as car horns blared and tires popped in the smoldering ruins Monday afternoon. "This is a piece of me, a piece of home," said Ruth Strobel, the dealership's office manager, who worked for C & C for 14 years. "We all love each other," said Janice Banomo, Strobel's assistant. Strobel was at her desk on the second floor around noon when the fire alarm sounded and she heard people yelling to get out. Terrified, she and other employees fled down a flight of stairs, through a smoky hallway, and out into the cold. Kendal Brown, who ran the prep department in the basement of the dealership, said the fire began when an employee was using a welding machine and a gasoline tank in a nearby bay fell over. The sparks from the torch ignited the leaking gas, Brown said. Poerio said an investigation into the exact cause of the blaze had not been completed as of Monday afternoon, but preliminary reports confirmed Brown's account. Responding to a report of a car fire, firefighters who arrived at the back of the building were surprised when an explosion suddenly sent flames through the roof, he said. "That gas tank let loose and the whole building went up," Poerio said. The explosion singed the side of a Fairview ladder truck parked in front of the dealership, melting its lights and shattering the windows. A Fairview fire official said the ladder would have to be tested to determine whether the truck was destroyed. An adjacent nail salon was partially damaged by smoke, but there was little damage to other businesses, fire officials said. 

Montana Digest: Welding accident causes fire 
Associated Press News briefs 
MISSOULA (AP) - A Missoula man who died in an apartment fire accidentally set the blaze while welding, Missoula County Sheriff's Captain Don Morman said Friday. Ronald Albert Coward, 37, died Thursday afternoon. The state crime lab is doing an autopsy. Coward, who had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair, made a 911 call at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday after a small welding unit he was using ignited his clothes, fire inspector Jason Diehl said. 

UPDATE Police detain Vietnamese-American man for his role in deadly fire
The Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam
Police have detained an American man of Vietnamese origin who owned the Ho Chi Minh City disco destroyed in a fire last year that killed 60 people, state-controlled media reported Saturday. Nguyen Van Phuong, also known as Paul Nguyen, 41, was placed in police custody Friday for "violations of regulations on fire prevention and control," the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported. Phuong's house in the southern city's Thu Duc District was searched by police, the paper said. Police and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi declined to comment on Phuong's detainment. His U.S. hometown was not given. Also Friday, police detained the disco's manager, Nguyen Trong Cuong, for "negligence causing serious consequences," the newspaper said. Police are questioning seven other people, including Phuong's wife. The fire started in the Blue disco after a welding torch accidentally ignited plastic decoration sheets on the ceiling. The club was located on the third floor of the six-story International Trade Center, which is home to hundreds of offices and shops. The Oct. 29 blaze was the worst fire in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Published: Friday, February 28, 2003 23:09 PST 

Worker injured after fuel tank on boat explodes in Pompano
sun-sentinel.com February 28, 2003, 3:24 PM EST
POMPANO BEACH – The fuel tank on a large boat being worked on outside a metal fabrication plant exploded and caught fire on Friday, injuring one worker, Fire Rescue said. The incident sent the unidentified worker to North Broward Medical Center with second-degree burns on his arms and facial burns. The injuries were not considered life threatening. No other injuries were reported. The boat was destroyed. A damage estimate was not immediately available. The accident occurred at 12:45 p.m. at the Doll Marine Metal Fabrication plant on the 200 block of South Dixie Highway when the worker used a saw to cut into the boat’s fuel tank, setting off a flash fire and small explosion, said Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King. King said the worker later told emergency workers that he did not know what happened to set off the tank. He said the tank had been drained of fuel and flushed with both soap and water before he began cutting into it. The investigation continues. 

Thawing Pipes Nearly End In Disaster; Owner Accidentally Starts Fire Near Lounge 
POSTED: 8:44 a.m. EST February 27, 2003 
GREENVILLE, N.H. -- A historic Greenville inn nearly went up in flames Wednesday. Red Brick Inn owner Dave Barry inadvertently started a fire near the inn's downstairs lounge as he tried to thaw frozen pipes with a propane torch. The torch lit some surrounding woodwork on fire. Firefighters said Barry avoided a disaster by throwing a pail of water on the fire, immediately after calling for help. The building was evacuated during the fire, but was open for business again later that day. Deputy Fire Chief Jim Stimans advised using products such as heating tape or a heat gun to thaw pipes, rather than any sort of open flame. 

Deadly House Fire
The fire marshal has determined the cause of a fatal fire in Hampton. They say a blow torch used to thaw frozen pipes underneath the bathroom floor was the cause. Early Wednesday morning, firefighters pulled 40-year old Delmar Campbell from the smoky house. Campbell died at the scene. He was the only person living at the residence.

Fire damages business; Granville landscape company to remain open
Todd Seimer, The Advocate 
GRANVILLE TOWNSHIP -- Crews from three area fire departments battled a fire Wednesday night at a Granville landscaping business off Old River Road. The blaze was reported about 9:09 p.m. at John Klauder Associates Landscape & Design at 950 Old River Road, Granville police said. No one was injured in the fire that apparently started in the rear of the business and spread quickly, severely damaging the structure and its contents. A mechanic was welding a car in a garage when a spark caught a part of the car on fire, said Klauder. The mechanic got out in time and was not hurt. Firefighters did not enter the building to fight the blaze because the 60-foot by 40-foot garage became unsafe as the fire spread, said Lt. Tom Bowman of the Granville Fire Department. moke from the fire could be seen by passersby on Ohio 16. Granville firefighters were assisted by area departments that included Newark and Alexandria. Klauder didn't have a damage estimate early today. He said he lost some inventory, small power and hand tools and racing cars his mechanic and foreman were working on in the building. Most of the firm's heavy machinery, such as front-end loaders, was saved. Another building that houses Klauder's office was not damaged. The fire hasn't shut Klauder down. "We're open for business," he said early today. "I have an existing warehouse on the premises where I'll relocate material for storing." The business, which is well-known in Granville, was closed for the day when the fire broke out. 

Fire Destroys Business in Clinton County
Emergency crews in Clinton County worked quickly to stop what could have been an explosive situation. Fire officials near Lock Haven said flames broke out at a gas station around 10:30 Wednesday morning. They say a man was welding too close to a fuel tank, and that sparked the blaze. It destroyed the building but didn't spread to nearby gas tanks. Everyone inside got out safely. The owner says he will rebuild his business. 

Fire Causes Downtown Deli To Shut Down; Water Damages Kitchen Area 
February 25, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS -- It may be several weeks before a popular downtown delicatessen reopens following a Monday fire. The fire caused around $75,000 damage to Shapiro's Kosher Style Foods, but officials said it's the heavy water damage that will shut it down for three to five weeks, RTV6's Grace Trahan reported. "Thousands of gallons of water have flushed through the building," owner Brian Shapiro said. "The fire essentially started on a third floor and permeated all the way to the basement." Investigators want to make sure a mold problem doesn't develop, Trahan reported. The entire kitchen system was also ruined. The fire was sparked after a general contractor was welding on the roof. Shapiro said the fire department responded quickly but the sprinkler system put out the fire. Shapiro said he's relieved some of his personal items in the building were saved. "Where the fire occurred was in my great-grandparents' apartment, and that was built at the turn of the century. Fortunately, none of the antiques were harmed," Shapiro said. Around 100 customers were in the restaurant when the fire broke out. No one was hurt during the evacuation, Trahan reported.

60 Doran workers evacuated in fire from welding accident
Andrew Blejwas, Register Staff February 25, 2003
SHELTON — About 60 employees were evacuated from a local manufacturing plant Monday when a welding accident sparked a fire, officials said. Fire officials responded to a call of a blaze in the welding shop area of Doran Manufacturing at 6 Waterview Drive at 10:50 a.m. Monday. By the time the fire department arrived on scene the building’s employees had left the plant and smoke was pouring out of the building’s ventilation units. "There was just a lot of smoke, when I heard there was a fire I got right out," said Thomas Fernandez, who works in the firm’s front office. Fire officials estimated the fire, which started in the building’s grinding shop, caused $25,000 in damage. "I would suspect there is quite a bit of smoke damage that’s going to require some extensive repairs," said Fire Chief John Millo. Immediately after the fire broke out, employees attempted to extinguish the blaze with fire extinguishers, a fire official said. Aided by the building’s sprinkler system, employees were able to contain the fire until the fire department arrived. Employees said the building quickly filled with smoke. "I wasn’t in the area where it started but there was a lot of smoke everywhere, and flames," said one employee who asked to not be identified. Employees stood in the parking lot and watched as fire fighters used the plant’s exhaust system to help remove smoke from the 50,000-square-foot building. Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Rockwell said employees at the company, which manufactures sheet metal for use in boxes, use the grinding area, where the fire started, to grind down sharp edges of the metal. "In the grinding process, sparks go into a collection system and are sucked into a machine and filtered," said Rockwell. "The fire appears to have originated in that filter." Rockwell said the fire was contained to the grinding area and a cabinet of plastic boxes that also ignited. Millo said the fire was under control in less than 30 minutes, partly as a result of help from the plant’s maintenance supervisor, who helped direct fire fighters on scene. Shortly after the blaze, many of the plant’s employees were told to go home for the day as cleanup work began. A company spokesman could not be reached for comment Monday.

Fire Destroys Paint Facility at Mobile Home Manufacturer 
Fire has destroyed the paint facility at Friendship Homes in Montevideo. Friendship's Safety Manager Melody Hobbie says the fire broke out shortly after seven yesterday morning as workers were trying to thaw a frozen paint line. She said workers tried to put out the fire, but it quickly engulfed the building. No injuries were reported and the Montevideo Fire Department responded immediately. Hobbie says they hope to have a temporary painting facility up and running later in the week while they rebuild the painting facility. Friendship Homes makes mobile homes. 

Soldering work ignited destructive blaze, Aspen fire marshal says
By Naomi Havlen Aspen Times Staff Writer 
A soldering operation at a construction site in the Aspen Business Center near the airport caused last week's fire that resulted in $750,000 in damage, the Aspen fire marshal said. The blaze, which was reported shortly after 10 p.m. on Feb. 18, probably smoldered for hours after construction workers left for the day before erupting into the flames that destroyed about half the structure. Eight units are planned for the building, with one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominiums being refurbished by developer Greg Hills for sale on the free market. Aspen Fire Marshal Ed Van Walraven said the fire began in the ceiling of a basement-level mechanical room, where a leftover hot spot from a soldering operation on copper pipes that day ignited. The fire smoldered in the ceiling before turning into flames that moved up a shaft carrying pipes from the basement. Once in the attic and roof, the fire spread quickly. Firefighters gained full control over the blaze a little before midnight, although sheets of plastic covering large portions of the structure made visibility difficult. Seven fire engines and 30 firefighters responded. No one was injured. Van Walraven said fires caused by soldering work can be prevented if a worker checks thoroughly to make sure all hot spots are out with a fire extinguisher, and then keeps watch over the area for at least 30 more minutes to make sure nothing is smoldering. "It could have been prevented, probably with a little more diligence," he said. "This fella did what he thought he needed to do, but he didn't get all of the spots." Van Walraven added sometimes fires can erupt suddenly even though a worker was diligent. Last July a fire erupted for the same reason inside a wall in The Aspen Times. Van Walraven said the person soldering those pipes was careful about putting out hot spots, but added accidents do happen. "We're trying to get the word out to really check work when using a torch," he said. "The best way to prevent this from happening is to stick around and make sure nothing is ignited in the area being worked on." 

Worker Suffers Burns in Small Explosion on Hy-Vee Roof
Friday, February 21, 2003, 3:00:43 PM
(Cedar Falls-AP) -- A construction worker has suffered burns in a small explosion in Cedar Falls. Officials say the worker was on top of a Hy-Vee grocery store this morning and was burned when a torch he was using ignited a glue basket. The man is being treated at University Hospitals in Iowa City. The incident happened about 7:30 a.m. The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived. The store's operations weren't affected.

Fire Damages Auto Repair Shop
Rochester, NY - Investigators said a two-alarm fire on St. Paul Street Thursday night was an accident. The fire started at approximately 9:30 p.m. in a warehouse used as an auto repair shop on St. Paul near Upper Falls Boulevard. Firefighters reported that work done earlier on Thursday with a plumbing torch caused the fire. Emergency crews had a portion of St. Paul closed for several hours while the fire was brought under control. 

Basement fire evacuates county home 
By Adam Coates Flyer Staff Writer 
DANVILLE -- A group of residents from the Hendricks County Home spent time at the Hendricks County Jail last weekend, but it wasn't because they had committed any crimes. Residents were transported to the jail for a brief period of time Sunday morning after a small fire flared up in the basement of the county home, leaving a trail of smoke to filter its way through the building. Workers in charge at the home made the decision to transport the 17 residents to the jail so as not to expose them to the smoke. Firefighters from the Danville Fire Department responded and quickly extinguished the fire before it spread or caused any serious damage to the home. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident, County Home Director Peggy Nichols said. Nichols said she was not working at the time but quickly rushed to the facility when she received a phone call from one of her employees. "It went great," Nichols said of the firefighters' effort. "The fire department responded in a good amount of time and prevented a much more serious incident." Nichols said the fire began Sunday morning while a maintenance worker at the county home was attempting to defrost a frozen hot water pipe in the basement by using a fuel-powered torch. Hendricks County Engineer John Ayers said the flame from the torch accidentally ignited a build-up of dryer lint and caused a brief flash of fire that produced enough smoke to warrant calling the fire department. Nichols said that later that day, the frozen pipe eventually burst, leaving the facility without hot water until Tuesday when crews were able to return to the home and repair the pipe. 

Close call for houses
ANDREW EALES Thursday, 20 February 2003
Near thing: Yesterday afternoon's fire came close to this house south of Smythesdale. A FIRE started by a welder 5km south of Smythesdale came perilously close to destroying houses last night. CFA crews were called to a Woodland Dve address about 5.15pm after failed attempts by a man, on whose property the fire started, to dowse the flames. The fire quickly spread towards a nearby house, which was unattended, singeing the exterior walls. It also razed a shed where a number of old household and gardening items were destroyed. Firefighters from Scarsdale, Smythesdale, Linton and Cape Clear were quickly on the scene to save the house, but were worried the fire would spread into nearby bushland and a pine plantation. Fortunately crews were able to contain the blaze before it spread too far into the plantation. 

UPDATE Ocean liner fire case goes to prosecutors
NAGASAKI (Kyodo) Nagasaki Prefectural Police turned over to prosecutors Thursday their negligence case against seven people in connection with a fire that severely damaged a nearly completed ocean liner in October. The fire broke out aboard the 113,000-ton Diamond Princess as the liner was undergoing interior work at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shipyard in Nagasaki. The cause of the blaze was attributed to onboard welding work. The seven, suspected of professional negligence resulting in the fire, include two welders and MHI officials responsible for the work. Police said they turned their criminal case over to prosecutors because of the huge amount of damage to the vessel -- said to amount to some 30 billion yen -- as well as the large social impact the fire had. Workers were welding pipes to the ceiling on the fourth deck of the ship at around 5:20 p.m. Oct. 1 when the 5-mm-thick steel plate overheated and set fire to wooden furniture in a cabin on the deck above, according to police. The blaze then proceeded to gut some 40 percent of the 14-deck liner, one of the largest in the world. MHI work procedures require supervisors to be posted at locations where fire is being used near flammable objects. But were was no one in cabin 320, where the fire broke out. Police said the seven failed to fulfill their "obligation to predict and prevent a fire." After the fire, MHI and the ship's owner, British shipping firm P & O Princess Cruises PLC, agreed to rename the vessel Sapphire Princess and push back its delivery date to May 2004 from this June. 

Worker Critically Burned After Hydraulic Line Bursts 
PORTLAND -- A dockworker was in critical condition Wednesday after an industrial accident at a north Portland dry dock. The woman, whose name was not immediately released, was working on a platform suspended above a barge when a hydraulic line burst. She accidentally ignited the oil with her torch around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday and was caught in a flash fire. Portland firefighters used a crane to lift the woman to safety. Doctors at Legacy Emanuel Hospital said the woman has burns over 80 percent of her body. The incident remains under investigation. 

Schnack's fire ruled accidental
Mandy M. Goodnight / The Town Talk Posted on February 19, 2003
Fire officials have ruled as accidental a Monday evening two-alarm fire that damaged the storage building behind the former Schnack's building in downtown Alexandria. On Tuesday, businesses like Hibernia National Bank and Caplan's Men's Shops opened despite some smoke damage to their respective buildings. The fire started in an area where construction workers were using a cutting torch on a boiler, Tom Force of the Alexandria Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau said Tuesday. Workers tried to keep the boiler cool by pouring water on it, but it wasn't enough to prevent a fire from starting within one of the building's walls. Passing motorists reported smoke coming from the building about 5:15 p.m. Monday. Smoke covered the downtown Alexandria skyline, firefighters said. The Fourth and Desoto streets building, owned by Buddy Tudor and Mike Small, is being renovated into a restaurant. The blaze did not heavily damage the exterior of the building. Lumber and other items were in the storage room at the time of the blaze. A fire of that nature "could happen to anybody," Force said. Firefighters from four stations were able to contain the two-alarm fire before it spread to other buildings. No one was injured, and night employees at the downtown bank were evacuated as a precaution. Alexandria Hibernia President Wayne Denley said Tuesday that normal operations were ongoing and the lobby smelled "as sweet as ever." Jackie Caplan said Monday night that firefighters were able to get the smoke out of the men's clothing store, and the store was not planning a fire sale. Mike Grantham of the Alexandria Fire Department said a second alarm on the fire was called to provide extra manpower. He said firefighters did an "excellent" job containing the blaze and getting it out quickly. 

Torch spark may have caused sawmill fire 
BROOKFIELD - Investigators suspect that a spark from a welder's torch caused the weekend fire that destroyed a Brookfield sawmill. Workers were welding Friday afternoon at Brookfield Lumber Company's sawmill, and the building was ablaze by 1 a.m. Saturday, said deputy fire marshal Bob Orr. The investigation is finished, he added. 

UPDATE Company found guilty after employee dies in explosion 
TUESDAY , 18 FEBRUARY 2003 
A Palmerston North engineering company has been found guilty of breaching industrial safety law after an employee was killed in an explosion almost two years ago. Roy Hall, 58, was killed after the tank he was welding exploded in a workshop of Triple R Engineering at Newbury on September 20, 2001. He died in Waikato Hospital on October 24. Two firms were charged by Occupational Safety and Health under industrial legislation. Abrasive Blast Cleaning pleaded guilty to four charges last year and was fined $27,500, with a $17,500 contribution going to Mrs Hall, while Triple R Engineering defended two charges. The hearing was held in Palmerston North District Court before Judge Barry Lovegrove from September 1-3. Triple R Engineering was charged with failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of its worker and with failing to have in place an effective method of identifying new workplace hazards. Judge Lovegrove reserved his decision after the hearing. Widow Levona Hall said she and her two sons had been "in limbo" and "extremely frustrated" during the five-month wait for the verdict. "Thank God – it's such a relief; it's been pretty tough going," she said. "I need to put it behind me and get on with life." The company will be sentenced on February 27. Mrs Hall said she expected the inquest to be held mid-March. 

Meggitt home badly damaged by Sunday fire 
A fire in Erie County displaced a family and caused thousands of dollars in damage Sunday morning after a man tried to thaw frozen pipes with a torch. According to reports from the Margaretta Fire Department, damage at the Charles Meggitt residence, 3511 Lima Sandusky Road, is estimated at $45,000. There is extensive damage in the kitchen and basement, and heat damage throughout the house. The fire started in a crawl space near the front porch at 9:18 a.m. Sunday after Meggitt tried to thaw frozen pipes with a propane torch, reports show. No one was injured in the fire. Reports do not indicate how many people live at the residence or how many were home when the fire started. The Erie County Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the homeowner/s. The Sandusky (City) Fire Department and Bayview Township Fire Department also assisted at the scene. 

Fire destroys building in Winfield 
From Staff Reports 
WINFIELD - Two men using a torch in a large garage on Manning Street Saturday morning accidentally ignited a bucket containing some sort of flammable liquid. "They attempted to fight the fire with a fire extinguisher and they ended up spreading the fire," said. WFD Capt. Darryl Littrell. The house owned by Fairel Bryce was only about 10 feet from the shop, which used to be part of an old salvage shop behind the house that her husband ran. When Winfield firefighters arrived on the scene they found fire coming out of all the windows and doors as well as the roof to the 40-foot by 25-foot structure. "The temperature wasn't so bad for us guys with gear on. It was just the strong winds that made the fire very difficult to fight," Littrell said."Then there was a lot of smoke which made it difficult to see in some areas." The house was the major concern so firefighters focused their attack on protecting the house until more personnel arrived. Eventually 15 full-time firefighters and three reserves fought the fire. The Arkansas City Fire Department sent an engine and personnel to stand-by at the Winfield station. The Burden Fire Department also dispatched a unit. "Both of those (units) ended up making runs for us on different calls, which is the reason we do that... knowing there will other calls," Littrell said. It took firefighters approximately one hour to bring the fire under control. They remained on the scene about four hours. There were no injuries. The building and contents lost in the fire were estimated to have a value of $110,000. Bryce's nephews had at least one, and maybe two, cars in the garage along with expensive tools and equipment. A new GMC pickup parked in front of the garage sustained damage to the front of the vehicle, according to Littrell. Fire investigators are investigating the exact events that caused the fire.

Church fire
Welders accidentally caused a fire Thursday afternoon on the roof of St. Isidore Church in Macomb Township, where a $7 million expansion is under way. Macomb Fire Chief Ray Ahonen said fire crews were called to the church at 23 Mile and Romeo Plank roads around 3 p.m. after residents spotted black smoke coming from the site. Officials said the fire began from combustible materials on the roof where welders were working. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from penetrating the main building. Damage was listed at $10,000, Ahonen said. 

UPDATE Fort Hancock to rebuild destroyed school
Darren Meritz El Paso Times
FORT HANCOCK -- Eighth-grade student Alejandra Luna was in shock Nov. 2 as she watched Fort Hancock Middle School burn. "I can't explain what I felt," she said. "It just caught me by surprise." Luna is one of 150 students who were left without a place to learn after the fire, which school officials say has changed the community's sense of security and has prompted residents to pay careful attention to an oft-forgotten adage: Be prepared. Fort Hancock and the school district are building a new middle school that will cost insurers $2.2 million. Officials said little will remain of the old schoolhouse, built in 1925. "The only thing we're going to keep is the old bell tower," said Jose Franco, superintendent of the Fort Hancock Independent School District. "We're going to try and salvage it and create a monument." Franco said middle-schoolers, who have been going to classes in the high school down the road, can expect a new, modern school in about eight months. The fire was started by an acetylene torch that cut through metal and ignited a piece of wood at the school. It probably could have been extinguished if Fort Hancock, which has about 400 residents, had its own fire department, said Stacy Myers, Fort Hancock school nurse and EMS coordinator. The closest help for a fire is more than 30 minutes away in Horizon City. Since then, the Horizon City Fire Department has donated a fire truck to Fort Hancock, and residents are assembling a small fire department of 16 volunteers, she said. "All of us who work for EMS only had medical training. None of us had fire training," Myers said. "Horizon City Fire Department is where we're going to go and be part of their training. And they'll train our staff as well." 

Onlooker hurt as fire guts warehouse
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) A fire broke out in a warehouse in Kawasaki's Takatsu Ward on Saturday morning, gutting the two-story structure. No one in the building was injured, although a 45-year-old woman who was watching the blaze fell from the second floor balcony of a nearby building, sustaining injuries to her head and arms, local police said. According to police, the fire broke out at around 10:10 a.m. At the time, work was going on to tear down the building and investigators said they suspect that sparks from welders' torches set fire to debris nearby. The firm that used to own the warehouse said the land and property had already been sold and a condominium was to be built on the site. The blaze and accompanying black smoke forced students at municipal Takatsu High School nearby to remain indoors until the fire was extinguished. 

Farmington fire linked to blowtorch 
By BETTY JESPERSEN, Staff Writer Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
FARMINGTON — Firefighters extinguished a fire in the old State Theater on Friday a few hours after a plumber used a blowtorch to thaw frozen pipes. The fire had been smoldering for several hours under the floorboards at the theater on Broadway and filled the first floor with smoke but was put out before it could spread. The smoke seeping into The Outskirts, a vintage clothing store on the first floor of the converted movie theater, alarmed manager Danielle Nault. As firefighters from Farmington arrived and were searching to find the source of the elusive smoke, Nault and neighbors from stores up and down Broadway rushed in to lend a hand. "People were helping out and pulling clothes off the racks and carrying them next door to Butterfly McQueens (a women's clothing store). It was great community support," Nault said. "I hate to think of what would have happened in just another hour." Nault called 911 at about 11 a.m. but as firefighters arrived, they were unable to find the source of the light, puffy smoke seeping into the building, Chief Deputy S. Clyde Ross said. The building's owner, Tiane Donahue, was finally located at the University of Maine at Farmington where she teaches, and she supplied the clue firefighters needed, Ross said. A plumber had used a propane torch to heat a frozen pipe in the small, basement furnace room earlier that morning. "Pipes get hot and the heat radiates out. Fire got into the old, dry timbers down there and it was smoldering in the airspace for a couple of hours," Ross said. "There was the potential here for a lot more damage." The smoke from the burning timbers traveled under the floor boards and was being pulled up through the heat registers in the store, making it appear the fire was in that area. Nault's mother and partner, Debra Powers, said she was particularly upset since she had a chimney fire in her home in Chesterville the same morning. 

UPDATE BP issues report on welder's death on North Slope
By Associated Press Saturday, February 15, 2003 - FAIRBANKS 
Water that froze in a pipe led to the death of a welder on the North Slope Dec. 21, according to an investigation of the incident. Rodney Rost, 55, of Soldotna died at a BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. facility on the North Slope. The company completed its investigation last week. Water that froze in a vent line kept nitrogen from escaping and caused so much pressure in a 28-inch pipe that a metal plug blew out, BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said. The plug hit Rost in the head, killing him instantly. It was the first death of a BP worker or BP contractor on the North Slope since 1998. Beaudo said Rost and the two others on the job, which was to recommission a water line, did not use a pressure gauge while working on the pipe. The reason nitrogen was routed into the pipe and the plug was in place was to prevent hydrocarbons, which are potentially flammable, from coming into contact with the welder's torch. "Ironically, that plug was there as a safety barrier for Mr. Rost," Beaudo said. Because of the incident, BP has imposed a moratorium on work involving plugs and nitrogen purges, Beaudo said. The company has also tightened policy concerning such work so there is no doubt a pressure gauge must be used. Rost worked for a BP contractor, Norcon Inc., a subsidiary of Veco Corp. "In hindsight, we wish they would have had a pressure gauge on the system," said Bill Morrow, Norcon president. The company is revamping some of its policies and procedures as well, he said. Rost had worked for Norcon for about seven years. The investigation of Rost's death involved both BP, Norcon, Rost's labor union and an industry expert. Gas pressure caused another accident on the North Slope in August, when a well ruptured, releasing natural gas that exploded and injured a BP oil field operator, Don Shugak. BP has decided not to contest a $6,300 fine levied by the state for a safety violation in that Aug. 16 incident, Beaudo said. The violation was for failing to adequately protect employees from a well with known pressure problems. 

STORY OF INTEREST Settlement reached in student injury case
By DOREEN OBERMEYER, Coolidge Examiner February 12, 2003 
In January of 2001, a 15-year-old girl at Coolidge High School received a severe electrical shock while using a portable welder in an agriculture welding lab. Cameo Madewell was knocked off her feet and thrown a short distance after the electrical plug for the 220-volt welder she was using exploded in a wall socket. Attorneys for the girl's family said the district was responsible for creating unreasonably dangerous conditions which were not apparent to the student. Former voc ag teacher, Steve Sipes was also named in the suit, as the instructor in charge of the class. The claim stated that Sipes failed to properly train, instruct, supervise or warn the student of the dangers involved with the welding unit and area. The Madewells asked for damages for their daughter's bodily injury, pain and suffering, medical and other expenses. The attorney for the district and for Sipes claimed that the district was not negligent, and that in any case a statute of limitations applied since the suit was filed a full year after the incident. The defendants also claimed that the student was responsible for the mishap and that she knowingly assumed risk in using the equipment. Both parties agreed to mediation and they reached a settlement on Jan. 24 before Lawrence H. Fleischman. The Madewells also agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. The settlement amount was $18,000, according to attorneys for the district. After the accident, Madewell was airlifted to the burn and shock unit of Maricopa Medical Center for evaluation where she was released the following day. According to an incident report filed at the time, Sipes, reported hearing a loud pop before the power went out and then saw Madewell falling to the ground. She apparently suffered a seizure and lost consciousness for several minutes. A ground fault interrupt (GFI) breaker cut power to the entire block of classrooms in the Voc/Tech complex and possibly prevented the girl from being electrocuted. The class was an advanced agriculture class and the student had been trained on the equipment. Madewell was wearing the department's required safety gear at the time of the accident , including leather gloves, canvas apron, goggles and a welding mask. Sherrill Stevens, principal at CHS, said an electrical contractor , employed by the district, inspected the welder and the outlet after the incident and found no malfunctions. 

Nursery almost lost as spark ignites blaze
By JANE LOVIBOND 13feb03
A SPARK from an angle grinder almost obliterated a historic horticultural landmark in Hobart yesterday. The Chandler family's 115-year-old nursery in Sandy Bay almost went up in smoke after a fire, accidentally started by an employee, destroyed the propagation shed and threatened the adjoining cottage. Proprietor Greg Chandler admitted the damage, estimated about $30,000, could have been horrific if not for the quick action of the Hobart Fire Brigade. And he was full of praise for one of the nursery workers who noticed smoke coming from the shed. Another five minutes and the cottage, built in 1860 and nominated for heritage listing, would have been lost. Plants worth thousands of dollars and other valuable stock also would have gone up in flames. "It could have been a disaster," Mr Chandler said. "This nursery has been in the family for four generations. "As it is only the shed has been destroyed and just the corner of the cottage has been damaged. "Heat affected some stock but the retail area was not touched. We were very lucky." He said an employee had been working in the shed using an angle grinder to cut through a small piece of metal pipe. "It was a six-second cut through a half-inch piece of steel," Mr Chandler said. "He finished the task and walked out of the shed. "It must have smouldered for a while and 10 or 15 minutes later she was going." The blaze was visible from the immediate Sandy Bay area and the thick pall of smoke sparked several calls to the Hobart Fire Bridge. District officer for brigade operations Gavin Freeman said the fire could have spread throughout the nursery and to a block of neighbouring flats. He said the incident served as a warning to operators of angle grinders and welding equipment to be particularly vigilant about clearing a space around their work area. "It only takes one spark to start a fire and every precaution should be taken to ensure the area is clear of combustible material," district officer Freeman said. "Always have a fire extinguisher close at hand and if possible ask an observer to see where sparks land." 

UPDATE Training lapse cited in mine tragedy
By PETE BOSAK, THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT February 12, 2003 
None of the six men building an air shaft at Consol Energy’s McElroy mine outside Cameron, W.Va., had to take 80 hours of training required of all West Virginia underground miners. The course may have prevented a Jan. 22 methane explosion that killed three of the men – including a worker from Colver – officials in West Virginia said yesterday. “Some aspects of (the training course) would be valuable, methane detection obviously,” said Terry Farley of the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Because crews drilling vertical air shafts are not considered coal miners, they do not have to take the 80-hour training required of West Virginia miners, Farley said. “That training has not been required for people who work at a shaft construction site, like this one,” Farley said. But they do have to take a less-extensive course that includes methane detection. Farley is one of the investigators looking for the cause of the deadly explosion that claimed the lives of the three employees of a Cambria Township company. The January blast killed two Ohio men and Harry P. “Buzzy” Roush III, 23, of Colver, Cambria County, while injuring three others, two of them seriously. There is no disputing, Farley said, that a methane explosion occurred and that a torch being used by a worker ignited the blast. A question Farley and fellow investigators are trying to answer is why the men with Central Cambria Drilling, 173 Municipal Road, Cambria Township, did not detect the methane buildup. Investigators also are trying to determine the source of the methane – did it come from below the air shaft, or from a coal seem the shaft already had passed through? The men were 950 feet underground when the explosion happened. “It’s no secret that a methane explosion occurred,” Farley said yesterday in a telephone interview from his Charleston, W.Va., office. “But methane can be detected. It’s colorless, odorless and tasteless. But it can be detected with a hand-held instrument.” A man who answered the telephone at Central Cambria Drilling yesterday said there would be no comment and abruptly hung up the telephone. The company employed the men building the air shaft when the explosion occurred. When the probe will end is uncertain. Survivors have yet to be interviewed by Farley or fellow investigators. Richard Brumley of Waynesburg, the leader of the six-man crew, was released from a hospital recently and soon may be ready to be interviewed by investigators, Farley said. Benjamin Bair, 23, of Pentress, W.Va., who suffered critical burns, multiple bone fractures and internal injuries, has been released from a hospital but sent to a rehabilitation center. Farley said he does not know when Bair will be available to tell what happened that day. A sixth member of the crew who survived the explosion, Aaron Meyer of Cameron, W.Va., was treated and released from a hospital the day of the explosion. While the 80-hour-course in underground mine training for shaft builders is not required, a crew foreman usually is certified by the state of West Virginia. Killed in the accident were relatively new employees of Central Cambria Drilling: Richard Mount, 37, of Shadyside, Ohio; David Abel, 47, of Belmont, Ohio; and Roush. The most senior, Roush, had eight months on the job with Central Cambria Drilling. Mount and Abel had been with Central Cambria Drilling for less than three weeks. While a completion date of the investigation is uncertain, equally unclear as of yet is what changes may be forthcoming. “It’s too early to speculate,” Farley said. “It’s not unreasonable to believe extra training may be necessary for shaft-construction people. “But, hopefully, we’re getting toward the end here,” Farley said of the investigation. 

Butane explosion injures two
A soldering torch, put into a drawer while still hot, ignited a can of butane early Saturday afternoon. The explosion injured two Napa brothers who suffered minor burns. The accident occurred at John Pagliuso's house, 4179 Fairfax Drive, in north Napa, the Napa Fire Department said. Pagliuso put his soldering torch into a drawer in his garage, then went down the street to his brother Paul's house, firefighter Kirk Morris said. A little while later, John's mother discovered smoke in the garage and called him home, Morris said. The brothers were going to put out the smoky fire with extinguishers when the small can of butane blew up, he said. Paul Pagliuso was treated at Queen of the Valley hospital for a second degree flash burn to his hand. Both men had light burns to their faces and their beards were singed, Morris said. The brothers had the fire out by the time fire fighters arrived. The damage was confined to two drawers of the tool box. 

Little to be salvaged from muffler shop fire
By LAURA CLARK/The Daily Journal Sunday, February 09, 2003 - 
Makeshift walls of particle board replace the ceiling-to-floor glass that once encased the showroom of West Coast Muffler and Tire shop in Ukiah. Inside the skeletal building where only the metal and brick parts of the structure remain after Wednesday's early morning fire the frame of a car still sits on a rack and aside from a few pipes and a swamp cooler, is all that is somewhat distinguishable amongst the remains. Pieces of roof, too, can be seen scattered throughout the ash. Outside, in the front parking lot, sit the shells of three other cars. Friday afternoon, Ukiahan Ken Peterson stood looking at the one that was once his. "It was pretty," he said, holding out a picture of a freshly painted '38 Buick Special Opera Coupe. "They used to take the ladies to the opera and that's why they called it the Opera Coupe," he explained. The car in the photo, once a deep maroon color, could now better be described as burnt orange and black ash. Kristen Newell, owner of the muffler shop, was there too, with her mother and her best friend, to meet with an insurance agent. She pointed to the south side of the building, which did not sustain major damage, which is where her husband, Mike, said he hopes to reopen his business within the next 60 days. "It's not going to be easy. We are going to start over; that's all we can do. We are going to do it all again," Mike Newell said Thursday in a phone interview. City of Ukiah Fire Marshal Chuck Yates estimated the loss at about $750,000. Some of the tool boxes alone are worth $20,000, he said. The building itself was valued at about $500,000; the contents $200,000 and about $50,000 in personal property, he said. The fire started in a fabrication shop next to the muffler shop, from someone using a cutting torch, officials said. 

Fire destroys truck at Pallet Co.
By MONICA TORLINE The Marion Star 
MARION -- A forklift growled as it pulled charred debris from the smoking, flaming tractor trailer. Its metal blades crushed the skeleton of the burned vehicle and made loud, scraping noises. Marion Township firefighters were called to Marion Pallet Co. Inc., 281 Copeland Ave., at 2:15 p.m. Pleasant Township and Salt Rock fire departments stood by with their tanker trucks ready to provide mutual aid, but Marion Township firefighters were able to put out the flames with white foam in about a half hour. "The foam penetrates a little deeper (than water)," Chief Mike Fogle said. The fire began about 20 minutes before, when the sparks from the cutter saw Ryan Hynds was using to demolish the trailer ignited the wooden pallets inside its belly. Hynds, a Sunbury resident, was not injured. "My life was never in any real danger," he said. Ben Smith, who owns Marion Pallet, adamantly explained that the trailer did not belong to him. Its owner, Wayne Mitchell, needed a place to demolish the vehicle, and Smith found a spot on the property that would fit Mitchell's needs. "It's his trailer and his problem," Smith said.

Blaze spares houses 
By Lionel W. Lippmann for the ruidoso news
High winds quickly spread a grass fire started accidentally on the Fort Lone Tree property Wednesday morning, charring more than 78 acres and briefly threatening three residential buildings. Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, a cutting torch being used by Erich McNamara started the Fort Lone Tree Fire, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department. The fire had started to spread northeast when the Capitan Volunteer Fire Department arrived. Using a brush truck with limited water supply, firefighters managed to flank the fire and prevent it from spreading into the timber of the Capitan Mountains. A Capitan pumper truck was the second vehicle on the scene and initially aided in the efforts to contain the fire. After the fire had been contained, the pumper truck functioned as a water tender for the numerous other trucks from the state Forest Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Lincoln, Bonito and Fort Stanton volunteer fire department, as well as elements of the Smokey Bear Hotshot team and 12 firefi ghters from Mescalero. County Manager Tom Stewart also surveyed the area of the fire, as did Lincoln County emergency services coordinator William Martin. hifting winds, estimated to be from 10 to 20 miles per hour, caused the fire to consume 78.62 acres before it was contained. The structures that were threatened belonged to Harold and Kay Finklestein, who had previously removed most of the brush from the immediate area of their structures. Their guest cottage, which was the most endangered structure, was protected by neighbors who saw the smoke and drove to the Finklesteins' houses, protecting them by watering the ground surrounding the guest house. Several Lincoln County Sheriff Department units responded, and the investigation was headed up by Sgt. Jackie Raines and Officer Robert Shephard. Thursday, Undersheriff Rick Virden said the fire was started by a cutting torch that was being used to cut steel tanks. The fire was contained completely by 2 p.m., though most of the firefighters remained on the scene to deal with numerous hot spots. The fire was officially declared extinguished by 4 p.m. No injuries or property damage were reported.

Thursday blaze claims 300 salvage cars 
02/07/03 Justin Baldwin 
Nearly everyone in Nevada witnessed a black plume of greasy smoke rise from the yard of Nevada Auto Used Parts and Cars, 901 East Highland, at about 12:24 p.m. Thursday as more than 300 cars in a salvage area burned in a massive inferno. The fire started when an employee inadvertently set on fire some oily rags in the trunk of the car beneath him while cutting out a spindle with an oxy-acetylene torch. The cold weather had caused the worker’s fire extinguisher to freeze, and in a short time the fire had spread through a large pile of wrecked and salvaged cars. By the time firefighters arrived, a pile of about 300 cars ready to be salvaged were engulfed in flames. The heat from the blaze was intense. While the raging fire storm howled in the driving snow the tires would swell and pop like rifle shots. Due to the location of Nevada Auto Parts and Cars — outside of the city limits — firefighters had to run a 4-inch hose a distance of about 900 feet to the nearest hydrant. Doing so did not provide the volume of water firefighters wanted, so Nevada Fire Chief Bill Gillette ordered another pumper truck to be placed at the hydrant to perform a tandem pump. The fire was contained with the help of several rural fire departments, including Milo and Compton Junction, but continued to smolder for several hours. Carl Brewer, owner of Nevada Auto Used Parts and Cars watched with apparent agitation, but declined comment about the fire at the scene. Of the fire, Gillette said this was more a case of containing the blaze than trying to save the cars affected by it. “I knew I wasn’t going to save a lot of property but I was concerned about environmental damage,” he said. To cut back on the impact of a huge plume of black smoke blowing towards town firefighters used foam to put the fire out as quickly as possible, arriving at the scene at 12:45 p.m., getting the fire under control at 3 p.m., and leaving when everything was cold at 5:45 p.m. No injuries were reported, and firefighters estimate the damage to be in the hundreds of dollars, since the cars in the fire had been gutted of spare parts already and were nearly ready to be destroyed for scrap metal. 

Restoration efforts drown in flames
With work almost complete, Buxton Inn owners face fire, smoke damage to century-old home
By BRIAN MILLER Advocate Reporter 
GRANVILLE -- A fire on Thursday caused $25,000 to $30,000 damage to a home that the Buxton Inn's owners were restoring. The two-story home at 128 S. Pearl St., caught fire after a torch being used by a worker in a second-floor bathroom ignited a wall, said Lt. Tom Bowman of the Granville Fire Department. There was damage to interior walls on one side of the home and smoke damage throughout the home. No injuries were reported. The home is one of several built by the five children of Major Buxton, who built the Buxton Inn in 1812 on East Broadway, the main avenue of downtown Granville. All the homes are on the same block as the inn. Buxton Inn owners Orville and Audrey Orr have been restoring the homes one by one and then renting them. Restoration work on the South Pearl Street home was almost done when the fire broke out, Orville said. The worker was attaching a fitting on a water line using a torch and accidentally ignited a piece of wood or fiberglass, Bowman said. The wall caught fire and flames traveled through an interior wall up to the attic and down to the first floor. The workman had gone downstairs when he realized there was a fire upstairs and called the fire department at 10:20 a.m. The fire was extinguished at 11:15 a.m. The Orrs had taken pains to bring the century-old woodframe home back to its original state, Orville said. "The hardware and the floors are all original," he said. The job was nearly finished when the fire broke out. Orr said he wants to complete the project if the damage permits. The Buxton Inn, Ohio's oldest operating inn still using its original building, is known for its gardens and courtyards. 

Oil tank fire from welding sends smoke over Chesapeake
The Virginian-Pilot February 7, 2003 
CHESAPEAKE -- An old oil storage tank caught fire Thursday afternoon when sparks from a welder's torch ignited sludge in the bottom. A thick plume of black smoke rose above nearby trees. No injuries were reported, said Battalion Chief Michael Best. A man was cutting the tank so he could haul the pieces off the property in the 300 block of St. Luke's Church Road off Great Bridge Boulevard when the fire started, Best said. Firefighters were called at 4:23 p.m. and doused the tank with about 500 gallons of foam, Best said. The blaze was out by 5 p.m., he said. Eugene Miller was charged with welding and cutting without a permit, failing to have a fire extinguisher present and with cutting into a tank prior to purging it. All three charges are misdemeanors, Best said. 

Huntingdon - Man killed in welding accident
By CHUCK ROSS Feb 7 2003
HUNTINGDON - A worker was killed Wednesday after being severely burned in a welding accident at a local aluminum plant. Joe L. McDaniel, 54, of Lexington, an employee of Jabezco Industrial Group in Jackson, was working as a contractor at the Norandal USA Inc. aluminum plant. "McDaniel was severely burned in a welding accident at Norandal in Huntingdon, at 2:04 p.m. Wednesday," Sgt. Loraine Dunn of the Huntingdon Police Department said in a news release. "McDaniel was welding on piping, and his clothing was ignited." He died of cardiac arrest while being airlifted to The Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Dunn said. Melissa Reierson, a representative for the Tennessee Occupational Health and Safety Administration, confirmed the accident and said TOSHA is investigating. The agency investigates any work-related deaths in the state. "All I can tell you is that we are at the site and are conducting an investigation," she said. "We will issue an accident report when the investigation is complete in about six weeks " Online records for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration showed no previous deaths or injuries at the plant. OSHA cited the plant in 1993 and 1998 for violations involving floor and wall openings and protective equipment, respectively. Norandal was fined $1,000 for the 1993 violation. Henry Smith, director of human resources at Norandal, declined to provide any information regarding the accident. "We're referring all inquiries to Jabezco since he was one of their employees," he said. Jabezco Senior Vice President Lanny Throckmorton also declined comment on the specific details of the accident. "Jabezco's primary focus, attention and prayers are with the McDaniel family, and caring for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs at this tragic time," he said. McDaniel is survived by his wife, Carol; two sons, Jamie and Joey McDaniel; and a daughter, Shoral Horton, all of Lexington. Services for McDaniel will be at noon today at Reed's Chapel Funeral Home in Lexington. Interment will follow at the Center Ridge Cemetery in Lexington. 

Kerala: Massive fire in Thiruvananthapuram LIC office 
6-February-2003 
Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 30 firemen battled for over an hour to control a fire which broke out in the basement of the Pattom Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) complex on Wednesday evening. The fire broke out near the LIC policy record room where documents pertaining to thousands of LIC customers are stored. Seven fire engines and one fire tender were pressed into service to fight the blaze that was reported to the Fire Force at 4.12 p.m. Two firemen and a 17-year-old youth sustained injuries in the fire-fighting operations that lasted for over an hour. The injured persons were identified as the Station Officer, N. Balachandran, driver-mechanic Asokan and Vipin, son of an LIC employee staying at the staff quarters inside the LIC office. The Station Officer (Fire Station-Chakkai), Najeeb, who was among the firemen to reach the spot first at 4.20 p.m., said smoke was seen billowing from the basement. Water at high pressure was directed into the basement, he said. The Emergency Tender was summoned and its blower system was employed to flush out the smoke. Fire-fighters equipped with breathing apparatus then went into the basement to locate the blaze. The Assistant Divisional Officer, E. B. Prasad, who led the operations, said there was no one around to guide the fire force to the heart of the fire. "There was no security officer or caretaker to tell us about the layout of the building. We made a quick assessment and made two breaches into the basement from which dark smoke was billowing'', he said. The fireman, Asokan, was injured when he tried to gain access into the basement by breaking the window pane. Mr. Balachandran was injured when he slipped down the staircase leading to the smoke-filled basement. Mr. Prasad said a large dump of waste paper under the flight of stairs leading up from the basement had caught fire. There was a welding machine nearby and its wires were seen burnt out. It was suspected that a spark from the welding machine could have caused the fire. Mr. Prasad said timely intervention by the Fire Force had prevented the blaze from spreading to the nearby policy record room where documents pertaining to thousands of LIC policy holders are stored. The door of the record room was found to be made of combustible material. Fire officials said that though there were fire extinguishers in the basement, neither a caretaker or security man was found posted there on round-the-clock duty. The LIC management has been advised to conduct fire-fighting drills among staff members and maintain round-the-clock security.

Fire causes minor damage in Coweta courthouse 
By RALPH ELLIS Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer 
A roofer's torch accidentally ignited a fire Monday afternoon in a small section of the Coweta County Courthouse, causing minor damage to the 99-year-old building in Newnan. Tom Corker, county spokesman, said torch flames ignited a section of dry wood near a window about 52 feet off the ground. Fire extinguishers were used to fight the blaze until Newnan firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire. The building was evacuated and nobody was hurt. The county is repairing the historic courthouse, which houses several local government offices, including the clerk of court. The county is building a new judicial building several blocks away.

EXPLOSION LEAVES MAN BADLY BURNED 
12:00 - 04 February 2003 
A young man was today critically ill following a massive explosion in a storage containment tank at Princess Yachts International at Marsh Mills. The incident happened yesterday at about 1.45pm when the 21-year-old Nationwide Heating Services Ltd employee was working inside the empty cylinder tank, which is 10 metres long by six wide. Fire chiefs at the scene, off Coypool Road, believe the man - thought to be from the Saltash area - was using acetone to remove hardened resin. Police say the man was welding inside the tank. The 21-year-old was flown to the specialist burns unit at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. Peverell-based Nationwide Heating Services Ltd had been contracted to carry out work at the site on tanks formerly used to store resin for sealing yachts. Fireman Tim Mockridge, Station Officer at Crownhill, said the inside of the container became engulfed in a 'fireball', and the man was unable to escape. He had been lowered into the tank in a harness, through an opening in the top of about 60 centimetres in diameter. The area was cordoned off after a Westcountry Ambulance Service crew arrived. Police officers took photographs at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today said it would be investigating the incident. Inspectors were this morning due to meet representatives of Princess Yachts International and Nationwide Heating Services Ltd at the Coypool Road site. While the man was working inside the tank, another man was working on the exterior. He was unhurt, and called the emergency services. Station Officer Mockridge said he believed the man was working with 'a very flammable liquid' smelling similar to nail varnish. He said as soon as firefighters arrived they had cut the man's clothes off and covered his burns in water gel. "We believe the man suffered about 90 per cent burns," he said. Andrew Thompson, HSE inspector, said: "We understand that a worker from the contractor Nationwide Heating was working within a resin tank at Princess Yachts International when an incident occurred. "We believe the worker suffered serious burns and was immediately taken to hospital." David King, managing director of Princess Yachts International, today said his thoughts were with the man's family. He said: "Obviously we are very concerned for him, and our sympathies go out to his family. We cannot shed any light on what happened until the investigation is completed." Ian Jarvis, company secretary at Nationwide Heating Services Ltd, said: "Our thoughts go out to the man and his family." 

Firefighter treated for burns 
A Cincinnati firefighter was treated and released from University Hospital Saturday for minor burns to his face he suffered fighting a house fire at 3425 Beekman Ave. Lt. Robert Beckroege had burns on his cheeks when metal clips on his mask heated. The fire destroyed the second floor of the home, causing about $35,000 in damage. It was started by a worker inside the house who was soldering copper joints with a blow torch. 

Firefighter burns ear in Monroe blaze
John Colvin / Police Reporter Posted on February 5, 2003
Monroe Fire Department investigators say a construction accident ignited a fire Tuesday at a house owned by a local businessman. The department received several calls at 2:38 p.m. Tuesday, and about seven trucks spent the majority of the afternoon and evening combating the fire at 1200 University Avenue. Investigators say the origin of the fire appears to be traced to a worker sweating pipes together in the attic. "The fire started accidentally," said Kenneth Gibbs, chief arson investigator. "A spark ignited surrounding material." According to the Ouachita Parish tax assessor's records, Eddie Hakim owns the property, valued at nearly $250,000. He is one of three brothers who own Luv N' Care, a company that does business in more than 80 countries and has warehousing or manufacturing facilities in North America, including Monroe, and in Asia. Its products - everything from baby bibs to bottles - are sold by major retailers like Wal-Mart, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Sears, Toys R Us, Rite Aid and others. Firefighters quickly set up a defensive line to fight back the blaze, which had concentrated in the northern section of the almost completed house. Fire Chief Jimmie Bryant said the size of the residence -27,000 square feet in area - proved to be a hindrance. "The accessibility to the structure posed a lot of problems," Bryant said. "This is one of the largest homes. This is one of most significant stories because it is a residence." One firefighter was injured, said David Coco, chief of emergency medical services. As first reported at thenewsstar.com, he suffered third-degree burns to one of his ears and was taken to St. Francis Medical Center, according to Coco. "The firefighter was treated and released," Bryant said. Although there were about 10 construction workers inside the house when the fire started, none of them reported injuries, Coco said. Emergency officials remained on the scene into the evening Tuesday but said the fire was under control. At about 8 p.m. Bryant said they were wrapping up operations. The chief said they requested help from the Ouachita Parish Fire Department if any other fires were reported while city crews battled the fire at the residence next to the University of Louisiana at Monroe. "The parish was called to help at some of the fire stations because of the number we had out here," Bryant said. 

UPDATE Explosion Blamed On Improper Monitoring 
By JENNIFER COMPSTON 
The investigation into an air shaft explosion that killed three employees of Central Cambria Drilling Co. and injured three others near Cameron on Jan. 22 has revealed that methane levels within the shaft were not being properly monitored while work was ongoing. According to C.A. Phillips, deputy director of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, investigators believe the incident resulted because workers failed to properly monitor methane levels. It is definitely our opinion that adequate methane examinations were not taken before the explosion,'' Phillips said Wednesday. Phillips confirmed that a methane detector was found in the pocket of a work coat worn by 51-year-old Richard Brumley of Waynesburg, Pa., who was serving as the crew boss when the explosion occurred. Brumley suffered serious injuries in the incident that resulted in him being hospitalized for several days, but he was released Monday from Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. Phillips said interviews of those who witnessed the explosion, including 28-year-old Aaron Meyer of Cameron, a Cambria employee, have indicated that methane levels were not being properly monitored. Phillips said it is the responsibility of the crew boss to make methane examinations. He added that the responsibility would also fall to anyone who was about to use a torch for cutting or welding within the shaft. Phillips further said acetylene torches were being used in the shaft for the completion of such work. Although investigators are not yet certain what caused methane to collect at the bottom of the shaft, Phillips said explosive methane gas can collect in any underground work setting as a result of cracks in the surrounding strata of the earth. He also said fluctuating underground water levels could cause methane deposits to rise and enter such a shaft. In addition, he said methane could easily be found in a work area that was not properly ventilated. Also, Moundsville attorney Don Kresen said an investigatory interview into the matter was held at his office Wednesday with representatives of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training present, along with officials from the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration, the United Mine Workers of America, Central Cambria Drilling Co. and CONSOL Energy Inc. Kresen said investigators took statements from a witness of the explosion during the interview. He stressed that his client, an employee of Central Cambria Drilling and an eyewitness of the incident, is "eager to cooperate and assist'' with the inquiry. Meanwhile, Beth Lawry, a spokeswoman for Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh where one victim of the explosion is still being treated for wounds and burns, said Wednesday that 23-year-old Benjamin Bair of Pentress in Monongalia County was still listed in critical condition. Bair has undergone four surgeries so far, Lawry said, with the most recent surgery having been completed Wednesday. Richard E. Mount, 37, of Shadyside was killed in the explosion, along with 47-year-old David W. Abel of Belmont and 23-year-old Harry P. Roush III of Colver, Cambria County, Pa. 

Man ignites fire while thawing pipes 
By LARRY GRARD, Staff Writer Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
PITTSFIELD — The bathroom of a man who tried to thaw frozen pipes with a propane torch was destroyed by fire early Wednesday afternoon. David Ring said he was not injured after fire struck underneath the bathroom of his small home at 14 High St. Firefighters were called out at 12:40 p.m., and had the fire under control by 1, despite low water pressure. Assistant Fire Chief Dean M. Billings said damage was minor. There was water damage and the bathroom floor needs to be replaced, he said. "There was more smoke than there was fire," Billings said. Frozen pipes have caused problems all over Pittsfield this week. Most of the town was without water Tuesday after a water main broke on Detroit Avenue, emptying the Grove Hill storage tank. Ring, holding his small dog across the street, said he was trying to thaw out his pipes with the torch. He then went upstairs, and noticed the smoke. Flames were just beginning to shoot out the back of the bathroom and thick black smoke was billowing when firefighters arrived. They had to access the site via a roundabout route because the corner of Detroit Avenue and Route 100, where the water main broke, was still blocked Wednesday. 

Eldorado barn fire may have been caused by torch used to thaw frozen pipes
By Peggy Breister the reporter 
A torch being used to thaw frozen pipes may have ignited hay bales, resulting in a fire that destroyed a barn Tuesday morning in the Town of Eldorado, Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department officials say. The fire was reported at 7:13 a.m. at the David Henke farm, N9028 Ridge Road, according to Sheriff’s Department reports. “We were on the scene until 2:30 p.m.,” said Eldorado Fire Chief Rob Menne. “The barn is a total loss.” Menne declined to comment on the cause of the fire until the investigation is complete. “It was a typical winter fire,” he said. “It doesn’t always go the way you want.” Although there were no problems, Menne said firefighters weren’t able to knock down the blaze before the barn was destroyed. No one was injured, and the Henkes were able to remove all animals from the barn. “Everyone did everything they possibly could,” Menne said. “The help was greatly appreciated.” Firefighters from Van Dyne, Rosendale, the Town of Fond du Lac and the Town of Nekimi in Winnebago County assisted Eldorado.

Grass fire sparked by welder
30jan03
A WELDER ignoring total fire bans faces possible police charges after his equipment sparked a fire at Clarendon yesterday. The fire began about 10am and was extinguished quickly with emergency services personnel on full alert because of the extreme conditions. About 5ha of grass was burned. Police at the scene said the man "was very embarrassed and apologetic". In all there were five minor fires across the state. Meanwhile, 115 CFS volunteers assisted Victorian firefighters at Tallangatta Valley yesterday. 

Explosion injures man 
Todd Billiot 
LAFAYETTE — An employee of Intertrust Armored Services was injured Monday morning when a 55-gallon barrel filled with transmission oil exploded as he was cutting a bumper off a nearby wrecked armored car with a welder’s cutting torch, a Lafayette Fire Department spokesman said. Vapors from the barrel probably ignited from a spark, said Alton Trahan, fire department spokesman. The barrel exploded and flew about 20 feet into an adjacent lot. The employee, 33-year-old Gary Fontenot, received second- and third-degree burns on his neck, chest and hands. He was taken to Lafayette General Medical Center for treatment and then brought to a burn unit in Baton Rouge, Trahan said. “He was burned pretty badly,” Trahan said. The fire occurred shortly after 10 a.m. outside the office of Intertrust, in the 300 block of Pinehurst Street, which is located in an industrial area between Pinhook and South Hugh Wallis roads. The manager for Intertrust told fire investigators that a loud noise was heard outside the office. When employees hurried outside, they noticed Fontenot running from behind three armored cars with his clothes on fire. They grabbed a water hose and put the flames out, Trahan said. At least three armored cars sustained heavy damage in the fire. No one from the company was available to comment, said a person answering the telephone Monday.

Spark from welding torch blamed in school fire
(Gadsden-AP) -- The state Fire Marshal has determined a welding spark is blamed for causing a fire that destroyed most of Highland Elementary School last week. Arson investigators said the blaze ignited in a room where workers had been cutting away old metal-frame windows. Construction crews apparently did not realize there was wood behind the metal frames. The fire, which was discovered shortly after 8 pm Thursday night, caused extensive damage to most of the school -- the school's gymnasium and two recently built classrooms were spared. Etowah County Superintendent Tommy Mosley said yesterday the school will be rebuilt. He said portable classrooms will be used until construction on the new school is completed in 12 to 18 months. 

Cargill Fire Gives turkeys a break 
Tue, May 20, 2003 The Morning News/NWAonline.net 
SPRINGDALE -- A small fire Monday at the Cargill processing plant on Randall Wobbe Lane and Jefferson Avenue shut down the processing line for about 30 minutes. Workers were welding a metal fixture on a wall at the plant and overheated the insulation within the wall, according to Springdale Fire Department Capt. Eddie Davis. A small amount of the insulation caught fire, but, for the most part, it generated smoke and little flame. Davis said the poultry production line was stopped and workers evacuated as a safety precaution. Springdale and Lowell firefighters had the fire out and the area inspected within 30 minutes of receiving the initial call.

Fire Damages Tyson Plant 
It took crews over an hour to control a blaze at the Tyson foods plant in Norfolk. Two plant employees were injured in the fire. The call came in at 10:41 p.m. Sunday after smoke filled the southwest quarter of the beef processing plant. When firefighters arrived, they encountered heavy smoke and were able to locate the actual fire. Using the department's snorkel truck, firefighters attacked the blaze from the roof and on the ground. Two people were transported to a Norfolk hospital with smoke inhalation. According to Norfolk fire chief Shane Weidner, the fire remains under investigation, but preliminary reports point toward welding work that was done earlier Sunday night. The Tyson foods plant employs over 1000 people in Norfolk. 

Seven killed, seven injured in blast in Alang yard 
Press Trust of India Ahmedabad, May 19 
Seven labourers were killed and at least an equal number injured in a blast inside an oil tanker at Alang ship breaking yard on Monday, district police sources here said. The blast could have been caused due to gas leak as gas welders were being used near the engine of the oil tanker, the sources said. The injured have been rushed to Bhavnagar Civil Hospital they said. Deputy Superintendent of Police HB Barot said that thick smoke emerging from inside the ship was preventing officials from ascertaining the exact number of injured. Barot said there was no major fire after the blast, which occurred in the oil tanker in yard number five. 

Welders Caused County Building Fire 
A fire that destroyed the headquarters of Charles County's Department of Community Services this week was caused by welders who were renovating the 52-year-old building's heating and air conditioning system, federal and Maryland investigators said. The fire caused more than $2.5 million in damage and destroyed the only copies of waiting lists for the Section 8 low-income housing program, county spokeswoman Nina W. Voehl said yesterday. Officials have stopped taking housing applications until a new list can be made, Voehl said. The fire began in an attic-type space above the building's boiler room, where a contractor was welding, said W. Faron Taylor, a spokesman for the state fire marshal. Fire marshals and investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could not determine whether the fire was started by sparks from the welding or from a surge of electricity that welding sends through material, Taylor said. No charges will be filed in connection with the fire, Taylor said. 

UPDATE Bosses charged over chimney deaths
TWO company bosses have been charged with manslaughter after a pair of steeplejacks were killed by a fireball which engulfed them while demolishing a chimney in Greater Manchester. Paul Wakefield, 40, and Craig Whelan, 23, were working inside the 200ft tower in Westhoughton, near Bolton, when there was an explosion. Their deaths at the Carnaud Metalbox tin can plant triggered an investigation by Greater Manchester Police and the Health and Safety Executive. Now two of the company's managers have been charged with manslaughter and police say a third manager, believed to be from Swansea, is to be summoned. Ian Billington, 39, of Conisber Close, Egerton, and Colin Stevens, 57, of Barford Grove, Lostock, each face two counts of manslaughter. They will appear before Bolton magistrates on Tuesday. Father-of-two Paul Wakefield was due home to celebrate his wife Lyn's 39th birthday and their 17th wedding anniversary when he died. He phoned her at their Nottingham home to say he loved her minutes before he started work on a cradle inside the chimney. But two hours later he and his workmate were engulfed by a huge fireball. They both died instantly in the inferno, which spewed 30ft-high flames into the air for 40 minutes. Mr Wakefield's widow said after the tragedy: "Paul and I loved each other. That's the last thing we said to each other and I'm thankful for that. He was a wonderful, devoted family man." Their daughters Kelly, 16, and Nicola, 12, are still struggling to come to terms with their father's death. Craig Whelan's fiancee Jill Wallace, 24, is also struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. The couple, also from Nottingham, had been looking forward to their wedding, which was planned for February this year. They had been living together since they were 17 and had a three-year-old daughter, Katie, who was the "apple of her daddy's eye". Miss Wallace said: "Daddy's girl just didn't describe it. All she had to do was flutter her eyelashes and he'd do anything for her." The force of the explosion, which happened on May 23 last year, dislodged a 180ft ladder. The investigation had to be delayed while the site was made safe. The tragedy has shocked fellow workers at Churchill Steeplejacks, in Ruddington, Nottingham. A company statement after the incident said: "The devastating tragic event has left us all shocked and numb. "Our deepest heart-felt condolences and thoughts are with their families." Mr Wakefield had worked for the family-run firm for eight years. Mr Whelan had been employed there for over two years. Steve Thomas, a spokesman for Carnaud Metalbox's parent company Crown, Cork and Seal Ltd, said: "We can confirm that two employees are facing charges following the industrial accident at our Westhoughton plant. "The conclusion of our internal investigation of this dreadful accident is that these employees acted at all times conscientiously and with consideration for the safety of others. "They continue to receive our full support as we work with the police and the Health and Safety Executive to establish the cause of the incident."

UPDATE Man sues city over explosion 
By Kevin Moran North Adams Transcript Friday, May 16, 2003 - 
NORTH ADAMS -- A $500,000 lawsuit was lodged against the City of North Adams on Monday, claiming city-owned gas-burning heaters were not properly drained of fuel that led to a May 2001 explosion in which a former A. Shapiro & Sons Inc. scrap metal worker was severely burned. The lawsuit, filed in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield on behalf of the victim Carl Scutt of North Adams, also seeks an unspecified amount of damages from the gas burner manufacturer, the Hauck Manufacturing Company of Lebanon, Pa., according to attorney Patrick Gable of Gable and Weingold, a personal injury and workers compensation law firm with offices in North Adams and Pittsfield. The lawsuit alleges city workers didn't completely drain two fuel tanks brought to the Ashland Street scrap metal yard for disposal and failed to inform Shapiro's the tanks contained flammable material before handing them over, Gable said Thursday. On May 21, 2001, Scutt was operating a scrap metal cutter at the Ashland Street business, the ground became heated, and one of the tanks located nearby exploded, Gable said. "It was a spontaneous combustion that created, literally, a fireball," Gable said. Scutt sustained severe burns, spent more than a month at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and has undergone five operations to repair heavy scarring with more operations expected, the attorney said. As a result, Scutt accrued more than $410,000 in medical bills and has lost $28,000 in wages. Gable said the tanks were not full of fuel, but nor were they completely drained. The attorney is not certain what kind of fuel the heater tanks contained. "That's the very purpose why these tanks should be drained ahead of time," Gable said. "They (the city) knew this would be placed in an area where they knew or should have known there was [scrap metal] cutting going on." The law firm is seeking $500,000 from the City of North Adams under a cap imposed by a "loss of consortium" provision of state law. This prevents personal injury lawsuits from seeking damages from municipalities greater than $100,000 for an individual victim and his or her immediate family members. Since Scutt has a wife and three children, the law firm is applying the $100,000 maximum taking into account each family member. Scutt has been home for a year, but has to make routine trips to Massachusetts General Hospital to the scarring from the burns. Scarring is the body's way of healing itself, but in some cases too much of it can have an adverse affect. "If scarring grows too much on his fingers or in his elbow sockets, he then loses mobility to use those limbs," Gable said. The lawsuit will proceed next to the discovery stage; it takes about two years for cases like these to reach trial. According to its Web site, the century-old Hauck Manufacturing Company "designs, builds, and markets" industrial heat burners and blowers. Gable said the products are used to heat construction areas and are used by plumbers to heat pipes. Mayor John Barrett III and Hauck Manufacturing Company did not return messages seeking comment Thursday. 

Fire extinguished at construction project
FITCHBURG -- Firefighters put out flames caused by a construction project Tuesday afternoon inside the UEL Construction building at 270 Airport Road. Deputy Chief Andrew Gallant said welders working on a project to enlarge the building accidentally set fire to insulation inside the building. Firefighters isolated and removed the insulation and put out the fire in about a half hour. Gallant said the fire caused a few thousand dollars worth of damage to the interior of the building. No one was hurt. 

Fire destroys Anderson carpet store
May 14, 2003 - 4:51 pm By Ron Barnett STAFF WRITER
Fire destroyed a 50-year-old building and $500,000 worth of carpet and hardwood flooring in Anderson on Wednesday, but no one was seriously hurt, officials and the owner of the business said. he blaze, at the Carpet Fashions/Carpet One store at 1620 North Main St., apparently was sparked by roofers using torches, according to Anderson Fire Department spokeswoman Kim Strickland. Businesses within 2 1/2 to three blocks around the building were evacuated because of possibly noxious fumes, she said. Firefighters tried to douse the flames from above with a ladder truck but couldn't make much headway, Strickland said. "It became too dangerous for firefighters to actually walk on the roof, so we did have to evacuate everyone from the roof and the inside of the building and do an exterior attack," she said. David Rumph, who owned the carpet business but not the building, said he managed to get computer records out before the building was fully engulfed, but nothing else was saved. There were no customers in the store at the time the fire started, around 1:15 p.m., he said. The business employs eight, most of whom were inside at the time. "Everybody got out safely, but the store started filling up with smoke pretty quickly," he said. The business was in a former Winn-Dixie building that dated to the 1950s, he said. The value of the building wasn't immediately known. Rumph was at lunch when he got word that there was a problem on the roof. "They were just about to finish up and were in the back of the building," he said. "They had put the torch in and were heating up the last bit of the roof and evidently burned through and caught the roof up underneath on fire. "Once it hit, it just went up. That stuff was so dry and old, it was a lost cause." An official of the roofing company could not be reached. Two or three firefighters were taken to a rehab unit for treatment of smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion, Strickland said, but no one was sent to the hospital. Fire officials were concerned about the possibly noxious smoke from the smoldering carpet and evacuated businesses in the area, including a child care center about 200 feet behind the burning building, a restaurant and a strip mall, she said. There were also calls from nearby residences about the smoke, she said. Firefighters were expected to remain on the scene dousing hot spots through the night, but there was no apparent danger of the fire spreading, Strickland said. 

Fire empties mill's pulping plant 
05/15/03 HOLLEY GILBERT 
CAMAS -- A fire forced evacuation of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill's pulping facility Wednesday and sent four employees to the hospital with smoke inhalation. A mill official told Camas Fire Captain Greg Payne late Wednesday that the fire, reported about 3:30 p.m., apparently started after welding had been done on the building's duct work, Payne said. The fire was confined to the duct work, possibly only on the fourth flour, said Carolyn McGreevy, the mill's spokeswoman. The rest of the mill remained in operation. The fire was out by 6:30 p.m. The fire was discovered when smoke entered the K5 bleach plant control room, McGreevy said. The smoke sent employees to a separate bleach plant control room within the five-story building at Sixth Avenue and Northwest Division Street. Two were taken by ambulance to Southwest Washington Medical Center. A third went on his or her own, and a fourth was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle, she said. The four included three men and one woman. All four were treated and released by Wednesday evening, McGreevy said. Because of federal privacy laws, no other medical information was available about them. During the day, about 22 people work in the K4 and K5 area, McGreevy said. The pulping facility is where wood chips are cooked and then whitened before being made into pulp to make paper, she said. About 30 firefighters from the Camas, Vancouver and Washougal fire departments and the mill's fire brigade responded to the fire. "This will be fully investigated" not only by the Camas Fire Department and the mill's brigade, but by company officials, McGreevy said. "There will be agencies to inform," she said. "There will be a very sophisticated drill down in to the cause and corrective action."

Factory blaze was potential death-trap May 15 2003
Runcorn Weekly News
FIREFIGHTERS battled a potentially lethal blaze when a gas cylinder ignited at a steel factory in Runcorn. Two crews rushed to D&D Fabrications LTD in Percival Lane at around 6.45am on Friday, when a welding rod over-heated and burnt through an acetylene gas cylinder. A team of 11 D&D staff arrived at work to discover that fire had broken out in the company workshop, releasing harmful gas emissions into the air. The workshop - which has been active in manufacturing steel used in the construction of the Runcorn and Widnes bridge - was hit by 5% fire damage and 95% smoke damage. Firefighters were forced to isolate the toxic cylinder to prevent further gas leaking out of the tubing. Sub officer Ken Sharratt said: 'The nacetylene gas is dangerous when involved in fire, and if left much longer unattended, the fire could have been a lot worse.' He added: 'My advise in relation to incidents like this is to ensure that such cylinders are fully switched off at the end of a working day.' Jackie Lewis, the director of D&D Fabrications said: 'There was no-one in the building at the time, which was obviously a relief. 'It was a surprise to come in in the morning to find the nacetylene bottle had caught fire, but it was mainly soot damage. 'We've yet to find out how the fire happened and in view of that we'll obviously be looking into increasing our fire and safety regulations.' 

Thomson man killed when pontoon explodes 
By Thomas Geyer 
SAVANNA, Ill. —A Thomson man was killed Monday after a pontoon that he was welding exploded, Carroll County officials said. Details of the accident remained sketchy Tuesday, but Carroll County deputy coroner John Schultz said the accident occurred in the early afternoon at the marina in Savanna. Richard L. "Dick" Falls, 75, and another man had been working on a pontoon boat at the marina, Schultz said. They had been welding one of the pontoons when it exploded. "I was told you could hear that explosion throughout the town," he said.Falls was pronounced dead at the scene, Schultz said. The other man was not injured. The accident remains under investigation. An official statement from authorities on why the pontoon exploded could be issued sometime today or Thursday, he said. Falls worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as an assistant lock master at Lock and Dam 13 in Fulton. He was a member of National Association of Retired Federal Employees, Thomson Lions Club, Donald Ashpole American Legion, Savanna Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2223 and York Community Congregational Church, Thomson. He also enjoyed model trains, and was in the process of building a model plane. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Law-Jones Funeral Home, Savanna, with visitation from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. 

UPDATE MOSCOW FIRE KILLS TEN 
A fire at a Moscow building site has killed ten people and hospitalised one worker. Initial investigation suggests it was sparked by welding equipment being used in the construction of a three?story parking facility. It’s being reported that migrant workers from former Soviet Republics who work there were forbidden by the private security to talk to the media or to ask for assistance when the fire started.
Source: WorldWatch

Construction worker killed in accident 
05/13/2003 
A construction worker was killed on Monday in an industrial accident in Kingston. Kingston police said Neil Metcalf, 62, of Stillwater, died when a 12-foot steel I-beam fell on him. The accident occurred at the site of the former Mack Truck Co. building, 135 S. Wyoming Ave., at 1:06 p.m. The building is being renovated for new occupancy. Police said Metcalf died after the I-beam he was welding shifted and fell, striking him in the face and chest. The I-beam was being placed over a doorway approximately 12 feet high and was being held by a forklift. Police said one side of the I-beam was welded, and the weld broke lose, causing the beam to fall on Metcalf, who was on a ladder. Metcalf was transported by Kingston Emergency Medical Services personnel to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he later died from the injuries. Coroner Dr. George Hudock performed an autopsy at 6:15 p.m. and ruled that Metcalf died from multiple traumatic injuries. Police are not filing any charges and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been called to investigate. 

Safety a concern after fire
By W. MATT MEYER May 13 2003
As a downtown trash bin fire spewed billowing black smoke in the air, John Allen looked up from his work a few blocks away. Allen was overseeing repair work at one of his downtown buildings hurt in last week's tornado. When he first saw the smoke, he didn't think much about it. Then he realized where it was. The trash bin was outside Allen's Liberty Square Apartments, at the corner of Lafayette and Liberty streets. The building, along with several other of Allen's properties, had sustained roof and water damage during the tornado. The repair job at Liberty had just been finished Monday afternoon. But about 4 p.m., a trash container filled with old asphalt roofing ignited and the intense heat singed the outside of the building and damaged some windows and exterior trim work. Several dozen downtown workers gathered to watch as four fire trucks struggled to put out a stubborn tar fire. No one was injured. "Bring some hot dogs, we'll have a wienie roast down here," Allen said on a cell phone as he surveyed the activity. "I just don't believe this." Jackson Fire Chief Kenneth Lay said he was unsure what caused the blaze. He guessed that some of the roofing materials might have ignited through spontaneous combustion. Allen, a general contractor, thinks something was thrown into the dumpster and ignited the fire. "That's the only thing that makes sense to me," he said. The apartments are mostly occupied, but no one was home at the time. Allen said another tenant was supposed to move in this week. "Oh well," he said. A doctor staying in the apartment that received the most exterior damage during Monday's blaze had moved into Liberty Street because he had been burned out of his Gordon Street house last month, Allen said. "He's not going to believe this, two fires in one month," Allen said. This is also the second fire at Liberty Street in the last four months. A spark from a torch repairing the roof in February set a fire that damaged the roof and part of the third floor. Repair work from that accident had just ended the eek before the tornado struck, Allen said. "And the hits just keep on coming," Allen said. "I'd have to get better now before I could die." Lay said the incident should remind all who are cleaning up from the tornado and involved in rebuilding efforts to redouble their safety efforts. Though he was unsure of the cause of this fire, Lay said mixing certain chemicals - like carpet adhesives or roof tar - can cause fires to ignite easily. Lay also warned cleanup crews to not place debris where it might trip someone. "Some people might trip on it unless it is clearly marked," Lay said. Also, debris should not cover up fire hydrants, he said. Wes Forsythe, co-owner of Nando Jones, was outside cleaning up on Lafayette and could see the commotion of the downtown fire Monday afternoon. He said he is trying to keep his debris away from the building to stay safe. "It's a monumental cleanup job," he said. "I'm just trying to get a handle as to what we can do." 

Ten Moscow builders die in basement parking fire
MOSCOW, May 12 (Reuters) - Ten building workers died on Monday in a fire that tore through a partially-built elite housing complex in Moscow, the Russian capital's fire service said. It was in a basement, where the underground parking will be. There were 10 dead," a spokesman said. The Alye Parusa (Scarlet sails) complex of three yellow towers sits on the banks of the Moskva river in northwestern Moscow, and has been marketed as a high-quality housing development for Russia's rich. Television footage showed smoke billowing from windows on the lower floors. TVS television said the fire was caused by exploding gas cylinders used in high-temperature welding. "According to preliminary information, we can say there was a violation of security regulations," Vladimir Rodin, deputy head of the city fire service, told TVS. In a separate incident, three people were killed and one injured in a fire at an industrial estate in Russia's second city of St Petersburg, Interfax news agency reported. 

UPDATE Massive Fire Destroys Chicago Business 
May 7, 2003 4:53 pm US/Central
Witnesses tell us they saw and heard several explosions. A spark in the auto shop appears to have ignited when one mechanic was removing a gas tank, and another mechanic was using a torch nearby. It happened on the near west side, in the 1100 block of West Hubbard. It is obviously now time for the clean up. They are just getting started with that. This is the first time we have been able to see the devastation up close. Take a look inside the garage of the repair shop where this all happened. You can see that there were employees inside working. They all worked here a long time so they knew from the first spark that they had to get out fast before the fuel tanks inside the trucks started to explode. A pillar of smoke could be seen for miles across the entire city. "Flames were 30 feet up in the air until it took over the rest of the whole building. We watched the whole thing." Inside the Acorn Garage, six workers who had been repairing trucks ran for safety. "Somebody yelled 'Get out!'"Jim Pace was glad to get out alive. "Very grateful," said Pace. Chopper 2 captured dramatic pictures as the roof collapsed. Intense flames quickly burned through the wooden trusses holding up the roof. That's when firefighters knew they had a big battle. "They go in as far as they can, and as quick as they can," explained Commissioner James Joyce of the Chicago Fire Department. "If they can't knock the fire right away, it's time to get out and take a defensive posture."Workers say the Acorn Garage is owned by Bill Truppa, seen here talking to firefighters. A friend of his tells us what apparently sparked the fire. "They were removing the gas tank and it fell over," says Rory Saldana. "It sparked the fire when it hit an electrical cord."The railroad tracks along Hubbard closed briefly, but are now open. 125 firefighters and 30 trucks rushed to the scene including a foam truck from O'Hare Airport. Many witnesses heard a series of explosions. Those booms were apparently fuel tanks of the trucks sitting in the garage. "One after the other until they all did. The whole place was engulfed." CBS 2 Chicago talked to one of the co-owners, the other brother. He's still in shock. He said he wants to continue with the family business because its been here for fifty years. "A lot of good people, family, good customers that we deal with," said co-owner Rich Truppa. "We're going to carry that on. We are going to dig deep and redo it, rebuild."We were also told that there were about 12 trucks in the garage for service at the time of the fire. Some of the customers for this business include Metra, CTA and the Cook County Jail, however, we don't know exactly whose trucks were inside at the time of the fire. 

Fix-a-Flat trial gets under way in Baldwin; Lawyers clash over 1997 explosion that claimed life of Silverhill man 
05/07/03 By BRENDAN KIRBY Staff Reporter
BAY MINETTE -- Lawyers for the widow of a Silverhill man who died in an explosion six years ago opened their case Tuesday against the makers of a tire-repair product they contend was willfully mislabeled. Armed with a bevy of visual aides, plaintiffs' lawyer Joseph "Buddy" Brown gave a nearly three-hour-long opening statement in Baldwin County Circuit Court. He told jurors that Snap Products and its chief executive officer ignored repeated warnings from competitors, independent testing, the testimony of previous accident victims and the firm's own chemists that Fix-a-Flat was made with an explosive propellant. Pamela Daniel is suing Snap Products, CEO Sam McInnis and two other defendants on behalf of her late husband's estate. The trial is expected to last three weeks and could become one of Baldwin County's biggest product liability cases. Joe Ed Daniel was repairing a motor-grader at a former dirt race track south of Loxley on June 4, 1997, when an explo sion decapitated him. Daniel's lawyers contend the cause was a tire that had been filled with Fix-a-Flat about two weeks earlier. Brown likened the tire to a bomb. "We expect to prove (that) by July of 1993, the countdown of a bomb had already been set," he said. "That countdown was never stopped, despite numerous opportunities." A lawyer for Snap Products and McInnis, however, suggested that Daniel did not follow instructions on Fix-a-Flat can. "There's a lot of truth to what Mr. Brown told you," defense attorney Earl W. Gunn said. "A lot of things are just wrong, and there are a lot of things that are taken out of context." Brown showed jurors boards depicting a timeline beginning in 1987 and ending with Daniel's death in 1997. He said Paul Norman, the CEO of Snap Products' predecessor company, Nationwide Industries, changed the formula after he became aware in the late 1980s of the dangers associated with the propanbutane propellant used in Fix-a-Flat. Although the new propellant worked well, Brown said, the company was forced to abandon it at the end of 199 when Congress outlawed it as part of the Clean Air Act. That left McInnis, who had become head of the company, with a fateful choice. Brown showed jurors a handwritten memo from McInnis considering the options -- discontinuing the product, switching to a safe propellant that would cost $1 a can more or using a propellant made from dimethyl ether that actually cost less. McInnis chose the third option because it was much cheaper, Brown said, but kept a label advertising Fix-a-Flat as non-explosive. "How deceptive. How illegal. How immoral," he said. Penzoil since has purchased Fix-a-Flat, recalled the product and replaced it with a safer propellant. But Gunn said McInnis relied on the advice of others and did not become aware of dimethyl ether's explosive characteristics for several years. "He always knew the third generation was flammable. What he didn't know is that it was explosive," he said. Gunn said that by the time of Daniel's death, however, company officials had become aware of the problem and ordered arning stickers to be placed on about a million Fix-a-Flat cans. Brown called the sticker a "clever little trick" that he contended was purposefully placed on the side of the can and designed to blend in with the yellow background. Instructions warned against welding near a tire that had been repaired with Fix-a-Flat and stated that it was intended for use on a 15-inch tire -- much smaller than the motor-grader Daniel was working on. "He had the can in his hand. He knew from his training and experience you don't weld (near) a tire with Fix-a-Flat in it," Gunn said. "Why he did what he did, I don't know. Maybe he didn't feel like he had the time to let out all the air in the tire." One of the co-defendants, Safety Consultants Engineers, was removed from the case on Friday. Gunn said the company settled with the plaintiffs for $700,000. The trial will resume today.

Police Report & News Briefs
Compiled from Bee staff reports and news services Published Tuesday, May 6, 2003, 8:10 AM
FIRE - Welder ignites blaze
An apartment fire sparked by a welder caused $260,000 damage in a southeast Fresno apartment complex, according to Fresno Fire Department reports. The two-alarm blaze started about 12:22 p.m. Monday in insulation and spread through the Winery Apartments at 1275 S. Winery Ave., said Randy Schrantz, an investigator with the Fresno Fire Department. The maintenance man working on the pipes reported shortness of breath and was treated at the scene. A woman also reported shortness of breath and chest pain. She was hospitalized. 

TEANECK - The roof and walls of a West Lawn Drive home were moderately damaged by fire, said police Lt. Thomas Sikorsky. Sparks from welding tools being used by a plumber ignited the two-alarm blaze Saturday afternoon, Sikorsky said. The homeowners were inside when the fire started and immediately called the Fire Department. Several fire engines responded and the smoky blaze was extinguished within 15 minutes. - Catherine Holahan

Napa cop spots fire, averts disaster for businesses
Thursday, May 1, 2003 By MARSHA DORGAN Register Staff Writer
A Napa police officer happened to be in the right place at the right time to stop a fire, not a crime. Officer George Ulitin, who was responding to an earlier call of a possible disturbance at the shopping center at Redwood Road and Solano Avenue, most likely nipped a serious structure fire in the bud when he discovered flames poking out between the common back wall shared between Weight Watchers and Dazzling Donuts. "I was checking out the back alley behind the business when I saw flames coming out between the wall shared by the two businesses," Ulitin said. "I called the fire department and told everyone in the businesses in that building to get out." In addition to Weight Watchers, other businesses in the smoldering building included Round Table Pizza, Dazzling Donuts and Bicycle Works. All were evacuated, but Weight Watchers, which was closed at the time, was the only business damaged. The cause of fire has been traced to a construction company that was doing asphalt paving patch work behind the businesses, Napa Fire Battalion Chief Steve Stuart said. Workers were using a heating torch along the edge of the buildings, Stuart said. The fire, found in the rear exterior walls of Weight Watchers, was heading for the roof, Stuart said. Armed with axes and chain saws, firefighters munched away at the exterior walls of the business to prevent the fire from rising to the roof. Scristoval Gonzalez, a baker at Dazzling Donuts, said he was baking donuts when he smelled the smoke. "I smelled something burning, and then the police were banging at the door telling us to get out of the building," he said. "There were three of us inside -- no customers -- and we left." Round Table Pizza employee Kyle Owens said the police also alerted him and the other employees to evacuate the restaurant. "There weren't any customers inside the restaurant, just about 10 employees," Owens said. "We just left the restaurant and are waiting to find out when we can go back inside." Using an ax, chain saw and circular saw, firefighters ate away at the exterior walls of the Weight Watchers business to make sure the fire didn't find its way to the roof, Stuart said. The damage, estimated at $5,000, was confined to the exterior and interior walls of the business, Stuart said. 
"The was no loss of contents."

Livingston torch fire guts truck, garage
Democrat and Chronicle 
(April 30, 2003) — OSSIAN — A garage was destroyed Tuesday by a fire that started with a man working on a truck with a torch. The fire at 9860 Tracy Road was reported at 2:36 p.m. The garage was filled with flames when crews arrived. The owner of the building, Donald Marks, 43, told Livingston County sheriff’s deputies that he had been working on the cab of his tractor trailer and using a torch to cut off parts of the undercarriage. The vehicle caught fire; Marks tried to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers and a garden hose but was unsuccessful. He was treated at the scene for burns to his hands. The building, tractor trailer and three other vehicles were a total loss. 

Fire Destroys Uncompleted Raspberry Falls House
Dan Telvock and Allen Browning 
Apr 28, 2003 -- A $450,000 house in Leesburg was destroyed by a fire Friday night and burned undetected for a few hours before firefighters were called to the scene. The Loudoun County Department of Fire and Rescue stated that the single-family home at 41616 Swiftwater Drive was under construction and no one was living in it. The Fire Marshals Office deemed the fire was accidental; a welder who was working in the house Friday, April 25, with a cutting torch ignited nearby combustibles. The fire burned undetected for a few hours until it was discovered at around 5:30 p.m. Leesburg, Lucketts, Ashburn, Hamilton and Loudoun fire and rescue personnel responded. Leesburg Volunteer Fire Chief Tom Goss said the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. No one was injured. Raspberry Falls subdivision neighbors believe the fire started in the back of the house. Several neighbors said they saw black smoke pouring from an upper story, rear window that quickly erupted into flames. The cloud of smoke could be seen as far away the Rt. 15/Rt. 7 interchange and firefighters had to battle the rush hour traffic on Rt. 15 north before they could even begin to fight the flames. The firefighters set up two “collapsible ponds,” into which fire tanker trucks deposited water, from which the hose crews drew upon to fight the fire. “Inside of 10 minutes of calling [911], the whole house was in flames,” said Matt Martin, a nearby neighbor The house is still owned by the developer, Van Metre Company. The buyers were Vince and Didi Spina, who are still renting a home in Leesburg. They were set to close on the house in about one month. “This is not how we wanted to get in the paper,” said Didi Spina. “We’re devastated.” 

Fire damages Utah Water Research Lab roof
LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Fire damaged the roof of the Utah Water Research Laboratory Monday, but no injuries occurred. There was no immediate damage estimate. Utah State University police Lt. Steve Milne said the fire started on the roof near the middle of the building where contractors were using a propane torch to repair the roof. Workers were heating a temporary patching substance so it would adhere to the roof's surface.

Fire damages house
By Dawn Bowen Current-Argus Staff Writer 
Friday, April 25, 2003 - CARLSBAD - Mary Lou Carrasco and her two grandchildren escaped unharmed from her burning house Friday, thanks to two young women who warned her but left before she learned their names. "I didn't even know I had a fire until some girls came to the door," Carrasco said. "They were passing by and they helped me get the babies out. I didn't even get their names." Carrasco said she was taking care of the children - an infant and a 2-year-old child - around 11:45 a.m. while her fianc and her son were working in the back yard of her home at 807 N. Guadalupe St. She said she was startled by the two women who came to the door, then came inside the house and told her about the fire. "When I looked back there (in the yard), all I saw was flames. All I could think was to get the babies out," she said. Assistant Fire Chief Frank Navarrette said it was a spark from a cutting torch that the men were using behind the house that started the fire. He said the men left the home for a moment, not realizing that a spark had landed in dry grass and leaves and was about to start a fire. "Any suspicious acts or arson have been ruled out. It was an accident with the cutting torch. Everything was so dry and easily caught fire," Navarrette said. The flames quickly spread from the grass and leaves to the oxygen or acetylene tanks, causing an explosion that sent smoke and flames far above the home, he said. A patio covering at the back of the house was destroyed and the house received substantial damage when the fire penetrated into the attic of the home. The total amount of damage had not yet been determined late Friday. Navarrette said he and Fire Chief Mike Reynolds had left the fire station separately a few minutes earlier for a lunch break and were in the area near the house when they saw the smoke. Navarrette called to report the structure fire and both officials arrived at the house within minutes. "The fire chief and Frank, those guys don't sit behind a desk. They were both here unrolling hoses and helping," said Jeff Gordon, who was driving nearby and stopped to help. Gordon said he was headed south on Richard Street when he saw a small amount of smoke and debris rising over the house. He said at first it appeared that only leaves had caught fire, then the flames exploded in the yard and spread to the house. Gordon said he was impressed with the fast response by firefighters. "The Fire Department got here quick. I bet they weren't here two minutes and they were already spraying water onto the house and the house next door. I bet they saved that house," he said, pointing at the home at 809 N. Guadalupe St. According to Fire Department reports, a Jet Ski parked outside that house was destroyed by the fire and the house received smoke damage, but was not seriously damaged by the fire. Lonnie Granger said he was driving nearby when he saw flames and smoke and became concerned that someone might be inside the home. He said he drove around to the front of the house and stopped to make sure there was no one left inside. "When I pulled around here in front (of the house), I saw a lady holding two kids. She told me everyone had gotten out," he said. Navarrette said he is proud of the firefighters who responded to the call, protected the surrounding structures and quickly put the fire out. "I want to show appreciation to Shift Commander Rolando Gonzalez and his crew for the quality and professionalism they demonstrated today," he said. "The citizens of Carlsbad can sleep soundly at night knowing we're at work." The young women who warned Carrasco about the fire and others who stopped to help should also be thanked, he said. "She's so lucky that those women came and told her. I'm sure she's grateful," he said. Carrasco said she is grateful for the two strangers who helped her and the children escape from the house without injury. "I would like to thank the two girls who came to help me," she said. Carrasco, her grandchildren and members of her family watched from across the street while firefighters from four Carlsbad Fire Department stations and the Happy Valley Volunteer Fire Department worked to put out the fire. "This is a nightmare," she said. 

Two Men Burned Defrosting a Freezer
Apr. 28 - In Madison County, a fire at a restaurant injured a father and a son. It happened at the Rock Cliff Bar-B-Cue and Cafe Sunday afternoon. The two men were using a propane torch to thaw out a freezing unit inside the cafe's cooler. A pocket of liquid petrolium built up in the freezing unit causing a flash explosion. The father, Joe Lyda was taken to Huntsville Hospital with burns to his heads, face and chest. His son Joseph, was flown to UAB's burn unit with burns to his face, chest and hands. There was minor damage to the business. 

Welding sparks ignite fire
Old railroad ties from around the Midwest are brought to the south end of French Island. A crane lifts the ties and sets them in a shredder as large as a city bus. Metal teeth grind the square, creosote-treated logs that were strong enough to support thousands of freight trains into strings and chips. The shredder spits the remains into an open air storage building two stories tall, where they are stored until hauled to the nearby Xcel Energy power plant for burning. It's the product of husband and wife teamwork. Bobbi Jo Donahue runs the shredder from her yellow cab that overlooks the shredder. Just yards to the north, her husband's crane cab sits just a little higher. Ron Donahue is the manager of the operation, after all. This weekend they saw their workplace burn. The fire late Saturday night at the shredding operation at 817 Bainbridge St. severely damaged some equipment, but caused no injuries. Sparks from welding at the site earlier in the day appear to have ignited piles of ties. Further investigation is not expected. Neighbors of the operation, who are separated from the shredding site by a steel beam storage yard of more than an acre noticed the flicker of a fire about 11 p.m. and called 911. Town of Campbell police officer Tim Placek had checked the facility about 10 p.m. and saw nothing. The fire grew quickly, neighbors say. When Campbell firefighters arrived, flames were licking at the shredder, around the crane, and beside a large metal storage container next to it. Fire had not gotten into the storage shed, said Campbell Fire Chief Gary Brauer. The La Crescent, Minn., fire department was called to help. In all, about 15 firefighters spent 21/2 hours knocking down the flames. Had the shredded ties that partially filled the storage building caught fire, Brauer said they would have been there all night. The firefighters, with their backs to the shredded ties that they first soaked, attacked the fire. They also had to go into the flames next to the container to cut loose some tanks of welding gases that were chained in place. From the container, which was hot inside and filled with toxic smoke, they removed more welding equipment, Brauer said. And they made certain to keep a diesel fuel tank under the shredder's cab as wet and cool as possible. As it was, up to 10 small explosions popped from the blaze, Brauer and Campbell police officers at the scene said. The chief speculated some explosions could have come from the crane's hydraulic cylinders, but he wasn't certain. Ron Donahue assisted the fight by using a front-end loader to lift burning bundles of ties from the pile. With smoke sometimes engulfing his cab, firefighters trained their hoses on the orange glow between the bundled ties as he moved them. "He had a lot of (guts) going in with that front-end loader," Brauer said. He said Donahue was "fabulous" to work with. Brauer was not worried the fire would reach the five or so houses neighboring the operation, because of the steel beam storage yard. He was worried about the smoke. Because ties are treated with creosote, the smoke from the fire was potentially dangerous, he said. But a light wind carried it away toward the river rather than into the neighborhood. So it wasn't necessary to evacuate anyone, he said. In the more than 11 years the shredding operation has been at the site, welding done to repair and maintain the equipment had never caused a fire, Ron Donahue said. A water line is run to the site and is used to soak the ties and area after each welding session. He said he sprayed down the shredder about noon Saturday after changing its oil, and the employee who was welding also wet down the area. The shredder is only one of three of its kind built, the Donahues said. The operation, formerly owned by Rail Systems Inc., was sold in February to The Tie Yard of Omaha, they said. The Xcel plant has gotten most of its shredded ties from Rail Systems Inc., according to a February 2002 Tribune article. Rail Systems received its ties from a five state area, primarily from CP Rail. 

Seven Marshall Field's employees treated for smoke inhalation
April 16, 2003 — A fire broke out at the downtown Marshall Field's Wednesday. Seven employees in the basement cafeteria of the State Street store were taken to the hospital after being overcome with smoke. The fire started from work being done on a water pipe. "Welders in the basement started a small fire. They put it out themselves, but a fan drew smoke up into the cafeteria," said Chief Thomas Donnellan, Chicago Fire Department. No Field's employees suffered serious injuries and no customers were injured.

Bilge fire in Auke Bay causes little damage 
AlaskaDigest Friday, April 18, 2003 staff and Wire reports 
AUKE BAY - A barge at the Allen Marine dock in Auke Bay sustained only minor damage after a spark from a welder's torch ignited its bilge Wednesday morning. Capital City Fire and Rescue responded to a fire around 10:30 a.m., but the fire already had been put out by the barge's crew. Capt. Beth Weldon said the welder was installing a new oil tank. No one was injured. Damage was contained to the bilge and was less than $1,000, Weldon said.

Roofing Glue Accelerated Leesburg School Fire
Allen Browning 
Apr 18, 2003 -- Roofing adhesives being used in the construction of Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg contributed to Monday’s blaze at the site and may be the cause of flames that engulfed a Loudoun County firefighter, building authorities said Thursday. The fire began when a construction worker using a cutting torch ignited insulation sheets that were stacked on the roof awaiting installation. It was the presence of at least one of two roofing adhesive compounds on the roof that burned Loudoun County firefighter Brett Harne, according to Loudoun County Public School Superintendent for Support Services Evan E. Mohler and Tucon Construction President Keith Maddox. Harne was flown by helicopter to a Washington, DC trauma center for treatment. He was released from the hospital later than night and has returned to duty. Despite the spectacular fire that created flames and smoke that could be seen for miles Monday, school administrators and building authorities says students will have nothing to fea from the materials being used in the roof construction. The entire roofing system to be installed at Reid Elementary is called a ballasted Firestone EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene-terpolymer) roof. Firestone is one of the largest of several manufacturers who market EPDM systems, which are used on flat-roofed buildings. The system consists of a series of Firestone products that are laid over corrugated steel plates, which are welded to steel roof girders. The first layer is the insulation made by Firestone called ISO 95+, which was the stacked insulation that caught fire on the roof of the school. The next layer is a rubber membrane material, for which the roofing system is named, called EPDM. It comes in rolls that are unfurled into sections that cover the ISO 95+ panels, followed by gravel or rocks used to weigh the EPDM down so it does not shift or blow away with the wind. While ISO 95+ insulation panels and the EPDM will burn, they are not nearly as flammable as the various chemical compounds used to connect the sections of EPDM membrane to one another. And it is those chemicals that Mohler, Maddox and a host of other building officials believe ignited Harne, because according to Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) code “flame spread” scales, the ISO 95+ panels are less flammable than wood. “[The panels] have a flame spread of 25,” said Mohler. “That’s not as high as dry wood, which is rated at 100. “Asbestos is rated at zero,” Mohler noted. With a flame spread of 25, the ISO 95+ insulation qualifies as a Class I material, which encompasses the least flammable materials available. By contrast, untreated wood is a Class III material, which makes it among the most flammable materials in use. Class III materials have a flame spread ranging from 76 to 200 while Class II materials range from 26 to 75. However, the adhesive chemicals present on the roof are very flammable, according to the Material Safety Data Sheets that accompany the products. Firestone Bonding Adhesive BA-2004 contains acetone, toluene, and xylene, all of which are flammable, while Firestone Lap Seam Sealant LS-3029A-1 contains naphtha, a flammable ingredient that is also used as cigarette-lighter fuel and in barbecue-lighter fluid. While the roofing adhesives are flammable, Mohler said once the roof is installed they will no longer be present at the construction site. As for the burned area, engineers for the school system and Tucon have already evaluated the damage and steps are being taken to repair it. “We’re replacing seven bar joists,” said Mohler. “It’s quicker to replace them then to mess with cleaning and repainting them.” In addition, two layers, or courses, of cinder blocks at the top of a nearby wall are also being replaced. In the meantime, construction of Frances Reid is still proceeding on other areas of the project. Attempts were made to reach the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office for comment.

Investigators suspect blowtorch as cause of Oscar Mayer fire
UPDATED: 4/18/03 6:46 AM
DAVENPORT - Fire officials are still investigating a fire that broke out Thursday afternoon at Davenport's Oscar Mayer plant. Firefighters evacuated the plant shortly after they arrived, and battled the fire for more than two hours before putting out the flames. Investigators have determined both the cause and where the fire started. The lingering question is whether or not it is safe to resume operations at the plant. The fire started on the fifth floor in some old insulation in the walls of the plant and it didn't take long for the flames to spread. Investigators say construction workers using a welding torch sparked insulation inside the walls. Nine of the eleven Davenport fire companies were called to the scene, including a number of off-duty firefighters. Bettendorf crews were also on hand. It took about two and a half hours to extinguish the flames. Firefighters say it wasn't an easy task. Roughly 650 employees were safely evacuated at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. Plant management has been working with the Department of Agriculture to determine when the plant will resume operation. Whether or not employees will be called back to work is still unknown. 

Two north county fires damage homes
By ERIC COLLINS Staff Writer
Flying sparks from a welder started a fire that destroyed two classic cars, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and damaged a Glen Burnie home, one of two serious blazes in north county yesterday. Four people were at the two-story home of Harold Pumphrey Sr. at 511 Pumphrey Lane when the fire started about 4:25 p.m., said Capt. Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman. A family member was using a welding torch while working on a classic car in the attached garage when a spark ignited the backseat, Capt. Cox said. He and the others escaped safely. It took 45 firefighters about 30 minutes to control the two-alarm blaze, which spread into the house and caused about $190,000 damage, he said. Capt. Cox didn't know what kind of classic cars were destroyed. "The garage burned to the ground," he said. The fire forced the family to stay with other relatives in the area, he said. A few hours later at 8:20 p.m., a smoke detector alerted Tina Billiat, her 11-year-old son and mother to a fire in their home at 143 Olen Drive in Glen Burnie, said Capt. Lee Cornwell, another county fire spokesman. They escaped safely. It took 38 firefighters about 15 minutes to control the "all-hands" blaze, which caused $50,000 damage, Capt. Cornwell said. Officials designate a blaze as all hands to bring backup equipment and crews to the scene. Crews from the American Red Cross responded to help find the family temporary shelter. Officials believe the blaze, which appeared accidental, started in a bedroom but they had not determined the cause as of this morning, he said.

Lincoln church suffers damage after morning fire
BY WIL SHANE Northwest Arkansas Times Thursday, April 24, 2003
Roofers working on a church in Lincoln on Wednesday accidentally started a fire that ripped through the building, causing extensive damage, and rekindling the pastor’s memories of another church fire over a decade earlier. Rev. Jerry Mizell, pastor of the First Assembly of God Church, said the fire started at about 10 a.m. when roofers were applying a product called Torch On. The material is heated and rolled over roofs to seal leaks. "The heat caught a bird’s nest on fire and it spread through the attic and ceiling," Mizell said. The pastor was dubbing cassette tapes from an Easter Cantata in the church when he smelled smoke, he explained. "I went up on the roof and talked with the roofers, but everything looked fine," Mizell said. "So I came back down and went back to dubbing tapes." A few minutes later, Mizell heard "a yelling, panicked sound" coming from outside. "I thought someone had fallen off the roof and hurt themselves," Mizell said. As he was coming out of the Fellowship Hall’s back door, Mizell was met by one of the roofers, who said there was a fire. "I called 911 and started carrying out what I could," Mizell said. He managed to save several musical instruments including keyboards, a drum set, some microphones, a Peavy bass guitar and a Takeminie acoustic guitar. A crew from the Prairie Grove Fire Department was first on the scene and a crew from the Lincoln department arrived later. When asked why the Lincoln department, which is stationed within a half mile of the church, didn’t arrive first, Mizell declined to comment. "We’re fully insured so we’re not too worried," he said. "These things happen." It happened to Mizell once before in 1990 when he was the pastor of an Assembly of God Church in Barling. During a remodeling project, that church burned completely to the ground, he said. "The police woke us up at 6:30 a.m. and told us the church was on fire," Mizell recalled. Mizell’s wife, Sue Mizell, said this latest fire was much less serious than the earlier blaze. "We couldn’t rebuild the church in Barling, but we’ll be able to fix this one," she said. "In the other fire, we lost everything, even Jerry’s library." No cause was ever determined in the earlier fire, she added. Other than "a little smoke inhalation" incurred during his efforts to retrieve the musical instruments, Mizell suffered no injuries in the incident, he said. EMT T. J. Howerton, stationed at the Lincoln department, said most of the fire damage was in the ceiling. "When we got there, it was mostly contained in the back and in the roof," he said. "It moved all the way through the attic and caused some pretty extensive damage." Howerton said it was pretty clear what started the fire, but said he would make no official comment on the case until an investigation is completed. Mizell said he will meet with representatives from the church’s insurance carrier today to determine a damage estimate and to see how long it will be before the repairs can be completed. 

Fire damages Greece church
Patrick Flanigan Democrat and Chronicle 
(April 24, 2003) — GREECE — A Greece church was damaged by fire Wednesday, but the church’s pastor does not expect any interruptions to today’s scheduled services. “The damage was isolated to one room off the front vestibule,” said the Rev. John Forni, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on West Ridge Road. “We’ll do a little cleanup and be back in business.” Bud Phillips, chief of the Greece Ridge Fire Department, said the fire was reported at 10:30 a.m. and under control within 20 minutes. It was ignited accidentally by contractors from Alliance Door & Hardware Inc. who were using an oxygen acetylene torch to replace a window in a meeting room on the west side of the building. The fire spread to the ceiling and wall. Firefighters had to break into the wall from the outside to attack the blaze. “You could hear it moving through the wall when we got here,” Phillips said of the fire. Lou Bivone, owner of Alliance Door & Hardware, said a spark from the torch got into the ceiling. The torch was opeated by a two-person crew -- one who works the torch, and one who reacts in case of a fire. The crew members immediately called 911 and began battling the flames with extinguishers when the fire started, said Bivone, who noted fire-resistant blankets had been placed on the floor to keep sparks from igniting the carpet. “They did everything they were supposed to do,” Bivone said of his crew. “It’s just unfortunate that a spark went in the wrong place. This hasn’t happened in the 25 years I’ve owned the company.” Bivone said he expects his company’s insurance policies to cover the cost of the repairs. Forni said he did not know how long it would take to completely repair the damage but said the timing of the fire could have been worse. “Better this week than last week,” he said, referring to Holy Week, which precedes Easter Sunday and is one of the most active weeks on the Catholic calendar. St. John the Evangelist is the home parish for about 2,700 families. A Communion service is set today for 6:25 a.m. and a Mass for 8:15 a.m. To learn whether schedules have changed, call (585) 225-8980.

Blazing bitumen sets fire to roofs
Apr 23, 2003, 13:42:00
Workmen accidentally set fire to a roof they were repairing at a bungalow in Staffordshire when hot bitumen ignited. Within minutes flames spread from the garage roof to the house and a conservatory, causing damage running into thousands. The occupants were out at the time. Fire crews had to break in to rescue two dogs. It happened in Sunningdale Drive, Kingston Hill, Stafford, yesterday when a gas bottle became detached from a blow-torch and ignited the bitumen. Within seconds the men were faced with fierce flames and raised the alarm. The flames whipped across the bungalow roof and damaged the conservatory at the rear. Stafford fire service sub-officer Ian Jones said: "The flames spread very quickly but luckily no-one was hurt and we forced entry into the bungalow to get the dogs out. "It would appear the men had no extinguishing materials to hand, such as a small bucket of water, and we would urge anyone carrying out similar jobs and using such inflammatory material to think twice about safety precautions. "However, the men did the right thing in dialling 999 and not trying to tackle the blaze themselves." The conservatory was worst hit and the garage and bungalow roofs were also damaged.

Smoke-filled club closed after welding accident 
SEATTLE — A smoky basement fire sparked by a welding accident temporarily shut down the Washington Athletic Club building. The incident began about 7:30 p.m. at 1325 Sixth Ave. Seattle Fire Deputy Chief Angelo Duggins said welders were trying to attach a metal casing to a door when the backing, which is made of wood, caught on fire. 

UPDATE Argonaut to open in August; Fire had delayed hotel's premiere for more than a year 
George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, April 10, 2003 San Francisco Chronicle 
The opening of the Argonaut Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf, delayed for more than a year because of a fire at the construction site, is now planned for August, its developer said Wednesday. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants of San Francisco, of course, is opening the hotel in the midst of an anemic economy. Hotel performance has been on a downward spiral nationwide during the past two years, putting a strain on the ability of many property managers and owners to cover expenses, noted the hospitality research group PKF Consulting. However, Gary Carr of the San Francisco PKF office noted that Fisherman's Wharf hotels have higher occupancy rates than the rest of the city -- 72.8 percent for 2002 compared with 65.4 percent for the whole of San Francisco. Even in the off month of January, wharf hotels had a rate of 57.6 percent compared with 53.3 percent overall, Carr said. Moreover, PKF expects an upturn in the hotel business and economy in general in the second half of this year, "and by that time the hotel will be up and running and that should coincide nicely for them," he said. The hotel is housed in the 96-year-old Haslett Warehouse, which early in the last century was the largest fruit and vegetable cannery in the world. Construction of the hotel was in an early phase on the night of March 16, 2002, when a five-alarm fire damaged the fourth floor and destroyed the roof of the historic warehouse -- vacant since the 1980s -- at Jefferson and Hyde streets near the Hyde Street cable-car turnaround. The San Francisco Fire Department concluded the fire was a construction job accident, the source a welding operation. Damage was estimated at $5 million. The 198,000-square-foot Haslett Warehouse is owned by the National Park Service and is leased to Kimpton, which is creating the 252-room boutique hotel in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at Fisherman's Wharf. Accordingly, Kimpton said Wednesday, there will be a nautical atmosphere at the Argonaut Hotel -- wooden plank floors and portholes in the lobby walls, for example. Brass telescopes will be placed in suites for guests to track ships in the bay. The new hotel's ground floor will include the maritime park's new visitor center, and Kimpton said rent it pays will be used to help preserve the park's historic ships -- the Balclutha, C.A. Thayer, Hercules and Eureka, at Hyde Street Pier. The developer of the $40 million project is Maritime Hotel Associates LP, an affiliate of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Kimpton's pattern is to couple its boutique hotels with a restaurant, and adjacent to the Argonaut will be the 134-seat Blue Mermaid Chowder House, designed by Robert Puccini Design and Development of San Francisco. The warehouse fire and its aftermath caused major difficulties for tenants of the Cannery, said Chris Martin, president of Cannery Properties LLC. "It has meant dirt, noise, impact to sidewalks and streets and, obviously, we look forward to the opening of the hotel," Martin said. He said he expects the opening to coincide with an upward movement in the economic cycle. "You want to hit it on the way up," and the hotel, at the high end of wharf hotels, will be well positioned, said Martin. Jim Whelan, executive vice president of Kimpton Hotels, said, "This is a world-class city and Aquatic Park is a world-class destination. People will always come back to San Francisco. We expect them to come back to San Francisco when the current tumult subsides." The four-story, timber-and-brick Haslett Warehouse was built between 1907 and 1909 by the California Fruit Canners Association. After its service as a cannery it changed hands several times and, in 1978, was transferred to the National Park Service. It was later included in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, which was established in 1988. The City of San Francisco declared the Haslett Warehouse a historic landmark in 1974. 

Constellation plant catches fire
April 8, 2003: 8:54 AM EDT 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Constellation Nuclear said its 840 megawatt Calvert Cliffs 2 nuclear unit in Maryland caught fire Monday while the reactor was shut for a refueling outage, the company said in a report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company, which declared an unusual event because of the incident, said the fire in the pressurizer was put out in a little over 30 minutes and did not cause damage to the plant equipment. An unusual event is the lowest of four of the NRC's emergency classifications at U.S. nuclear power plants. The company determined the cause of the fire was "slag from welding operations that fell through some fire blankets and ignited the herculite underneath." The unit, which shut on Feb. 18, is expected to remain shut until mid-May for the refueling and replacement of steam generators and main transformers. Meanwhile, the adjacent 835 MW Unit 1 continued to operate at full power. The Calvert Cliffs station is located about 40 miles south of Annapolis, Md. 

UPDATE Copperweld running after Friday fire
By Russ Kent News Journal 
SHELBY -- Firefighters had their hands full Friday morning with a stubborn fire at LTV/Copperweld's Plant No. 1 on Main Street. Shelby Fire Chief Scott Hartman said sparks from welding ignited oil in a machinery pit on one of the assembly lines. The oil and fire filled the plant with thick black smoke and forced employees to leave the building. "Visibility was just about zero," Hartman said. "When we got there we thought the electric was off. It was just the smoke. You couldn't see a thing." Firefighters found the fire source using flashlights and a thermal-imager. "It was tough to get at," Hartman said. "The thermal-imager came in handy because there was fire under grates and under things that would have been hard to find." The plant remained open. "The No. 3 finishing line is down," said Jim Baske, vice president of the Manufacturing Division. "We're still evaluating the damage and we're not yet sure how long it will be shut down." Baske said no employees were injured. Hartman said firefighters were on the scene for about two hours. No firefighters were injured. 

Welder’s torch starts salvage-company fire
Friday, April 4, 2003 By MALCOLM HALL Repository staff writer
MASSILLON — A spark or the flame from a worker’s welding torch ignited gasoline fumes and caused a fire that injured him and damaged a building at Massillon Auto Recycling on Thursday morning. The employee, Scott Rossiter, suffered a leg burn. He was treated at Massillon Community Hospital and released. Rossiter, according to Fire Department officials, was using a torch to sever parts from a van. As the sparks or flame approached gasoline on the floor inside the metal and wood-frame pole storage building, the fire ignited. When firefighters arrived at the salvage company at 741 Third St. NW, “the whole building was totally involved, and we had fire extending through the roof,” said Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Brumbaugh. “It is a total loss.” Company workers stored auto parts, tools and tires in the pole building. The company was formerly known as Massillon Auto Salvage. Fire Department accounts differ slightly from the information provided by an official of the salvage company. Rossiter, according to firefighters, was using a welding torch to sever a fuel tank off the van chassis. “The tank fell, and he said the fire started then,” said Capt. Jerry Layne, the Fire Department’s fire prevention officer. “I am guessing the gas spilled out of it. And he had the torch in his hand.” However, Paul Eddleman, a company sales representative, said the fuel tank was not on the vehicle when Rossiter was using the welding torch. “He was using a torch to heat up something on the vehicle,” Eddleman said. “But the vehicle had no gas tank on it. It was a spark that hit some fuel that was on the floor.” Firefighters arrived at about 9:30 a.m. and managed to keep the blaze from spreading about 10 yards north to another steel pole building housing the company’s offices. Rossiter “alerted everyone there is a fire,” said Brian Ohm, who owns Massillon Auto Recycling. “The doors were open, so there were flames out the doors.” By late morning, a pungent odor still wafted from the burned building. Small flames were visible on the partially collapsed roof. “We had some oil tanks that were on fire,” Brumbaugh said. “We did have one 55-gallon drum that exploded. I haven’t talk to the owner to see what was in there.”

Fire at the Lion Brewery
Wilkes-Barre Fire Department kept busy Thursday night with a smokey fire at the Lion Brewery. Fire officials tell us the fire was in the wall of the scale room where the brewery weighs yeast and grain. The fire was touched off by a contractor who was cutting metal with a torch earlier in the day. There was little damage, but the health department inspected and destroyed several bags of grain and yeast.

Fire forces evacuation of UF health center
Sparks from welding equipment caused a fire that forced the evacuation of several hundred people at the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center on Wednesday. The fire, in a sub-basement at the center's Communicore building on the University of Florida campus, started while a worker was repairing the ventilation system, said Arline Phillips-Han, director of news and communications at the center. It broke out about 11:40 a.m., Gainesville Fire Rescue reported. The fire was in a small area of the building but, because of the confined space, produced a major amount of smoke. Two employees complained of smoke inhalation but did not need further treatment after being evaluated by paramedics, said Katy Hanrahan, a GFR spokeswoman. The building is the main headquarters for UF's small animal research center, Phillips-Han said. "Smoke only got into one part of the animal research facility," she said. All animals exposed to the smoke - 5,500 mice, 1,993 rats, 34 guinea pigs and 20 rabbits - were fine. But officials plan to monitor the animals closely for at least 48 hours to make sure they have no health problems. - Lise Fisher 

Fire At Carter-Finley Causes $6,000 Damage To Practice Field
April 2, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The fire at N.C. State Tuesday afternoon had nothing to do with a Cardiac Pack comeback. There was a grass fire on the new football practice field at Carter-Finley Stadium. A blow torch left on the field by some contract workers ignited the flames. The workers tried to put the fire out, but it spread, causing some $6,000 in damage to equipment on the field. Heavy smoke from the flames clogged traffic for a bit, and the smell of smoke wafted over Wade Avenue near the RBC Center. But the fire was put out, and everything got back to normal.

Brush Fire Shuts Down Portion Of I-40
April 1, 2003 Story by nbc17.com 
RALEIGH -- Dozens of fire fighters responded to a brush fire along 1-40 near the Blue Ridge Road exit Tuesday afternoon. More than 20 acres of woodled land was burning as of 5 p.m. Officials say the blaze began around 2 p.m. and was caused by sparks from welding equipment. Western Wake Fire Chief Scottie Harris tells NBC 17 storm debris and high winds have helped to spread the fire. 

UPDATE Vietnam charges over disco fire
Police in Vietnam say they have filed charges against 11 people, including a US citizen, in connection with a fire in Ho Chi Minh City last year, in which at least 60 people were killed. he American, Nguyen Van Phuong, is the owner of the discotheque in the city's International Trade Centre building, where the fire broke out last October during welding work. He is charged with violating fire safety regulations. The ten other people charged include the disco owner's Vietnamese wife and the welders, who are thought to have accidentally started the fire. 

Fire on historic warship apparently started by welder's torch
March 29, 2003 
A fire that forced the evacuation of tourists and workers aboard a historic warship docked on the waterfront at Penn's Landing was sparked by a welder's torch, authorities said. The fire started just after 2 p.m. Friday in the boiler room of the USS Olympia, the oldest steel-hulled American warship afloat and the last remaining naval combatant of the Spanish-American War. The flames were contained to a confined area below the ship's deck, where work was being done on the vessel. About 120 firefighters battled the two-alarm blaze, and two fire boats had to be dispatched to help fight the fire. The fire was declared under control shortly after 3:30 p.m., officials said. There were no injuries reported and a damage estimate could not be immediately determined, officials said. The 344-foot warship was launched in 1892 and served as Commodore George Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. Since 1996, the Independence Seaport Museum has been working to restore the ship, a project estimated to cost up to $30 million. Workers have been removing asbestos from the ship, and doing work on sections that are below water. Museum officials said they did not know how long the ship would have to remain closed.

One man injured when sparks ignite vapors from gas tanks
MARCIA POBZEZNIK, Special to The Herald News March 25, 2003 
TIVERTON -- Sparks flying in an area where there were two gas tanks that were not capped caused a fire in a concrete building at Tiverton Auto Body and resulted in one worker receiving burns to his leg. Fire Chief Alan Jack said Nathaniel Brown was cutting an exhaust off a car he had on a lift in a garage on the property of Tiverton Auto Body, 384 King Road, last Friday afternoon when sparks ignited gasoline vapors from nearby gasoline tanks that were on the floor of the garage. When another worker tried to move the gas tanks to the outside of the building, gasoline splashed from the tanks, spreading the fire along the floor. "There was heavy, heavy fire and thick black smoke," when Firefighter Michael Donovan responded to the scene with the first fire engine, said Jack. Donovan was able to quell the fire, he said. Because the building is constructed of concrete blocks, there was minor damage to it, said Jack. Brown suffered burns to his lower leg. He had been taken to a nearby medical walk-in center by a fellow worker and was not at the scene when firefighters first arrived. Jack said the Fire Department plans to inspect the property to ensure workers are aware of the potential fire hazards. Having uncovered gasoline tanks sitting in an area where sparks are flying is high on the hazard list. 

California Fire Station Burns
HEATHER CASPI Firehouse.Com News
California's Cameron Park Fire Department suffered massive damage Monday after a welder on the roof sparked a two-alarm blaze. About a third of the building was destroyed, including the fire station's living quarters and administration offices, said Bill Draper, Assistant Chief in charge of administration at the California State Forestry. The station's apparatus and shop area, and their equipment, were not damaged. The building's repair cost is estimated at $750,000 but Draper said the department is fully insured. "To the best of our knowledge, insurance will cover the replacements," he said. Draper said the fire was sparked by a welder fixing broken water pipes that had recently flooded the station's first and second floors. The fire was later observed coming from the roof and was reported about 11 a.m. Cameron Park firefighters were the first on scene and were able to access their gear and respond to the fire. Several other fire departments also responded including El Dorado County and the California State Forestry, which served as incident command. Draper said there were about fifteen engines and several trucks on the scene. Draper said the department is still operating out of the station, by bringing in portable living quarters and using a vacant sheriff's office for administration space. Cameron Park fire officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fire destroys antique cars, tractors
By CHAD KLIMACK Advocate Reporter 
PATASKALA -- A fire raced through a large garage Monday afternoon, destroying part of Pataskala Transportation Department Director Lewis Hoskinson's antique car and tractor collection. The fire started just before 3:12 p.m. in a garage located behind the home Hoskinson and his wife, Kathy, own at 4730 Ohio 16. Hoskinson was welding a tractor when he smelled strong fumes coming from somewhere nearby. An arc from his welder ignited the mysterious fumes, and Hoskinson was instantly standing in a puddle of fire, he said. He narrowly escaped harm after pushing a 1936 Chevrolet out of the garage and going back in, despite the smoke and flames, to try and save a 1930 Model A Ford, the first car Hoskinson ever owned. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 3:20 p.m. and made Hoskinson move away from the garage, which measured 50-by-48-feet. The fire destroyed the garage, causing the roof to fall and leaving antique tractors and other equipment blackened and smoldering. The garage was insured, but Hoskinson said he did not know if the insurance would cover his possessions. Aside from a number of vehicles and tractors, the garage also contained equipment Hoskinson had acquired from the former Pataskala Shoe Repair on Wood Street. West Licking Joint Fire District handled most of the firefighting duties with mutual aid from fire departments from Alexandria, Hebron, Granville and Millersport. No one was hurt in the blaze, which firefighters contained soon after arriving at the scene. Nonetheless, police closed one lane of Ohio 16, near Indian Hills Golf Course, so fire engines and fire-related equipment could park in the road. Police re-opened both lanes close to an hour later. As for the source of the mysterious fumes, Hoskinson said he did not know where they came from. He added his family has owned the farm where the barn was located for close to 100 years. During that span, two other homes located across the street had barns that caught fire and burned to the ground, but his family had been spared until Monday. Following the fire, family members consoled the longtime-city official, and his wife said she was thankful her husband had escaped harm.

MedCath facility damaged by fire
W. Scott Bailey DBJ Contributor 
The new Heart Hospital of San Antonio, a MedCath Corp. property set to open in October, was 60 percent complete. But late Monday night - a few days shy of one year after crews broke ground - the four-story structure was struck by fire and at least one explosion. By midnight, firefighters were uncertain as to the level of damage the building had sustained. Officials with Charlotte-based MedCath also were unsure when the nearly $50 million facility now will be completed. Perhaps it was the luck of the Irish that staved off a worse disaster, as fire and MedCath officials said no one was injured. An off-duty police officer was near the building when he said he heard an explosion around 9:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. "We're not sure how it started," said Ben Hoeffner, fire chief for Balcones Heights, a San Antonio suburb and one of nine departments to respond to the blaze. "But we think it was something left from a worker that may have started this." Hoeffner said crews had done welding work earlier in the day. He said shrtly after firefighters initially reached the roof, where much of the damage occurred based on initial reports, at least one butane bottle exploded. "I've never seen anything of this magnitude," Hoeffner said of the blaze. "Not here. Not like this." The fire's cause remains under investigation. "Our reaction is that it's a bricks and mortar issue," said Bill Moore, president of MedCath's hospital division. "To our knowledge, no one was injured. We'll be able to build back what was damaged." Asked how long the fire may have delayed that opening, Moore said: "We really don't know until we see what has occurred. But our commitment to this project remains the same." Locally, MedCath operates the Dayton Heart Hospital. The company runs 10 cardiovascular care centers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas.

State investigation follows fire at downtown demolition site 
By Megan Woolhouse The Courier-Journal 
State safety officials have opened an investigation after Louisville firefighters said they had to make demolition workers leave a smoky building they were tearing down. But the company, CRS Demolition of Louisville, says workers evacuated the building and returned only after all danger had passed. Maj. John T. Lyons of Louisville Fire & Rescue said he was surprised to find employees of CRS Demolition still at work inside the building at Eighth Street and Broadway when firefighters arrived about 11:30 a.m. yesterday. ''We had to make them leave the building,'' Lyons said. The workers had been using welding torches to dismantle portions of the former car dealership when they accidentally set a pile of rubber debris on fire. The fire was small but filled the air with dark smoke visible for several blocks, Lyons said. Jon Davies, president of CRS Demolition, 1547 S. Seventh St., said firefighters arrived after workers had put out the fire with fire extinguishers and evacuated the site. Workers stood outside the building while firefighters investigated, he said. A foreman ordered the men back to work, he said, because there was minimal smoke and the group was working on the second floor, not the first floor where the fire broke out. Davies said the company told workers to return to the job because the building was made mostly of concrete and there was little chance for the fire to spread. ''We knew it (the building) couldn't burn,'' he said. Lyons said he called the Kentucky Occupational Safety & Health Program to request the investigation. The agency's spokesman, Eddie Jacobs, confirmed that an investigation had been opened but said he could not comment further.

Fire destroys Harvey firms
BY PHIL ROCKROHR Times Staff Writer
HARVEY -- More than 75 firefighters from throughout the South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana quelled a five-alarm blaze here Friday that gutted two neighboring construction companies worth more than $1 million. Both buildings collapsed, but no one was injured, Harvey Fire Chief Greg DeGroot said. Firefighters came from as far as Crete, Tinley Park, Calumet Park and Munster. Smoke clouds were visible 10 miles away. Harvey firefighters responded to an alarm at Prairie Brick Co., 1220 W. 171st St., at 11:35 a.m., but the fire may have started earlier and employees may have tried to quell the blaze before firefighters arrived, DeGroot said. "We believe they tried to fight it themselves, by the amount of fire here when we pulled up," he said. "Dispatch said there were multiple calls. We believe there was a delay in the alarm." The fire was started by a Prairie employee welding company equipment in a garage, Harvey officials said. "The worker said he turned around and the next thing he knew the whole place was on fire," Harvey Mayor Nickolas Graves said. "There were propane tanks popping like mad." The garage was filled with propane to operate fork lifts, diesel fuel, paint and cleaning solvents, DeGroot said. The solvents included paint thinner, Capt. Steven Ciecierski said. A witness said Prairie employees ran from the garage as explosions started inside. When Harvey firefighters arrived, all 20 employees had evacuated, Ciecierski said. "They were in no hurry to stay," he said. A Prairie cement truck driver, who declined to identify himself, confirmed the fire started on the company's property. The driver, who said all employees were sent home early Friday afternoon, said he was not certain how the fire started. The force of the propane explosions blew out the Prairie garage's rear wall, which abuts the rear wall of Best Homes, Inc., 1230 W. 171st St., DeGroot said. Both buildings, which sit on the southern border of Harvey outside East Hazel Crest, were destroyed, Ciecierski said. He estimated the damage at more than 1 million. Scott Arquilla, vice president of Best Homes, estimated his company's loss alone at $1 million. "We'll have to totally rebuild," Arquilla said. "It's a total loss." Best Homes, which has operated out of the Harvey location since 1962, did $6.5 million in business last year, he said. The company employs 30 to 55 employees depending on the time of year, Arquilla said. Best Homes employees tried to stay in the building and work after the fire started, Ciecierski said. "Those people, we had to evacuate," he said. "They didn't want to give it up." "We wanted to (stay), but we didn't think it was that serious," said Arquilla, who was present when the fire started. "All our employees left quickly and safely." Alan Haach of Portage, a carpenter for Best Homes, said firefighters were unable to use water until 25 minutes after they arrived. Firefighters used some 1,200 feet of hose to reach the buildings, which were set back almost that far from 171st Street, Ciecierski said. "It was very unwieldy," he said. "It's a pain to lay all that line." Best Homes employees informed Arquilla at about 11:30 a.m. that a Prairie building had caught fire, Arquilla said. "The flames were quite high," he said. "Five minutes later we started hearing explosions. The fire caught our building and spread through the whole building." Firefighters were able to save more than $250,000 in lumber in a block-long yard on the Best Homes site and to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring Alpha Construction, also owned by Arquilla's family, he said. Some $65,000 in lumber burned inside the building, but most of the $1 million in damage was caused to the building and the company's equipment, Arquilla said. Best Homes manufactures roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels, he said. The fire spread very quickly because sawdust had collected on the wooden trusses, and the roofs of both building were made of wood, DeGroot said. "The fire just literally ran over their heads," the chief said of people inside. "The explosions from the propane tanks spread the fire. There was a tremendous amount of fuel in the building." The intense heat caused metal joists in both buildings to expand and knock down walls, including cinder-block walls in Best Homes, DeGroot said. A 100-foot antenna collapsed and narrowly missed firefighters as they sprayed about a dozen hoses on the blaze, he said. "There's not too much you can really do on something like this, but pour water on it," DeGroot said. "The main thing is to get the people out." By 1:30 p.m. Friday, DeGroot said the blaze was 95 percent extinguished. By then, the once black cloud of smoke blowing northeast had transformed to gray. Since 1962, both Best Homes and Prairie Brick have maintained good safety records with Harvey officials, DeGroot said. Best Homes did not contain sprinklers because the structure was built before they were required, he said. "When they rebuild, they will be required," DeGroot said. Haach said he was concerned about his and fellow employees' future. "I've been working here for 17 years. I don't know what I'm going to do," he said. "We're all family people here."

UPDATE Welder dies after explosion 
By Norman Miller / News Staff Writer Wednesday, July 16, 2003
FRAMINGHAM -- Christopher Lyon's family left a Boston hospital Monday night happy because a doctor told them the Connecticut welder injured in an explosion two weeks ago looked as if he was going to make a full recovery. Early yesterday morning, the Lyon family received a call from Massachusetts General Hospital telling them Lyon, 31, had died from injuries he suffered in the explosion on July 3 at the Triram Corporation at 721 Waverley St. "The last conversation we had with the doctors was that they fully expected him to make an almost 100 percent recovery," said Lyon's brother, Dale Lyon of Brooklyn, Conn. "We were ecstatic. The doctors were ecstatic. We left there last night, and he (the doctor) said they expected a 100 percent recovery. They were blown away by how good his recovery was going. "He had a brain injury, but he was responding well," Lyon continued. "He was talking. He was up, standing. He wanted to walk, but the doctors didn't want him to walk yet. He was almost normal. He speech was slurred and his vision was blurred, but those could have been corrected through therapy," Lyon said. Lyon family members were not the only ones shocked. Framingham Fire Chief Michael Smith said his department was startled when it got the news yesterday. "It took us quite by surprise this morning," said Smith. "The last we heard, he was showing signs of improvement. We thought he was out of danger. It's very sad news." Lyon was welding on top of a 28-foot, 15,000-gallon asphalt container on the afternoon of July 3 when the heat from the welding torch caused the fumes in the tank to explode. Fire officials said he was thrown to the ground, and suffered serious injuries. He was taken by a medical rescue helicopter to Massachusetts General, where he remained until his death. Firefighters rushed to the factory and called for assistance from the Ashland and Hopkinton fire departments. In all, more than 20 firefighters with several vehicles used chemical foam to fight the blaze for more than an hour before it was under control. Company officials would not comment yesterday about the incident or Lyon's death. Smith had said the work on the tank was being done without a required welding permit, but no fine was expected against Lyon or the company because it did not appear they purposely avoided getting the permit. The incident is still being investigated by the state fire marshal's office, the Framingham Fire Department and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "The investigation is ongoing, and with the sad news, we'll have no further comment until the investigation is completed," Smith said. Dale Lyon said his brother worked hard for everything he got, including his own welding business with clients ranging from MetroWest to Manhattan. "He started this business from scratch -- from nothing," said Lyon. "He had nothing handed to him. We came from a big family, with a lot of kids (five). He had a lot of hard knocks, and he worked his way up." Despite starting small, Lyon's talent made him known in welding circles, his brother said. "He had an awesome reputation for his work, his fabrication work," said Dale Lyon. "He did some wonderful work. He was a talented artist when it came to steel. "He was a kid who loved life. It didn't take a lot to please him. He was happy." Christopher Lyon, who along with his wife, Bernadette, and their three dogs, lived in Brooklyn, Conn., loved to travel, his brother said. His trips included visiting Scotland and Iceland. He was also an avid motorcyclist, and just liked to have fun, Dale Lyon said. "He was an expert at good food," said Dale Lyon. "He knew where all the good restaurants were. He loved everything Spanish. He loved Spanish food, Spanish dancing. He was just one of those kids who knew how to have a good time." Dale Lyon said he doesn't know how the explosion could have happened, and said his brother wouldn't have done the work if he knew he needed a permit. "It was horrendous," said Lyon. "Unfortunately, these things happen. Somebody made a mistake somewhere. He should have never been up there." Christopher Lyon woke up last Thursday, after being unconscious for a week. Doctors said a brain injury would limit his short-term memory, and he would need surgery to his arm, Dale Lyon said. Even with the brain damage, it looked as if the welder was recovering, even getting his short-term memory back faster than doctors expected, according to Dale Lyon. Although the cause of death hasn't been determined, Dale Lyon said the brain injury is suspected of playing a part. "Doctors just don't know much about the brain," said Lyon. "They said they wouldn't know the exact extent of his recovery until he recovered. We understand so little. We're in the dark."

UPDATE Haulage firm fined £7,000 for explosion
Jul 16, 2003, 14:18:00
A haulage firm near Lichfield has been fined £7,000 by magistrates after a mechanic suffered horrific burns in an explosion while working on a lorry's fuel tank. South Staffordshire Freight Services in Shenstone failed to ensure the safety of employees, Tamworth and Lichfield magistrates heard. Stuart Young, aged 47, from Tamworth was working on a lorry when the heat ignited fumes in the diesel tank which exploded on April 8 last year. The Lynn Lane company, which must also pay £931 costs, pleaded guilty yesterday to the charge that all practical steps were not taken to remove diesel fuel and any fumes before work was carried out on the tank. The company also pleaded guilty to failing to carry out suitable risk assessments. Charles Crow, defending, said the company's haulage operation of 30 lorries, set up more than 40 years ago, would close at the end of the year, due in part to the accident.

Fire destroys Valley business, home; Little Falls family has no insurance to cover losses
By ELIZABETH A. MUNDSCHENK, Observer-Dispatch 
LITTLE FALLS -- A raging fire Monday morning on Route 5 destroyed an auto body business and devastated the family that lived above it. Ellis Bruce -- owner of Alpine Auto Mall - his wife, two children and three grandchildren were left homeless and without most of their possessions because of the fire, which broke out about 9:55 a.m., officials said. No one was seriously hurt, although Bruce's wife, Janice, was taken to the hospital, treated and released, officials said. "They had no insurance on anything," said Kelly Brown, director of emergency services for the Mohawk Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, which is assisting the family. "This could be long and drawn out for them." Little Falls Fire Chief Robert Parese said the fire's cause is believed to be accidental. Assistant Chief Randy Salek said a cutting torch used on a vehicle that was on a lift ignited gasoline that was on the floor. Flames were intense through the cinder block-framed body shop, located prominently on a hill above Route 5 just wet of the Little Falls city line. The building has had a long history that included being the home of the Journal and Courier print shop and the Wishing Well restaurant. It survived an earlier fire. Firefighters -- 50 to 60 from Little Falls, Herkimer, East Herkimer, St. Johnsville, Dolgeville and Mohawk -- labored in the mid-morning and noontime sun subduing the fire. The highway was closed for several hours Monday. Cars were rerouted, and there was a car accident at the west end of the road closure later in the afternoon. Bruce, clearly hit hard, watched as his home and business were destroyed. He declined comment. "I just don't feel like talking about it," he said. The other five victims of the fire were Devin Bruce, Casey Broadbent, Timothy Broadbent, Justin Broadbent and Carrie Bruce. Also responding to the scene was a state Department of Environmental Conservation spill response team and its contractor, Op-Tech Environmental Services of Syracuse. DEC regional spokesman Steve Litwhiler said a small amount of petroleum was observed washing off the property because of the firefighting efforts. Booms were used to soak up the contaminated soil, and water in ditches along the highway was sucked out, Litwhiler said. Some affected soil will be disposed of at a secure landfill. Salek said the oil came from the tires. The Red Cross is taking care of some immediate needs, including replacement of prescription medicines and eyeglasses, Brown said. The family has found a place to stay for the time being, he said. The Red Cross is willing to accept monetary donations but does not have the facilities for furniture or other goods, Brown said. Those who would like to make such donations, may call the Red Cross at 866-2890, and the agency can contact the family to see if the items are needed, he said. 

Man suffers burns from fridge repair accident; Weld job breaks coolant fluid line and catches fire 
The Post-Crescent 
CENTER — A 42-year-old man trying to remove a refrigerator from an old mobile home Sunday suffered burns on his arm, shoulders, neck and ear after an ammonia line broke. Fire and sheriff’s department officials identified the man as Mark Schmit, W4095 County S, Appleton. He was flown from his home by ThedaStar helicopter after the 1:30 p.m. accident. Officials said the injuries were not life-threatening. He was reported in fair condition Sunday evening at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah. Town of Center Fire Chief Jim Simon said Schmit apparently was converting the old trailer when the line broke and caught fire. “The line broke and he got sprayed with ammonia,” Simon said. “It started on fire at the same time so he got burned.” He said the fire extinguished itself and did not cause any damage to the trailer. The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department reported that Schmit was welding when the line broke, causing the fire.

Welder electrocuted at Gainesville construction site 
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A welder was apparently electrocuted while working on a metal balcony at a construction site, authorities said. Javier Gonzales, 37, of Norcross, Ga., died in Sunday's accident, said Sgt. Keith Faulk, an Alachua County Sheriff's Office spokesman. Workers told authorities that Gonzales, an employee of Allen Steel Products of Arlington, Tenn., was installing a metal subfloor on a balcony using an 8,000 watt welding machine. A co-worker said he left Gonzales to retrieve some material and returned to find him unconscious and not breathing. Workers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency medical workers arrived. Although detectives are awaiting the results of an autopsy, authorities believe he was electrocuted by the welding machine, Faulk said. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating, Faulk said. Associated Press

UPDATE Company in explosion lacked storage permits; Triram cited by OSHA in past on safety
By Benjamin Gedan, Globe Correspondent, 7/14/2003
An investigation by the state fire marshal's office into a July 3 explosion at a Framingham asphalt factory has found that the company did not have proper local or state permits for its massive storage tanks. The explosion of a 15,000-gallon tank filled with liquid asphalt seriously injured two metal workers, one of whom remains hospitalized. The company, Triram Corp., which is also being investigated by federal officials, had been cited six times by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for minor violations of industrial safety codes. A search of OSHA documents showed violations dating back to 1976, when the company was fined $40 for improper asbestos removal, and include a 1978 complaint related to improper fire prevention and protection. Only the 1976 violation resulted in a penalty. The Framingham Fire Department, the state fire marshal's office, and the US Department of Labor are investigating the massive explosion, which occurred after the two workers, using a cutting torch, ignited flammable fumes above the tank. On Friday, Framingham Fire Marshal Joe Leone and Fire Chief Michael Smith toured the sprawling facility with John Fleck, a code compliance officer for the state fire marshal's office. Fleck's supervisor also inspected the property, where the mangled tower and snaking driveway are still stained with tar. The investigations are continuing, but in interviews last week, state officials said they had uncovered a permitting violation, in addition to the lack of a welding permit. Triram officials failed to comply with a 1997 state law mandating permits for tanks that hold over 10,000 gallons, said Jennifer Mieth, a state spokeswoman. Only water tanks are exempt from the regulation. The Framingham facility houses 12 above-ground tanks that hold over 10,000 gallons of liquid asphalt, Leone said. The tanks were also holding more material than allowed under a local license, Mieth said. ''The tanks had no known permits,'' she said. ''They need to get their permits in line.'' The workers, both private contractors, lacked a mandatory permit from the Fire Department to work on the storage towers. The permit would have required the company to either empty the tank or treat it with inert gases. Framingham fire officials said the company, founded in 1954 and now an affiliate of the Hudson Asphalt Group in the Rhode Island-based The Hudson Companies, had never applied for a welding permit. State officials have closed the Waverly Street facility pending proper permits and an inspection by a mechanical engineer.Company president Donald Cunningham could not be reached for comment, and a spokesman for The Hudson Companies, Matt Gill, did not respond to several interview requests. Before the explosion, Leone said, Triram Corp. had maintained an impressive safety record and elicited no complaints from its nonindustrial neighbors. The company manufactures specialty asphalt in Framingham and in Portland, Conn. 'It is the type of company that is conscientious about what they're doing,'' Leone said. Company officials had previously obtained permits for repair work on fire alarms and the sprinkler system, he said. Paulo Roda, an employee at the Framingham complex, said on the day of the explosion that there had been no major accidents in the past two years. Triram could face costly fines from multiple agencies. OSHA investigators could fine it up to $70,000 for any willful violations of federal code, said Richard Fazzio, an area director. The state fire marshal's office could fine the company $1,000 for failing to obtain permits for the storage tanks, and another $1,000 for authorizing metal work without written permission. But Mieth, the office's spokeswoman, said state officials preferred to cooperate with the company to ensure safe working conditions. ''Penalties are always a last resort,'' she said. ''Penalties are out there if people are uncooperative. The most important thing is to get them into compliance,'' Mieth said. Meanwhile, one of the company's contractors, Christopher Lyon, remains at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was rushed by helicopter after the explosion hurled him from the top of the 26-foot high tower. Lyon was listed in fair condition on Friday, said Julie Bergan, a hospital spokeswoman. The other injured worker, who has not been identified, was released from the MetroWest Medical Center after being treated for severe arm injuries. Neither worker has been interviewed by investigators, Leone said. 

Fire damages William Blount roof
2003-07-13 by Anna C. Irwin of The Daily Times Staff
A fire on the roof at William Blount High School was the first of three fires in quick succession late Friday and early Saturday in Blount County. The fire at the school caused minimal damage and Blount County Schools Director Alvin Hord credited the person who reported the fire as well as the quick response by firefighters. ``It could have been a lot worse, if the fire had spread,'' Hord said. Alicia C. Mathes, who lives on County Farm Road, near the school, reported the blaze at 11:46 p.m. Friday. She said she could see orange flames and heavy smoke coming from the roof at the back left corner of the school. Blount County Fire Department was notified at 11:50 p.m. Firefighters were on the scene minutes later but were initially hampered by the difficulty in reaching the roof of the two-story building. Greenback Fire Department sent a ladder truck to the scene and provided a way for firemen to get on the roof with hoses and water. Blount County Fire Department had 12 firefighters and six trucks at the school. They were assisted by Greenback, Alcoa and Maryville Fire Department personnel who came to offer their help. The roof fire was brought under control at 12:37 a.m. and the last of the firefighters left the scene at 2:45 a.m. Hord said work on the roof is in progress and it appeared the fire might have been caused when a spark escaped from welding equipment, then smoldered for several hours after workers left Friday afternoon. He said the construction company's insurance is expected to cover the cost of repairing the fire damage. ``Only a small section of the roof was burned, and it was over a locker area near one of the bathrooms. They were able to sweep the water that got inside the building to a drain in the bathroom,'' Hord said. ``A copy machine got wet, but we don't yet know if it can be repaired or needs to be replaced. ``I was surprised there was very little odor inside the building. The wind was blowing, and it must have carried most of the smoke away,'' he said. According to Hord, the section of flat, tar roof that burned and the attic area below it will be cut away and replaced in plenty of time for the school's registration day set Aug. 1 and the first day of classes Aug. 8. As firemen were responding to the blaze at William Blount High School, a fire alarm began to sound at Mentor Market, 2503 Mentor Road, Louisville. Deputy Gail Anderson said she arrived at 11:55 p.m. to find flames coming from the rear of the building at a small loading dock. Blount County firefighters, including some diverted from the fire at the school, found smoke rolling from the front of the market and the back wall of the building ablaze. Three Blount County fire trucks and seven men brought the market fire under control and were able to leave the scene an hour later at 12:53 a.m. Saturday. The market, owned by David T. Edmonds, Pink Hatcher Lane, Louisville, closed at 8 p.m. Friday, and the clerk left around 8:15 p.m. The cause of the fire is undetermined but is apparently considered suspicious. Blount County Sheriff's arsonpecialists are investigating. Blount County firefighters were still at the market when a 911 call at 12:47 a.m. Saturday reported a mobile home on fire in Rockford. The fire department was notified at 12:52 a.m. and firefighters reached the William H. Wilson residence on Homer Avenue at 12:57 a.m. Five Blount County fire trucks and nine men, including those who were at the market, responded along with Alcoa Fire Department personnel, an Alcoa rescue truck and an Alcoa pumper. The mobile home fire was under control at 1:06 a.m. but not before more than half the trailer was destroyed. Firefighters left the third fire scene at 2:06 a.m. Saturday, just over half an hour before those at the school fire were able to return to their stations. 

Historic warehouse hit by fire must be razed
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
TACOMA -- The owner of a historic warehouse destroyed by fire will have to tear it down. The fire at the Alpine Cold Storage building, a brick warehouse downtown, broke out early Wednesday and was still burning in spots yesterday, said Ron Stephens, an acting deputy chief with the Tacoma Fire Department. Investigators believe the fire was started by workers using a torch to remove metal plating from the building's old wood floor. Structural engineers went into the 56,000-square-foot warehouse yesterday and determined it had to be demolished. The owner purchased the building just two months ago for $400,000 and will have to bear the cost of the demolition, Stephens said. Because the potential for collapse remains, the streets around the building are still closed to traffic. At least two fire crews will remain at the site until the building is down, Stephens said, to ensure the fire does not flare up again.

UPDATE Worker negligence blamed in oil fire
By ROBYN MOORMEISTER Sentinel staff writer
MOSS LANDING — Fire investigators say a construction worker’s negligence caused the raging 13-hour oil fire in a tank at Duke Energy’s power plant Tuesday that sent black smoke billowing across the Pajaro and Salinas valleys. Michael Roberson, fire marshal for the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County, said a worker with Earth Tech construction company was cutting the massive tank’s floating metal roof with a torch when hot liquid metal dropped and ignited a section of 1.2 million gallons of oil sludge below. Roberson said the tank demolition use permit — issued by the Monterey County Planning Department with input from North County Fire Protection — clearly stipulates "ignition sources are only supposed to be used in the absence of fuel oil." After the fire ignited Tuesday afternoon, seven construction workers on the roof of the 6 million gallon tank — the cutter, an equipment operator, two fire safety monitoring workers and three laborers — reportedly tried to douse the burgeoning flames ith a water hose. By the time workers were able to poke the hose under the metal floating lid, Roberson said, a 12-by-6-foot piece of cut metal had sealed off the cavity housing the flames. It was the hot liquid droppings from that piece of metal that started the fire. And it was that piece of metal that closed access to fight the fire. Roberson said the hose did more damage than good; water pressure pushed the flames into unreachable areas. The workers were evacuated by Duke Energy management, and no one was hurt in the fire, which moved to and exploded five nearby propane tanks about an hour later. The fire burned for 13 hours while firefighters collected enough foam — approximately 21,000 gallons at $25 per gallon — to finally extinguish it at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday. The 1.2 million gallons of fuel oil at the bottom of the 150-foot-diameter tank was slated for removal for sale to refineries. The tank is one of 19 defunct fuel oil tanks demolished in the wake of Duke Energy’s change to natural gas to power its plant operations. Two tanks remain. Earth Tech spokeswoman Maureen McGlynn said she did not know how long the Long Beach-based company has contracted with Duke Energy. Roberson said the investigation is ongoing, and culpability will not be determined for several weeks. Whoever is to blame for the fire, he said, is responsible for reimbursing the fire department for fire suppression costs — estimated so far at more than $1 million. 

Fire evacuates the Old State Capitol Building
Updated: 7/10/2003 By: Kathleen Keener & Web Staff
Work on the old State Capitol Building causes more problems than repairs. The roof caught fire on Wednesday, forcing firefighters to evacuate the building. There were about thirty people in the building but this was a small fire and no one was hurt but streets in the area were closed for hours and it caused some excitement for people who were uptown. Joseph Washington was hard at work at his hotdog stand when he heard the sirens. "I just saw a lot of fire trucks pulling up, and sirens, and Capital City Police running,” said Washington. “I didn't know what was going on." A small fire started in the dome of the Capitol while workers were trying to repair leaks. Welding caused the wood below the copper to smolder, and smoke spread quickly. “As soon as that fire alarm went on, it was so shrill that everyone started going out the door, we had no problem getting people out the door,” said Capitol Director Carol Henderson. Firefighters put it out quickly and nothing in the building was damaged. "You certainly think about the historical significance of the building,” said Raleigh Fire Battalion Chief Tommie Steysons. “There are artifacts here that can't be replaced. You’re always thinking ahead to those things." Workers credit their safety to the buildings' fire alarms and smoke detectors. "If this had happened 20 years ago, or even 15 years ago, it might not have been such a happy ending." This is not the first fire at the Capitol building. In 1831, a soldering tool sparked a fire and destroyed the building. 

Fire engulfs trailer 
RUSS OLIVO , Staff Writer 07/10/2003 
WOONSOCKET -- A smoky fire destroyed a cargo trailer filled with hazardous construction debris on Privilege Street Wednesday morning after a welder who was repairing the roof inadvertently ignited the contents of the vehicle, firefighters said. The 48-foot long, metal container was packed with asphalt shingles, asbestos tubing and other construction materials, said Acting Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Williams. To minimize the runoff of potentially tainted water from the site, firefighters relied heavily on fire-suppressing foam to combat the blaze. They were concerned about contaminating the nearby Mill River, which feeds the swimming area at World War II Veterans State Park. On orders from the state Department of Environmental Management, which runs the park, workers closed off the intake valve at the holding pond for the swimming area on East School Street, several blocks away from the fire. Peter Lambert, the caretaker of the park, said chlorine levels in the holding pond were also boosted while firefighters responded to the blaze. DEM and city firefighters both called Lambert shortly after the fire broke out at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. "They were concerned some of their water was going to get into our place," Lambert said. "We don’t think any did. All of our actions were strictly precautionary." No one was injured in the fire, which broke through the walls of the cargo container and blackened the tail end of another container parked a few feet away. Williams said the containers are owned by STG Service Transport Corporation of 28 Privilege St. The company, whose principal trade is environmental cleanup, runs a truck depot at the site. Among those who responded to the fire were the fire department’s hazardous materials (Haz-Mat) team and workers from DEM’s hazardous materials division. Williams said it took firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the fire under control using "Class A foam," a harmless material that looks like soap lather. "It smothers the fire, like a blanket," said Williams. The asphalt-based products stored in the container were fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and some areas were very hard to put out, said Williams. Some of the materials inside were made from petroleum, he said, which fueled the fire and burned intensely. Williams said asbestos materials do not burn, but they pose a hazard if they are dispersed into the atmosphere where they can be inhaled. Firefighters protected themselves by breathing through special oxygen tanks while fighting the fire. Normally, the fire department has its own personnel to refill the tanks, but on Wednesday North Smithfield firefighters filled in because the local facilities have been sidelined by a modernization project at the Cumberland Street fire station. Williams said an STG worker had climbed onto the roof of the container to do some welding when sparks from his equipment apparently ignited materials inside. The welder fled safely and the fire was later reported by workers from STG, said Williams, calling the fire accidental. "It was a lot of smoke," said Jimmy McElroy, who runs L&R Auto Parts, across the street from the STG depot. "I’m surprised they’re out of here so quick. I thought this was going to be an all-day affair." Workers from the highway department were called in to build a sand dike across Privilege Street to keep the runoff from the fire from getting into the Mill River, which runs from Harris Pond to East School Street, past the STG depot. "We can’t let it spread all over the ground over here, we just have to keep it contained," said Firefighter Steve Preston, the leader of the Haz-Mat team. "Asbestos is a respiratory hazard, but it doesn’t burn. There’s no real hazard." A private company, TMC Services Inc., was in charge of cleaning up the site after firefighters left. "We’ll do most of it in-house," said a man who would identify himself only as an employee of STG. He said that TMC Services is one of the company’s usual subcontractors for environmental cleanup work. 

Champaign explosion injures 2 
By TIM MITCHELL THE NEWS-GAZETTE
CHAMPAIGN – Investigators are theorizing that magnesium dust may have played a role in the explosion that injured two people in Interstate Research Park on Wednesday afternoon. The explosion occurred shortly before 3:30 p.m. at the Wayne H. Choe Technology Center, 1401 Interstate Drive. Two construction workers doing cleanup work there were taken by ambulance to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana for treatment. Their identities were not disclosed. Champaign Fire Department spokeswoman Dena Schumacher said Cerion Technologies, a former occupant of the building, had made compact discs and had left what investigators believe was magnesium dust in dust collectors. When the two workers used an acetylene torch to cut some pipes Wednesday, it caused a small fire, she said. "But when the workers used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, it atomized what we believe to be magnesium dust and set off a dust explosion," Schumacher said. Schumacher said a structural engineer has determined that the rear third of the building will need to be demolished as a result of the explosion. Emergency personnel were called to the building at 3:26 p.m. following a report of an explosion. Seven fire department trucks and six to eight police units responded. When the first firefighters arrived, they found a fire, extensive damage to the rear of the building and two injured people. White smoke was showing toward the back of the building. "The south wall is history, and a portion of the roof was raised a few inches," Schumacher said. Gas and electricity were shut off to the area as a precaution, Schumacher said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within two minutes. No evacuations were necessary because firefighters judged the neighborhood to be safe, she said. "We had police here immediately in case we needed to evacuate neighborhoods, but we did not need to do that," she said. The building, owned by Wayne H. Choe, is occupied by two businesses, Servicemaster of Champaign-Urbana and the Institute of Advanced Technology. According to Schumacher, the rear of the building, where the explosion occurred, was unoccupied. Choe had hired two people from Huls Construction Co. to clean out the 5,000-square-foot vacant area on the south side of the building and work on interior finish, flooring and walls in preparation for a new occupant. "They were just about finished with their work, and today was to be their last day of work in there," Schumacher said.Jim Crisman, co-owner of Servicemaster of Champaign-Urbana, said he was working at his desk at the time of the explosion. "It sounded like something heavy was dropped on top of the building," Crisman said. "It was pretty startling and scary; probably the loudest thing that you would hear in any given day. I knew right away that something wasn't normal." Crisman ran around the east side of the building to see what happened, while the other co-owner, Dwayne Roberts, ran around the west side. "I saw a couple of guys staggering out," Crisman said. "They weren't very coherent; they were on their feet but staggering and burned pretty bad. One guy had a shoulder that was injured pretty badly. We got them to the front of the building and had them sit down until the ambulance showed up." Crisman said none of his 10 employees inside the building was injured. Servicemaster reopened for business this morning. "There wasn't any structural damage in our part of the building," Crisman said Wednesday. "I can't imagine that they won't let us back in there Thursday." This morning, Choe said the Institute of Advanced Technology had reopened for regular operations. Schumacher said it was fortunate that only two people were injured. Crisman said it was ironic that his firm is a professional service company that specializes in fire and water damage restoration. "After everybody sorts things out, we may have some service to provide in our own building," he said. 

More smoke than fire in tank 
Thursday, July 10, 2003 By KAY RUDDEROW Staff Writer 
BRIDGETON -- A fire caused by workers using a torch to dismantle an empty fuel tank at Woodruff Energy on Water Street created a lot of smoke, but little danger or damage Wednesday. According to Bridgeton Fire Chief Dave Schoch, a call went out at 11:51 a.m. and the fire department responded to the scene of the fire, about three blocks from the station, within minutes. The Hopewell-Stow Creek Fire Company also responded with an engine and some manpower, Schoch said. "They respond as part of our automatic mutual aid system.". The workers were dismantling one of the tanks at the rear of the property and there was no fuel involved, according to Woodruff Energy spokesman Bob Woodruff. "We have to do this every five years or so, to clean the tanks and have them inspected," Woodruff said. Inside the tanks is a type of floating roof over the fuel that would be contained in the tanks, which is edged in rubber against the sides of the tank, he said. The sparks from the workers' torch set the rubber gasket on fire, causing a lot of black smoke, but little flame, he said. "Dave Schoch and his men deserve a big hand. They were here in a couple of minutes and did a great job," Woodruff said. "Fortunately, the fire was minor." The fire company and Bridgeton Emergency Ambulance Association were on the scene for a little more than an hour. 

UPDATE State Opens New Motiva Investigation
WILMINGTON, Del. -- Delaware environmental officials are launching a probe of a sulfuric acid spill two months ago at the Motiva Enterprises Refinery in Delaware City, Del. State officials say the company's explanation for the spill is overdue. The announcement came one day after Motiva pleaded no contest to criminally negligent homicide and other charges in a deadly acid tank explosion in 2001. The company was immediately fined $296,000 at a hearing Wednesday in Wilmington. A manager with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said the latest accident raises safety and pollution concerns. Motiva had estimated its internal investigation would be done by June 20, but has since told the state it will take longer. A Motiva spokesman said refinery officials have shared their findings so far with state officials but the company is waiting for test results. Maintenance contractor Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, was killed in the tank collapse in July 2001. Six other workers were hurt. Last month, prosecutors filed a charge of criminally negligent homicide and six counts of assault. Motiva executive John Boles apologized Wednesday and said words were inadequate to express the company's regret. Prosecutors said the case was unprecedented, because criminal charges usually are not brought against corporations in Delaware. Motiva has also been the subject of a federal grand jury investigation and a negligence lawsuit brought by environmental regulators. 

UPDATE Fuel Tank Fire Has Lesser Environmental Impact Than Expected
July 10 (BCN) 
Monterey County officials today report that the damage to the environment is not as great as expected after Tuesday afternoon's fire at the Duke Energy Power Plant in Moss Landing sent plumes of black smoke into the air, resulting in health alerts and a shelter in place order. The shelter in place order was lifted Wednesday morning, but the very young, the elderly and those with respiratory ailments were still advised to remain indoors due to the carbons that are found in heavy smoke. County officials say the smoke went up to a high altitude and moved east into the Salinas Valley, with the help of mild winds, but the smoke combined with Monterey County's usual fog temporarily generated smog conditions on Wednesday that the region was not used to. The smog dissipated quickly, according to the county health department, and the particulate count decreased by Wednesday evening. Regardless, certain at-risk individuals are advised to still take precautions. Duke Energy officials say the fire ignited during the demolition of an unused oil storage tank at the Moss Landing plant. The 6 million gallon tank still contained 1.2 million gallons of crude oil, which caught fire. Five nearby propane tanks exploded Tuesday evening as a result of the flames and the fire continued to burn into Wednesday, but the fire was completely extinguished not long after dawn. According to Duke Energy, the tank was one of two remaining of 19 originally at the plant, which has been converted to cleaner burning natural gas. The demolition of the tank was part of a modernization project, which includes substantial upgrades and an expansion at the plant, Duke Energy officials say. No one was injured during the blaze and all plant employees have been accounted for. Today, the plant continues to operate normally. The 2,538-megawatt, natural gas-fired Moss Landing plant is the largest power plant in California.

UPDATE Houston-based Motiva pleads no contest to charges
Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. -- A company pleaded no contest today to criminal charges in a deadly oil refinery explosion and was fined $296,000. Motiva Enterprises' chief executive officer, John Boles, expressed regret for the death of Jeffery C. Davis and the injuries suffered by six workers two years ago at Motiva's oil refinery. "We are truly sorry and we profoundly apologize for what has happened," Boles said. "There is nothing we can do to bring Mr. Davis back, nor can we ease the suffering of the injured and their families." Houston-based Motiva was charged with criminally negligent homicide and six counts of misdemeanor assault in the explosion and collapse of a sulfuric acid tank on July 17, 2001 at its Delaware City oil refinery. Investigators documented years of safety and maintenance lapses that preceded the accident. Prosecutors alleged that Motiva caused the death of Davis, a 50-year-old boilermaker who was on a catwalk above the acid tank, "as a result of the use of an ignition source in an unsafe environmt." The explosion, which investigators said was ignited by a welding spark, spilled more than 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid. Davis' body was never found. Judge Peggy Ableman ordered Motiva to pay the maximum fine on each charge: $11,500 for criminally negligent homicide and $5,750 for each assault charge. She then exercised her power to impose additional "compensating" fines that will be paid to a crime victims' fund. Ableman ordered an additional payment of $100,000 for the homicide charge and $25,000 for each of the assault charges. Davis' widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Philadelphia on Sept. 22. Besides the state criminal charges, Motiva has been the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. Federal and state environmental officials also have filed a civil suit accusing the company of gross negligence leading up to the tank explosion. In a report released last year, investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said the tank that exploded and others like it had a history of corrosion and leaks, but Motiva managers consistently ignored or delayed needed maintenance. 

Welder sparks fire at Camp Williams
CAMP WILLIAMS, Utah (AP) - A spark from a contractor's welding ignited a wildfire that blackened more than 500 acres of grassy, open land Tuesday at the Camp Williams National Guard facility. The fire was about 70 percent contained as of 4 p.m., said Salt Lake County fire Captain Jay Ziolkowski. The nearby communities of Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs faced a low threat, but there were no evacuations. The fire was contained to the guard camp, located about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. More than 100 fire personnel, an air tanker and two helicopters fought the blaze. The fire moved quickly under high winds and low humidity even though the welder had two people monitoring for fire safety, Ziolkowski said. 

UPDATE Town to bill company for fire gear destroyed 
By Norman Miller / News Staff Writer Wednesday, July 9, 2003
FRAMINGHAM -- The town will bill a Waverley Street firm for fire equipment destroyed following a liquid asphalt tank explosion, apparently sparked by a welder working without a permit. Liquid asphalt that boiled over the top of the 28-foot-tall, 15,000-gallon tank at the Triram Corp. destroyed 2,000 feet of fire hose, according to Darcy Hawes, the civilian administrator for the local department. Also, turnout gear such as boots, jackets and pants were damaged by the hot and sticky material. "It's definitely in the thousands, but I can't even come close to an estimate," said Hawes. "Quite a bit of hose was rendered useless. I will be seeking monetary damages." Most of the damage occurred when water stopped flowing from a hydrant momentarily. The stoppage was short, but long enough for the liquid asphalt to bubble over the lid of the tank and the building, sending a river of the black material down the driveway and onto the hoses. Although technically Fire Chief Michael Smith could fine the company or welder Christopher Lyon of Brooklyn, Conn., for welding on the tank without a permit, he said Monday he probably would not fine either of them. A welding permit fine can range from $100 to $1,000, Hawes said. Smith said Monday that whenever welding is done on a structure that contains hazardous material, a state permit must be procured through the local fire department. Lyon was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with severe injuries after he was flung from the tank at 721 Waverley St., officials said. A hospital spokeswoman said yesterday that Lyon remains in critical condition. The explosion occurred on Thursday at about 1 p.m. when Lyon and one of his employees were welding on top of the tank. Company manager Jim Porcello said the two welders have worked at the plant for the last eight or nine weeks, but he was unsure what kind of work they were doing. "I still don't know what he was doing," said Porcello, who said his superiors hired Lyon and were in charge of what he was doing. On Thursday, Porcello said he believed they were working on new pipes. Smith said on Monday it looked like they were welding a ladder or other equipment to the tank. The plant remained closed yesterday as state, federal and local inspectors looked over all of the company's equipment, particularly at the explosion site. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were at the scene Thursday but a spokesman said it was department policy not to comment. "It's hard to say when we'll open again. There's still a lot of inspectors who have to come in," said Porcello. "I'm not sure how much everything will cost. It happened before the holiday, and I think we're just starting to get some estimates of what we have to do. We're still just cleaning." Triram provides liquid asphalt to companies throughout New England. Because of the accident, the company cannot make its deliveries or allow pickups until inspectors give the OK, Porcello said. "It will affect road work in some way," he said. "I feel bad because customers want to come in to get product, but we can't even ship what we do have."

Moss Landing Fire Under Investigation
MOSS LANDING, Calif. -- A diesel tank with more than 1 million gallons of a mixture of fuel and water burned through the night in Moss Landing and will soon by under control. Fire crews used foam to gain the upper hand early Wednesday morning. Firefighters say there is still the potential for the fire to flare up again. Fire crews continued to spray water on the outside of the tank to keep it cool Wednesday morning. This was one of more than a dozen tanks that contractors working for Duke Energy were dismantling. Many of the tanks have been dismantled over the past five years without incident. Besides the huge fire inside the tank, five propane tanks blew up but amazingly, no one was injured. The fire broke out at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when, for unknown reasons, a fire ignited 1.2 million gallons of oil in a 6 million gallon storage tank behind the energy center along coastal Highway 1. Workers had permission to dismantle the fuel tank by fire officials, however, the permission was granted on the assumption the tank was empty. However, the tank had a combination of water and No. 6 diesel fuel inside. While a shelter in place was ordered, no one was evacuated, but the fire resulted in huge clouds of heavy black smoke spilling into the air. Health officials said air quality was nearly normal again Wednesday.

Shrimping boat catches fire, no injuries
Updated: 7/4/2003 5:17:57 PM By: Erik Runge 
This shrimping boat caught on fire Friday morning. A shrimp boat docked near the Kemah Boardwalk drew more of a crowd than the fourth of July parade. The boat caught fire just after 9 a.m. Friday. No one was hurt, but it was the shrimping company's only boat. Firefighters worked fast to save what they could of the D.L. Bryan. It was Dai Huynh's only shrimp boat. Dai has been fishing the waters in this boat for the past seven years. He was doing some welding in the hull when sparks flew and caught the boat's front half on fire. Emergency crews were nearby, so they were able to save most of the boat. "It's under control -- it was under control in about 15 minutes," said Seabrook volunteer Fire Chief Ray Cook. Still, it will take some time for Dai to get the D.L. Bryan back out on the water. He didn't have insurance, but he and some fellow shrimpers plan to do the repairs themselves with hopes of shrimping from the boat in about a month. The owner of the shrimping company says he'll rent a fishing boat until he can get his repaired. 

Air conditioning work sparks fire at school
BY ROBERT BLASZKIEWICZ Times Porter County Editor
PORTAGE -- A welding torch being used to install air conditioning at Jones Elementary School is believed to have sparked a small ceiling fire Thursday afternoon, sending smoke through the building before the blaze was quickly put out. The fire burned through insulation and ceiling tiles and was hot enough that it damaged the rubber membrane roof in the one-story section of the school, said Dean Shatz, Portage Township Schools director of auxiliary services. Fire Chief Tim Sosby said the fire was contained to Room 8, a computer lab, but a neighboring classroom and nearby hallways sustained smoke damage. No summer school classes were in session at the school and no injuries were reported. Sosby said it would be difficult to estimate the amount of damage until school officials could assess the contents of the room. The computer lab contained 28 to 30 new Dell computers, still in their boxes, which appeared to be undamaged. A lone multimedia projector remained anchored in the ceiling, surrounded by the framework of the drop ceiling with the damaged tiles torn out. Shatz said it appeared the school would have an extensive cleanup ahead, similar to the cleanup that took place two months ago at Portage High School West after vandals released fire extinguishers throughout the school. Portage school Superintendent George McKay remarked that maintenance crews recently spent three days cleaning Jones, work that now would have to be repeated. Firefighters were called to Jones at 1:14 p.m., after maintenance crews heard yelling that there was a fire. Workers with the air conditioning contractor, O.J. Shoemaker Inc. of South Bend, were doing welding in Room 8 when the fire broke out. Firefighters were on the scene in five minutes and had the fire struck at 1:32 p.m. Sosby said the department's initial findings indicated the fire was caused by sparks from a welding torch, but that a full investigation into the cause would be done. A representative of O.J. Shoemaker at the scene directed questions to school and fire officials. The installation of air conditioning at Jones is part of a $15 million bond issue in the township to revamp heating systems and air condition schools that have gone without. McKay said that before the fire, air conditioning work at Jones was expected to be done by August. South Haven and Burns Harbor fire departments assisted Portage, while Ogden Dunes, Union Township and Porter departments were on stand-by. An engine from Portage Station No. 1 was delayed from arriving at the scene by a freight train that slowed and eventually stopped, blocking the CSX tracks on McCool Road, just south of the school. Sosby said the blocked crossing could have been a big problem if the fire had been larger. A dispatcher ended up calling the railroad to get the train moved. Sosby said the increased train traffic in the city does pose a concern for emergency responders and that they try to avoid railroad tracks whenever they can. 

Fire Destroys Stonington Plant, Damages Homes; Investigators Focus On Renovation Work
STONINGTON, Conn. -- Investigators may have a lead into what caused a massive fire that struck the former Monsanto plant in Stonington. Thursday's fire destroyed the five-acre harborfront mill site, which was undergoing a $30 million renovation into a luxury residential and commercial complex. Crews said demolition workers were using torches inside the building to cut down old pipes hours before the fire. Investigators have not yet ruled on any official cause. It took firefighters from several communities at least three hours to bring flames under control. No one was hurt, but several homes were damaged by intense heat and smoke. The long-vacant mill employed thousands of borough residents for more than 150 years, first as a firearms factory and more recently as a plastics manufacturer. 

Explosion rips town
A Connecticut man was seriously burned Thursday when his welding torch sparked the explosion of a giant tank of liquid asphalt at a Waverley Street company, officials said. The explosion hurled Christopher Lyon nearly 30 feet to the ground at Triram at 721 Waverley St. Lyon, of Brooklyn, Conn., was taken by rescue helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where he was listed in critical condition, authorities said. A second worker, whose name was not released, was also injured, although less seriously. He was taken by ambulance to MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham. His condition Thursday night was not immediately available. A Framingham firefighter, whose name was unavailable, was treated at the medical center for heat exhaustion, Fire Chief Michael Smith said. The 1 p.m. explosion shook homes and businesses in the area, frightening neighbors of the large asphalt plant that has been in operation for 45 years. Firefighters rushed to the factory near Cedar Street and Waverley Court and called for help from the Ashland and Hopkinton departments. More than 20 firefighters used a chemical foam to fight the blaze for more than an hour before it was under control.

Kentwood plant evacuated
(Kentwood, July 3, 2003, 7:50 a.m.) Hazmat crews were busy overnight at a Kentwood Plant after a welding torch ignited nearby chemicals. The incident happened around 12:30 Thursday morning, at Lacks Industries in Kentwood. Fire officials say a worker was welding when some sparks ignited nearby bags of chemicals, creating a cloud of sulfuric acid. Since there was no wind, the cloud hung in the area for about 45 minutes. As a precaution, the plant was evacuated and traffic was shutdown on 44th Street between Broadmoor and Schafer for nearly two hours. No one was injured in the accident.

Fire destroys welding shed at lumber company
rmbcst
BUFFALO, Wyo. (AP) - A fire Wednesday destroyed a welding shop at the Buckingham Lumber Co., authorities said. No one was injured and the main lumber and hardware store was not damaged. ''It could have been a lot worse. Fortunately no one was hurt. That's the most important thing,'' said owner John Buckingham. The fire broke out at about 8:45 a.m. while an employee was working on a hammer mill near the shop, Buckingham said. A spark from the cutting torch ignited diesel fuel in a nearby basin used to clean parts, he said. The hammer mill is used to grind waste-wood materials at the Buckingham sawmill. The employee tried to extinguish the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but the fire quickly spread to the adjacent shop building. Destroyed were shop tools, air compressors, welding equipment and an old fiberglass boat, Buckingham said. The fire also ignited barrels of oil and oil products, as well as waste-wood products. ''Let's just call it a $40,000 weenie roast,'' Buckingham said.

Fire at mall
No evacuations were needed late Friday morning when a welder accidentally ignited a grease fire in an exhaust duct in a mechanical area that is off-limits to the public but situated near the food court at the West Ridge Mall, a Topeka Fire Department official said. A mall security guard felt shortness of breath after trying to put out the blaze from the building's roof and was taken to a Topeka hospital to be checked out, said Battalion Chief Edward Gerhardt, of the Topeka Fire Department. Gerhardt said the blaze did an estimated $500 damage inside the mall at 1801 S.W. Wanamaker Road. Firefighters were called at 11:33 a.m., said Fire Department Shift Commander John Lord. Gerhardt said the fire was ignited in a mechanical area just below the roof in an exhaust duct that leads outdoors from a grill at a former Burger King site in the food court. That mechanical area is off-limits to the public. A worker was welding a new section of duct work to the existing section when grease inside the older section ignited ccidentally, according to Gerhardt. He said firefighters were able to put out the blaze easily. 

Fast Moving Fire Threatens Benicia Refinery 
There were some tense moments in the Solano County community of Benicia Wednesday afternoon as a grass fire burned perilously close to the Valero Refinery. The blaze started in an area used to store containers of heavy crude oil used in the manufacturing of asphalt. Exact cause of the fire is unknown, but one observer said it appeared to begin near where a refinery crew was working with a welding torch. ire crews used foam to suppress the blaze, while refinery workers hurredly moved undamaged containers with forklifts. In addition to threatening the refinery, the fire set a nearby field ablaze. The resulting grass fire burned close to a housing subdivision and at one point neared Interstate-680. A shelter-in-place alert was issued for Benicia residents because of fear that smoke from the fire might be toxic. The blaze sent up a plume of black smoke visible throughout the Bay Area. 

Construction causes fire at Fremont Heinz plant
FREMONT — Construction work on steel beams at the Heinz USA plant sparked a fire that caused $25,000 in damage. Fremont firefighters respon|ded to the fire off Ohio Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Heat from the beam work apparently set fire to wood near the ceiling of a building in which vinegar and other items were stored at the west end of the plant. Fire damage was limited to the ceiling area and electrical wiring. The building had a sprinkler system that was activated, but the fire started above the sprinklers, firefighters said. Nobody was injured in the fire. 

Man burned in fire 
Kevin O'Connor 06/21/2003 
PAWTUCKET - A faulty soldering torch is blamed for a fire that burned one man and chased two families from their home. Kevin Cahoon told firefighters that he was soldering pipes, using a torch fed by a propane tank, when fire flashed all around him Friday at 3:20 p.m. in the basement of his home at 265 Norfolk Ave., firefighters report. "He said he saw two flashes, both at face level," said Fire Lt. Timothy McLaughlin, who lead the investigation into the fire. "He got out of the basement and called for help." Firefighters with Engine 4 arrived at the home 4 minutes after receiving the first call for help. Fire Capt. Thomas Feeley and Firefighters Steven Sherry and Paul Dooley had the fire under control within minutes, Battalion Chief Ronald Doire said. "They got into the basement and knocked it down quickly," Doire said. "There was significant damage to the basement, but it did not spread to the rest of the home." Kevin Cahoon was escorted from the home and then taken to Rhode Island Hospital with burns to his face, hands and back. He was said to have sustained first and second degree burns. Burns are described as second degree when there is some blistering and damage to deeper layers of the skin. A first degree burn causes redness. A sunburn is a first degree burn. The building owners, James and Helga Fagan, and Kevin and Christina Cahoon were all out of their homes when firefighters arrived. Kevin Cahoon was the only person injured in the fire. Damage was limited to the area in the front of the basement where the fire started, Doire said. There was smoke damage to the rest of the building, but firefighters searched with their hands and with thermal imaging devices and concluded the flames did not have time to sneak into the walls of the first floor. Work crews were called in from Narragansett Electric and Valley Gas to shut down the utilities to the home until the connections to the home could be tested for safety. There was substantial damage to the electrical system in the basement, Doire said. Building residents were trying to determine where they would spend the night as firefighters collected their gear and folded their hoses less than an hour after they arrived. The home would be habitable as soon as the electrical and gas systems are made safe, firefighters reported. 

Fire Breaks Out in Defense Ministry
A fire broke out on the rooftop of the Defense Ministry building in central Seoul Saturday afternoon, but no casualties were reported. The blaze, which began at around 5:37 p.m., was put out completely in 10 minutes, police said. An initial investigation showed the fire started when sparks from a welding job spread to an air-conditioning cooling tower. Workers were removing a communication tower from the rooftop at the time. The ministry and firefighters were looking into the cause of the blaze. The fire touched off a terror scare as witnesses flooded media organizations with calls. 

East Mall fire bill tipped to exceed $10,000
Friday, 20 June 2003
THE DAMAGE bill could be up to $20,000 following a fire in two adjacent residential units in the East Mall on Wednesday afternoon. The fire, on the first floor above the Uphill and Schaefer Real Estate office, started in the roof of one of the units. Three builders who had been working on a renovation of the units were treated by ambulance officers for smoke inhalation after they had attempted to put the fire out. Police said that, during some welding operations, the sparking had ignited and ceiling wood work had also caught fire. Armidale Fire Brigade station officer, Mick Howard, said firemen wearing breathing apparatus used a pressure fan to ventilate the roof void. The fire was extinguished and salvage work carried out. "The roof was severely damaged in one unit and the remainder of the upper levels were damaged by heat, smoke and water,” Officer Howard said. "Water went through the floor of one of the units, so there was also minor water damage in the Uphill and Schaefer office below. Officer Howard estimated that damage would run between $10,000 and $20,000.

P&G sustains minor damage in fire
By RACHAEL MYER 06/19 2003
No one was injured at a "relatively small" fire at Procter & Gamble Wednesday morning that appears to have been started accidentally. Preliminary findings indicate the fire on the south end of the property off the U.S. 70 Bypass was started by a welding or cutting torch, said Don Friddle, Jackson Fire Department fire marshal. The investigation will probably take a couple of days, he said. The fire began in an outside area between two warehouse buildings that had been hit during the May 4 tornadoes, he said. "There was no product involved and it didn't get into our main production area," said Randy Kennedy, public affairs manager at Procter & Gamble. The Pringles and Torengos chips that were kept nearby had already been taken to the landfill because of tornado damage, he said. The company has said that the May 4 storms caused "millions" of dollars of damage to the 170-acre plant, which opened in the 1970s. The fire didn't cause any permanent damage to the building, and one wall was already scheduled to be taken down after the tornado, Kennedy said. He said the fire appears to have started by spontaneous combustion. Jackson fire officers and P&G's fire brigade put out the blaze at about 8:45 a.m., Friddle said. The fire began about 7:15 a.m. A lot of black smoke poured out from the fire. "It looked worse than it actually was," Friddle said. 

Workers' tools spark blaze in SJU dormitory basement 
By Tien-Shun Lee 06/12/2003 
An electrical worker was burned when a flash fire broke out last Thursday in the basement of one of the St. John's University dormitories. A flash fire broke out in the basement of a St. John's University dormitory around 2 p.m. last Thursday, causing burns to the face and chest of a worker who was installing equipment to improve cell-phone reception in the building. About 60 firemen responded to the call, and the fire in a storage utility room of Hollis Hall was under control within 10 minutes, said Sean Johnson, a spokesman for the Fire Department. "Aside from the worker being injured, it was a fairly minor incident," said Jody Fisher, a spokesman for the university. The injured worker was taken to Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, where he was in stable condition on Tuesday. He was one of two employees of the Highland Construction Co. in Rockland County who were installing the equipment at the university's dormitory. The second worker was not injured. According to Fisher, the two workers were installing the electrical equipment side by side, using handheld tools that emitted sparks. Sparks from the tool of one of the workers fell into a bucket filled with a type of glue substance as he was mounting the equipment on the wall. The glue ignited in a flash, burning the worker in the face and chest. Fisher said he did not know what the glue substance was. Calls to the Highland Construction Co. were not returned. At the time of the fire, the dormitory was closed to students for the summer and occupied only by a person at the front desk and one or two other employees, Fisher said. The few employees were evacuated from the building when the Fire Department responded. "The fire was very far away from the employees, in a basement room made out of cinder-block construction," Fisher said. "And there's fire-proofing material throughout the entire building." Fisher said he was glad that the injured worker's condition had improved. The cell-phone antenna work would be finished at a later date, he said. 

Fire leaves Norwalk man severely burned 
NORWALK - Ramiro Rodriguez, 29, who was severely burned in a Norwalk house fire on Saturday, is still in critical condition at Bridgeport Hospital's burn unit. Rodriguez was installing a new roof in Norwalk when a propane torch ignited the fire. He has burns on more than 80 percent of his body. Sergio Rodriguez, Ramiro's brother, finds it hard to cope with what happened. He was also on the roof Saturday and suffered minor burns to his forehead and right arm. Sergio says he did not see the fire when it started but looked across the roof when he heard his brother screaming. He says he desperately tried to get to his brother who was being engulfed in flames. He said the fire's intense heat forced him away. A co-worker, Antonia Sandow, was also injured in the fire and was treated at Norwalk Hospital for minor burns.

Fire Damages Hinsdale Church 
Sunday, June 15, 2003, 10:37 a.m.By Bob Roberts WBBM Newsradio 780
(Hinsdale) -- Fire caused minor damage to a church in west suburban Hinsdale. But the senior minister of the Union Church, Verlee Copeland, says "we have a lot to be thankful for," and says services will go forward as scheduled on Sunday at the church at 137 S. Garfield Ave. Copeland says firefighters blame the fire on a welding accident. Construction is going forward on an addition to the church complex near the spot where the fire began. Copeland says the church organ was located beneath the section of roof that caught fire. She says it "was a bit out of tune" but playable after firefighters finished putting out the fire, and that giant fans were being used to draw the smoke out of the sanctuary. But she says it should not prevent services from taking place, and says when the average person walked through the sanctuary it's impossible to tell where the fire occurred. Nonetheless, Copeland says the organ will be checked in the coming week to make sure there is no serious damage. Firefighters from eight suburs battled the fire, breaking through the roof to put it out. One firefighter required treatment for heat exhaustion, but was not hospitalized. 

Welder sparks small fire at A.C. condos
From Press staff reports
ATLANTIC CITY - A contractor sparked a minor fire on the sixth floor of a high-rise building Wednesday while working with a welding torch, fire officials said. Firefighters responded to the Ritz condominium building at 2715 Boardwalk at 3:10 p.m., authorities said. The sixth floor had filled with smoke after the contractor, who was cutting a steel beam while doing remodeling work, sparked the fire when the welding torch ignited debris in the wall, Battalion Chief Charles Ritzel said. Firefighters controlled the flames quickly by using a small hose the contractor had on hand as part of the fire code safety requirements necessary for welding work, the chief said. Firefighters were at the scene for about 50 minutes and damage to the building was minimal. 

Owensboro museum catches fire
Reporter: Casey Stegall
Owensboro, KY June 7 -- Firefighters say a roofing company is responsible for a fire at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. Bruce's Tri-State Roofing crew members were using a torch while working on the roof when the fire started around 1:30 Friday afternoon. It quickly consumed the roof of the house connected to the museum. The fire was primarily contained to the attic and roof of the Smith House, which connects to the museum. It took four engine companies and about 30 firefighters to finally get the situation under control. The good news is nobody was hurt, and most of the artifacts were saved. 

Spark ignites gasoline in soil near mall; I-40/75 widening work stops; worker burned by eruption
By DON JACOBS, June 11, 2003
Utility work across from West Town Mall in preparation for widening Interstate 40/75 was halted Tuesday after underground gasoline ignited and burned a worker. Flames shot up a 30-feet deep hole about 8 a.m., burning an employee of a Minnesota drilling company. The worker, Matt Alm, was treated at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and released. The flames were the result of sparks from a steel drill bit that struck rock in the hole that is 6 feet in diameter. "They have ceased that work until they find out what's causing the contamination," said Chris Jenkins, safety coordinator with the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Jenkins said Tri-State Drilling Inc., was drilling the first of four shafts for steel utility poles at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Buckingham Road when the flames erupted. Kingston Pike near the mall is slated for widening as part of the widening project on I-40/75, Jenkins said. Jenkins was unsure Tuesday how the utility work stoppage would affect the overall widening project. Steve Wilson, manager of the underground storage tank program for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said the work has been halted until "a contractor can analyze the soil to make sure there are no environmental issues." Soil contaminated with gasoline dug up by the drill was being hauled away Tuesday evening, Wilson said. Flammability readings at the top of the hole after the fire showed the continued presence of gasoline, Wilson said. Because gasoline fumes are heavier than air, Wilson said the flammability reading at the bottom of the 30-feet hole probably would be higher. Wilson said an Exxon gas station used to occupy a corner of the intersection, about 80-feet from where the hole was drilled. The underground gasoline tanks for that station were removed in 1999 and there were no environmental concerns after the removal, he said. But Wilson said the gasoline pocket struck Tuesday would be uphill from where the Exxon gas tanks were in the ground. "At this point, there is a question of where the contamination came from," Wilson said. Workers covered the hole with plywood and cordoned off the area with plastic, yellow tape until work can resume.

Man injured in laundry-room fire 
Sunday, June 8, 2003 
ENGLEWOOD - A laundry room fire Saturday sent a plumber to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, police said. The plumber, whose name was unavailable, was taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, said fire Capt. John McLoughlin. The blaze at the office complex at 15 Engle St. was ignited by a spark thrown off by a plumber welding pipes at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Center, McLoughlin said. The blaze was reported at 8:28 a.m. and was called under control about 45 minutes later, McLoughlin said. Englewood was assisted by Tenafly, Fort Lee, and Teaneck firefighters. Although the fire was contained to the laundry room, the office complex was evacuated before firefighters arrived. McLoughlin said the fire caused smoke damage throughout the second and third floors of the building. 

UPDATE Woman Claims Negligence In Husband’s Death
By Ruth Anne Lipka, Times-Union Lifestyles Editor
The widow of a man who died from injuries suffered in a November natural gas explosion is seeking compensation for her losses. Valley Fresh Foods Inc. and Kralis of Mentone Inc., doing business as Kralis Brothers Foods Inc., are named as defendants in the lawsuit filed recently in Kosciusko Circuit Court. Mary Grimm, individually and as administratrix of the estate of Richard J. Grimm, is the plaintiff. The case was filed on Mary Grimm’s behalf by attorney Kandi Kilkelly Hidde of Bingham McHalle LLP, Indianapolis. Richard J. Grimm, 38, suffered burns, broken ribs, punctured lungs, a concussion and a skull fracture when he was blown off a ladder by the Nov. 2 explosion at the Kralis Brothers plant owned by Valley Fresh Foods on South Tinkey Road at Mentone. He died Nov. 13 as a result of those injuries. On the day of the explosion, Grimm was working 10 to 15 feet up a ladder in the chicken processing plant, using a welding torch to cut old roof rafters. In the area where Grimm was cutting, the torch ignited naral gas that was being released from a rusted pipe. The lawsuit claims wrongful death and indicates both Valley Fresh and Kralis Brothers were negligent and breached their duties by not providing a safe work area and/or failed to warn Grimm of the dangers in the work area and failed to properly inspect, maintain and/or repair natural gas pipes in the plant. Grimm was employed by Craig Welding & Manufacturing Inc., which was hired to perform repairs and welding work at the site. At the time of the explosion, fire officials investigating the incident said the natural gas was pocketed in a false ceiling in the area where Grimm was working to cut out the final rafter. A specific dollar amount for compensation in the case was not noted. Losses include medical, funeral and burial expenses, loss of earnings and loss of companionship. A trial by jury is requested. 

Fire destroys sawmill
by Tammy Helm 
The Dan J. Nisley & Sons Sawmill was burned to the ground early Tuesday, June 3. According to Corydon Fire Chief John Johnson, Randy Sharp saw the fire and went to the Nisley home to tell Nisley his mill was on fire. It was totally engulfed at that time. "It was already on the ground when we got there," said Johnson. Corydon firemen received the page at 5:23 a.m. and remained on the scene until 7:36 a.m. They only used a couple loads of water. A tanker from the Humeston Fire Department was called to assist. The fire marshall arrived between 9:30 and 10 a.m. to inspect the scene. "It was so far gone, he couldn't say what caused it," said Johnson. Johnson said he was told that the mill workers had been using a welder the previous day and had a small fire then, but thought they had it out. They worked three or four hours after that incident. Located in northern Wayne County, the Amish owned and operated mill produced wooden pallets. The business was not insured. By 3:30 p.m., clean up efforts were well underway. At least 24 men from the Amish community and neighbors with heavy equipment were helping in the cleanup. 

Fire Delays Ceremony 
By Marcus Blair TIMES RECORD
SALLISAW — A dedication ceremony was supposed to be held Tuesday for the new Arby’s in Sallisaw, but corporate managers arrived to find the restaurant a dripping, blackened mess. The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage after a fire ignited in a wall and the attic. It will be closed until repairs can be made, District Manager Chris Griffin said. Arby’s was open only nine days before the fire, Griffin said. The company does not yet know how long it will take to rebuild. Thick black smoke already was pouring through the restaurant when Sallisaw firefighters arrived shortly before 7 a.m. They had to use chain saws to rip through the walls and roof to reach the blaze, which was located in wood behind the building’s facade, said Mike Tubbs, Sallisaw fire chief. “It was a slow, smoldering fire,” Tubbs said. “There was not much fire damage, but we had to cut into it and spray it down.” The blaze appeared to be caused by an electrical malfunction near a lighted sign under the south entrance, Tubbs said. Tubbs could not estimate the cost of the damage but said it will be significant. He saw two roof beams and other key structural points that were incinerated. It was the second fire to heavily damage Arby’s since construction began. Workers building the roof were using a propane torch to melt sealant when wood beams caught fire and caused about $10,000 damage, Tubbs said. The damage was much less costly than Tuesday’s fire because the restaurant was incomplete. 

Fire erupts at ASU West dorm 
06/03/2003 By NEWS CHANNEL 3 / azfamily.com staff 
A dorm that was under construction at ASU West erupted into fire Monday. Firefighters from the Northwest Valley battled a third-alarm blaze which broke out at an Arizona State University West dorm that was under construction Monday afternoon. About 80 crewmembers fought the fire that reportedly started between the third floor and the attic of the building near 47th Avenue and Thunderbird Road. Four hours after crews quieted the blaze, hot spots and smoke were spotted flaring up from the roof of the structure. An ASU West spokeswoman said she believes a spark from a welding torch may have set off the fire. A Phoenix Fire Department spokesman said crews initially had a hard time getting lines to the structure. Excessive heat and the unstable nature of the building forced fire investigators to switch into defensive mode. Although firefighters were not able to save the dorm building, which was completely destroyed, crews were able to save structures to the north and east of the burned-out building. Those buildings, which make up the Las Casas dormitory are scheduled to open Aug. 15 in time for the return of students. No injuries were reported. 

Welding sparks blaze
By Valerie Gritton/The Daily Times Tuesday, June 03, 2003 - 
FARMINGTON Fuel leaking from a 500 gallon gas tank was ignited by a welding spark Monday at Aaladin Southwest High Pressure Washers. Employees of the business at 1516 W. Murray Drive were welding a trailer in back of the store when the fire started, said Farmington Fire Marshal Herb Veazey. The fire Monday was one of several structure blazes that has kept San Juan County and Farmington firefighters busy so far this summer. Because the business is in an area on West Murray that remains in the county, the owner did not have to build an underground fuel storage tank, Veazey said. "In Farmington, for many years, we have not allowed above-ground fuel," Veazey said. "This is in the county and has been for here for many years." The 500 gallon storage tank was filled Friday with 250 gallons of kerosene and 250 gallons of gasoline. Magnesium was also allegedly ignited by the fire and burned underneath the fuel tank. "Magnesium just literally explodes when you hit it with water," said Randy Wakeland with the Farmington Fire Department. Fortunately, the tank did not blow up and no one was injured during the blaze that created flames higher than the building and a column of black smoke that could be seen for miles. "It had the potential to blow up. It was a serious situation," Veazey said. Firefighters used foam to stop the fuel vapors from igniting elsewhere and later washed debris into the street for clean up. Veazey said the Aaladin fire is one of several that have occurred over the past two weeks. On Memorial Day weekend an arson fire destroyed a home and most of its contents at 3144 W. Main St. That fire is still under investigation, Veazey said. Another fire caused by an electrical malfunction destroyed part of a business located in an office complex at 2901 20th St. Part of the roof was destroyed and costs are estimated to exceed $30,000. "We're expecting a busy fire season, but hoping it won't be," Veazey said. 

Fire damages Courier-Journal printing plant project
A portion of The Courier-Journal's $80 million printing plant, which is still under construction, caught fire this morning. No one was injured in the fire, according to Linda Pursell, vice president of market development. Details of damage from the fire are not yet available. Pursell said the fire that was caused when sparks from a grinder ignited insulation in the roof. The grinding was being done by a worker with Lykins Steel, a subcontractor for Louisville-based Messer Construction Co. Fire department units, which arrived just after 9 a.m., were called to extinguish the fire after workers tried to put out the fire with extinguishers but were unable to contain the blaze, she said. Pursell said it is too soon to say whether the fire will affect the timetable for the project. She added that all damages will be covered by insurance. The new printing plant, an $80 million project that includes about $17 million in construction costs, is expected to be in operation by September 2004. The project includes building a multistory facility with more than 500,000 square feet. It will house the newspaper's new printing presses. 

Torch gets blame for fire at Target; Tuesday night blaze damages Fort Gratiot store
By LORI PAIONK Times Herald 
FORT GRATIOT -- Months of renovation work at the Target store in Birchwood Mall was days away from completion when sparks from a torch touched off a blaze inside the walls Tuesday night. A contractor using an acetylene torch to cut a steel beam at about 10:45 p.m. accidentally ignited insulation within the store's front wall. No one was injured. The store was closed when the fire began. A cleaning crew was evacuated by the contractors. A store manager on scene declined to comment on when the store would reopen. Birchwood Mall security officer Ryan Roberts said some smoke escaped into the mall, which will be open today. He said he wasn't sure if, or when, Target would reopen. It was unclear how much Target merchandise was ruined because of fire, smoke or water. Through the front glass doors, witnesses could see white smoke filling the interior. "I don't know how much smoke made it in, but it wouldn't take much (to do damage)," said Lt. Jim DeLacy of the St. Clair County Sheriff Department. He said the fire was difficult to extinguish because flames spread easily through wall insulation. Fort Gratiot Fire Chief Ron Nichols was not available for comment at the scene. Firefighters from Fort Gratiot and Burtchville townships remained on the scene after 1 a.m. Ironworker Dave Zimmerman of Kimball Township was using a torch on the outside of the store's front exterior to cut a beam for a renovation project. A spark must have flown under a fire-proof blanket spread on the wall, he said. "I moved the blanket and knocked out the wall out to check (the smoke) and I couldn't get back there to put it out," said Zimmerman, who works for Dietzel Co. of Fraser. Construction supervisor Tom Dea said renovations on the store front began in January and workers were almost finished. "This was it -- two more days," said Dea of Gioffre Companies in Dublin, Ohio. 

Telegraph on sale despite fire
By:Press Association 
Urgent negotiations were under way to get the Belfast Telegraph printed elsewhere after the blaze at its plant in the city centre put presses out of action for several days. But editor Ed Curran insisted: ``We have a lot of confidence we will be able to publish. ``Our printing presses have been knocked out, but all our editorial and advertising systems are intact. ``We`ve had a lot of support from our colleagues in the newspaper industry and I`m hoping they will be able to publish us today elsewhere outside the Belfast Telegraph offices.`` Negotiations were under way with the Morton weekly newspaper group based in Portadown, Co Armagh and the Bangor Spectator in Co Down. At least 40 firefighters were needed to put out the blaze in the Belfast Telegraph building. The multi-storey press hall suffered severe smoke and water damage in the fire, which started when stacked paper was ignited by a spark from a welder`s torch in nearby maintenance work. Four pumps and three special appliances tackled the flames as they threatened to spread through several floors. The building was evacuated and no one was injured. The Irish editions of the Independent and Daily Telegraph and the Northern Ireland edition of the Sun were due to be printed when the fire broke out last night. Alternative arrangements had to be made to print the papers elsewhere. But Mr Curran said it could have been much worse and praised the Fire Service for preventing the building being destroyed. He added: ``All we have got to do is try and find a printing press. Either get one of our own back in action or use printing presses elsewhere.`` 

Roof work may have started fire that damaged storage units
By Deanna Boyd Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Workers doing roof repair may have sparked a fire Thursday morning at a storage unit warehouse in Burleson, officials said. The fire started about 8:40 a.m. in one of the storage units at the U-Haul Storage Warehouse, 2121 S. Burleson Blvd. The flames spread, damaging three other large units or about a third of the building, said Burleson police Sgt. Cindy Aaron. "There were some workers on the roof repairing some damage from the February ice storm," Aaron said. "They were welding and the hot metal dripped down into the building. They think that's what started the fire." The service road of Interstate 35 was shut down to make room for responding water tanks and after reports were received that some of the storage buildings may have contained nitrous oxide and ammunition, Aaron said. Firefighters from Alvarado, Briaroaks, Crowley, Joshua, Keene, Rendon and the Tarrant County Fire District assisted the Burleson Fire Department in putting out the two-alarm fire. "The Cleburne Fire Department covered our city while our units were tied up out there," Aaron said. A Briaroaks firefighter was treated at the scene for exhaustion. A worker at the facility had an asthma attack at the scene but did not require hospitalization, she said. The fire was contained about 11 a.m., but crews remained on the scene throughout the day putting out flare-ups. Construction crews were called out to raze the burned units, Aaron said. No damage estimates were available Thursday. 

UPDATE BP may face fine in welder's death 
ANCHORAGE (AP) ‹ State safety officials have proposed a $6,300 fine against BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in the December death of a contract welder. It's the second such action against the oil company this year. In a notice sent this past week to BP, inspectors with the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health office accused the company of violating the state's general worker safety law. For now the violation is merely alleged, and BP can contest it, said John Stallone, acting head of the safety office. BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said Friday the company had not yet decided what to do. Rodney ''Rooster'' Rost, 55, of Soldotna, was a veteran welder employed by Norcon. On Dec. 21, he was welding a 28-inch pipe when he was hit in the head by a metal plug that flew out the end of the pipe. The plug was a heavy metal disc that had been inserted into the pipe to hold back nitrogen gas put into the pipe to suppress any potential explosion from oil and gas residue inside, Stallone said. A hose was attached to relieve pressure buildup inside the pipe. But ice crystals blocked the hose and high pressure caused the plug to pop out, hitting Rost, Stallone said. ''When it flew out of there, it was lethal,'' he said. ''After seeing the photographs, I don't think he knew what hit him. There was no warning, no nothing, just bang.'' The accident happened at Gathering Center 2 in the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field, which BP operates. Stallone said his office found no willful or criminal violations, which would have resulted in a much higher proposed penalty. In this case, $6,300 is the maximum fine allowed for the type of violation alleged, he said. BP and its contractors must correct some safety problems, Stallone said. One change is that workers now must make better use of gauges to warn against excessive pressure buildup, he said. BP was hit with a similar violation and $6,300 fine this year for a North Slope well explosion and fire that critically injured oil field operator Don Shugak of Anchorage last Aug. 16. BP did not contest that violation and paid the fine. Beaudo said BP believes it has made safety changes to prevent a recurrence of either type of mishap. ''The incident was deeply regrettable,'' he said of Rost's death. ''We cooperated fully with the investigation.'' In January, BP's Alaska president, Steve Marshall, told employees that the company's safety record was poor in 2002 and that it had to improve ''as if our lives and our future in Alaska depend on it. Because they do.''

New building on Iowa campus catches fire
By The Associated Press
IOWA CITY -- A University of Iowa building with sections still under construction caught fire Friday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby residence hall and two other campus buildings. Investigators said the fire was caused when welding sparks ignited a tarp covering an exterior wall of the 58,000-square-foot Blank Honors Center. There were no reports of civilian injuries, but two firefighters were injured during the three hour battle to control the blaze. Extent of the injuries was not immediately available. Fire officials said Daum Hall, a dormitory designed to be connected to the new $14 million Blank building, was evacuated. The botany and chemistry buildings also were cleared and police also closed several downtown streets to traffic. Several area fire departments were called to the scene about 11:30 a.m. to assist Iowa City firefighters. 

Man died in east Cork accident
The HSA is investigating the death of a 24-year-old man who was killed in an industrial accident in east Cork today. The man, who is believed to have been from Youghal, was working at a garage at Carrigshane in Midleton which specialises in servicing and re-fitting commercial fuel tanks. The man had been welding a fuel tank when an explosion occurred. A post-mortem is to be carried out, and his name will not be released until his family has been informed. 

16-year-old welder burnt to death in Shuwaikh fire 
KUWAIT CITY: A Syrian welder, Mohannad Ali, 16, was seriously burnt and he died on the spot when a diesel tanker truck he was working on in Shuwaikh, near Souk Al-Mirah, caught fire Saturday.The flames engulfed another diesel tanker truck parked nearby and scalded another person, who was admitted to Sabah Hospital. Major Mohammed Abdullah Al-Shatti, head of the Public Relations and Awareness Department at the Kuwait Fire Service Directorate told the Arab Times, firefighters from Al-Shuhada and Shuwaikh fire stations were called to the scene at 1.50 pm. He said about 20 firefighters from the two stations led by Major Ibrahim Al-Shatti and Lt Mohammed Al-Manna were able to put out the fire by 2.06 pm. Al-Shatti said the tankers were empty, but the fire preceded by an explosion, may have been caused by sparks from the welding rod coming into contact with left-over inflammable material. Soon after the fire was put out, the fire fighters were called to a pastry shop, also in Shuwaikh, where a split air condition hd caught fire. It was quickly put out. Maid hurt: An Indonesian maid - identified only as Nour - who jumped from the second floor window of her sponsor's apartment in Salwa in a vain attempt to escape from him, has been admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital with several fractures all over her body, reports Al-Anba daily. Suicide bid: A Sri Lankan maid tried to commit suicide by jumping from the roof of her sponsor's house in Shamiya. The 'victim' has been admitted to the Amiri Hospital with several fractures all over her body. A case of suicide attempt has been registered against the maid. Salesman stabbed: Police are looking for an unidentified person who allegedly escaped with KD 70 and four cellular phones after stabbing an Asian salesman at a cell-phone shop in Sabah Al-Nasser, reports Al-Rai Al-Aam daily. The salesman was admitted to Farwaniya Hospital with deep cuts to his head, chest and shoulder. Personnel from the Criminal Evidences Department lifted fingerprints. By H. Hashim Ahmed - Arab Times Staff 

Fire slows construction
Livingston Fire Department responded to an attic fire at the new apartments on Country Club Drive at 2:53 p.m. on Friday, August 15. Welders working on the apartments, which are not yet complete, accidentally started the fire and then left. Construction workers on the scene called 911. Livingston Fire Department was on the scene within three minutes. According to one firefighter, the attic was engulfed in flames when they arrived and smoke could be seen as far away as Lake LU and the Livingston Fire Department building. Firefighters that responded were Andy Slayton, Antoine Berry, Keith Booker, Dexter Johnson, Chris Scott, Park Edwards, Nancy Larkin, Russell Keene, Erik Shirley and ShyAnn Sasser. Public Safety officers that responded were Chief Ashley Welborn and Josette White. Hiram Patrenos and Brian Crawford own the new apartments, which have not been named yet. Patrenos said that he did not have a dollar figure as to the damage, but said that the fire would set construction back about two months. 

One injured, 12 homeless in South Heights fire; Fire started during construction work causes $25,000 in damage
BY PHIL ROCKROHR Times Staff Writer
SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS -- One man was injured, 12 people left homeless and $25,000 in damage caused when an apartment building caught fire behind Village Hall Friday morning. About 40 firefighters from at least 11 departments helped extinguish the fire at Eagle Ridge apartments, 3343 Commercial Ave., within 30 minutes, said Larry Nardoni, assistant fire chief of South Chicago Heights. The fire started when workers were soldering pipes in a vacant apartment on the second floor of the two-story building, said Brock Hanna, an owner of the complex. Don Nyblom, a maintenance worker at Eagle Ridge, suffered second- and third-degree burns to his hands trying to extinguish the fire, Hanna said. Nyblom was taken to St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Chicago Heights, Nardoni said. Hospital officials could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. South Chicago Heights Fire Department received an emergency call about the fire at about 9:14 a.m., Nardoni said. "Our first unit arrived within minutes," he said. "Smoke was coming off of the second floor, from two apartments on the south side of the building. Our people started to attack the fire, and we went to the box (alarm) level due to the heat." Firefighters responded from Crete, Steger, Steger Estates, Sauk Village, Chicago Heights, Park Forest, Lynwood, Homewood, Flossmoor and University Park, Nardoni said. "Everybody else helped out," he said. "Everybody got out of their apartments safely." All of the 10 apartments at 3343 Commercial Ave. suffered smoke damage, and at least four suffered water damage, Nardoni said. Four of the apartments were destroyed and must be rebuilt, Hanna said. Firefighters had to cut a whole in a roof owners just recently installed, he said. Both Hanna and Nardoni estimated the damage at about $25,000. Hanna said he contacted the Red Cross to offer assistance to residents who were displaced. Hanna also offered to help them himself, if possible. Eight apartments must be vacated, he said. "Our tenants are not that well-to-do," Hanna said. "Pretty much all their worthy possessions are here. I don't know who has insurance. We're going to try to help them the best we can." Hanna said he will let residents out of their leases if they want to find new apartments while the damaged units are repaired. "They're our customers," he said. "We've gotten to know quite a few of them and we care about them. Some are very upset, as you can imagine." Residents said they were confident Hanna and other owners would provide accommodations, if necessary. John Quantanilla, 34, whose apartment is next door to the one that caught fire, said he has relatives in South Chicago Heights, if the owners are unable to provide a place for him to stay. Juanita Robson, 58, and Kathy Manley, 54, who also live in the building, said they have renter's insurance that should cover their losses. June Hanaman, 82, who lives on the first floor, said she does not have insurance, but owners of the complex offered to provide accommodations, if necessary. 

Barge fire disrupts traffic on river, welding on bridge; Cause of blaze under investigation by Coast Guard 
A fire aboard a barge carrying gasoline on the Ohio River yesterday shut down river traffic for about four hours. A tow traveling downriver with three barges was preparing to enter the McAlpine locks when a fire broke out on one of them about 11:40 a.m., said Lt. Tom Lake of the U.S. Coast Guard's marine safety office in Louisville. The river was reopened at 3:50 p.m., said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Paul Mehler. Barge workers were able to extinguish the fire immediately with foam, Lake said. The coast guard sprayed water on the barge where the fire broke out to make sure it did not re-ignite, he said. Two of the barges, which belong to Marathon Ashland Petroleum, were carrying gasoline, and the third held a shipment of diesel, Mehler said. Marathon Ashland issued a written statement saying that no gasoline leaked into the river. The company said it is investigating the fire, as is the Coast Guard. Marathon Ashland said sparks from welding and construction work on the Clark Memorial Bridge may have ignited vapors on the barge's deck. Mehler said the fire is still under investigation. He added that Marathon Ashland's hypothesis is one of the possible causes being investigated after the barge's crew reported seeing sparks. Crews working on the bridge were asked to stop welding during the fire and to take safety precautions after the fire was contained. 

Fire breaks out in Delhi cinema hall 
Wednesday, 20 August , 2003, 16:08 
New Delhi: A minor fire broke out on Wednesday at a cinema hall being demolished for Delhi Metro construction in West Delhi. The fire erupted in the sound-proofing system of Vivek Cinema in Patel Nagar area at 0900hrs Wednesday morning. The cinema hall was vacant as it was being demolished for the construction of Barahkhamba-Dwarka metro line and hence there were no casualities. "Fifteen fire tenders immediately rushed to the spot as it was a fire in the hall and they worked till 1320hrs to ensure that the blaze was completely put down," fire department sources told UNI. They said that the fire broke out when the metro workers were carrying out welding in the empty cinema hall. However, according to Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal the minor fire broke out in the sound-proofing system of the hall and it was 'brought under control within five minutes.' 

UPDATE Family of welder killed in explosion sues; Widow, brother say unsafe conditions caused man's death
By Benjamin Gedan, Globe Correspondent, 8/20/2003 
FRAMINGHAM -- Relatives of a welder who died in a July explosion at the Triram Corporation asphalt plant in Framingham are suing the company for allegedly maintaining unsafe working conditions and failing to prepare the site for metal work. Christopher Lyon, a private contractor from Connecticut, was injured on July 3 while installing a catwalk atop a 15,000 gallon storage tank. The 26-foot tank, which held a volatile combination of liquid asphalt and petroleum solvents, exploded while Lyon was working on it, hurling him more than 50 feet. Lyon, 31, died from his injuries two weeks later at Massachusetts General Hospital. ''There seem to be enormous gaps in safety precautions,'' said Joanne D'Alcomo, who is representing Lyon's brother and widow in the lawsuit. ''We're trying to find out why they didn't warn him, why it wasn't a safe place to work.'' The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 8 in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, seeks damages from six related corporate entities, including a Holliston company that allegedly installed the liquid asphalt tank that erupted in flames. Company officials have refused to discuss the explosion and declined to detail the business relationship between The Hudson Companies, which owns Triram and is based in Rhode Island, and Sunderland-based All State Asphalt Inc., the parent company for New England Emulsions in Holliston. They have made no statements related to federal, state, and local investigations into the explosion, or responded publicly to findings that Triram lacked permits for several of its massive storage tanks. Asked about the lawsuit yesterday, Richard J. Miller, executive vice president of All State Asphalt, said only, ''I have nothing to say,'' before hanging up. James H. Reilly, an attorney for The Hudson Companies, did not return repeated calls for comment. The wrongful death complaint, which lists Dale and Bernardette Lyon as plaintiffs, accuses the companies of hiring Christopher Lyon to undertake work they knew was ''inherently dangerous and life threatening.'' The facility's safety policies, the lawsuit alleges, were in ''total disregard and in violation of safety regulations and statutes.'' There is no court date set for the trial. Last week, Triram agreed not to disassemble its storage facilities until they are inspected by a private investigator, D'Alcomo said. On Monday, she sent the companies a 38-page request for thousands of internal documents about safety procedures and permit records. The information would reveal the origin of the tanks and outline the business ties between the companies. An investigation by the Framingham Fire Department has found that Lyon never applied for a welding permit, which would have required emptying the tank or treating it with inert gasses to neutralize the flammable material before commencing construction. An investigator from the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the tank exploded after welders, using a cutting torch, ignited fumes above the storage tower. But D'Alcomo said the permitting rules and safety precautions were probably unknown to Lyon, and should have been followed by plant managers who better understood the regulations and risks. Though he had billed Triram for $30,000 in metal work since January, she said, Lyon was not an expert in asphalt products. He trusted his employers to guarantee safe working conditions, she said. ''These folks operated an asphalt facility; they had been in the business for years and certainly had knowledge of what the dangers of asphalt products are,'' she said. ''He felt it was a safe working environment, and now we know it was not.'' 

Broomfield man's recovery from burns slow; Family tries to help popular handyman through accident 
By Jennifer Edmonds, Enterprise Staff Writer August 16, 2003
Now he's asking the Broomfield community to save Garry's. Love and Colgin were trout fishing in the Black Canyon near Gunnison. The two were at 3,400 feet and on loose gravel when Love fell into the river with his back pack on. "There was nothing to hold onto and Garry saved my life. He got a hold of my feet and pulled me up," Charlie said. "If he's your friend, he'll do anything for you." Garry, a former Rocky Flats welder who lives in Broomfield with his wife, Sherry, is fondly referred to as "MacGyver" for the welding and carpentry work he does for family and friends. But while working on daughter Kim Espinosa's water lines in her newly restored bathroom on Wolff Street in Wesminster, the torch he was welding with leaked. It filled the bathroom with propane and when he hit the striker he was involved in a flash fire. Rich Welz, a Westminster Fire Department technical services coordinator, said the heat was intense. "There was no flame but just as hot as if you walk into an oven," Welz said. Garry's family said he managed to get out of the bathroom and shut the propane torch off. He put some of the fire out and called 911 then collapsed. The Broomfield resident of 20 years suffered from fourth degree burns to 55 percent of his body. The husband and father of three women, has been in University Hospital since the mid-June accident, heavily sedated almost to the point of a medically induced coma, according to his family. Doctors have used three different sources to restore Garry's body because so much of it was burned. He has already undergone 11 surgeries, including three to remove dead tissue and another to remove fungus, according to his family. After his skin begins to repair, Garry will have to wear pressurized garments 23 hours a day for the next two years, to protect his skin and reduce scarring. "It's been a rollercoaster ride," his wife said. Doctors told Garry's family he will be in the hospital for four to six months, followed by a year of daily wound treatment. In the best case scenario, it will take the 55-year-old seven to 10 years to get back to where he was before the accident. Love, Garry Colgin's high school friend from Kansas, is unsure of Garry's fate. "I don't know if he's going to live through it, but if he does, he'll be all right. He won't sit still for long," Love said. The Colgin family is relying on their faith to help Garry pull through. "We've done a lot of praying," Sherry said. She said she's ready to have her husband back. "My husband and I have separate alarms and I keep turning on my husband's alarm in my sleep. I think it's my subconscious saying it's time to wake up," Sherry said. "We had our 36th wedding anniversary in the hospital June 23rd. I told him I didn't like the place he chose." Charlie doesn't plan to let Garry sleep much longer, either. "I went in (to the hospital) and chewed him out. I told him he promised me a fishing trip and he needs to get up," he said. One thing is clear, everybody who knows Garry is pulling for him. "His wife is down (at the hospital)before six every morning and Kim sings to him every day," Love said. "I know they may need some help, but their proud people." Family friend Vicky Greff said Sherry's devotion to her husband has made it difficult to maintain her work schedule and provide for their family and anything the community can do for them would be incredible. Gary's daughter said it costs $70,000 a day to keep him in the intensive care burn unit and while there is no cap on the insurance, they wonder how long their good fortune will last. "No matter how great insurance is, there is a limit," Espinoza said. The women also learned small details in their home will have to change once Garry is released from the hospital. "He won't be able to turn things, so all handles will have to be changed on doors and faucets," Espinoza said. The Colgin's said they aren't asking for money, but Espinoza said warm wishes from the community would help. "We would like cards to plaster on his walls so he can see all the support and knows people are fighting for him," spinoza said. Regardless, Love set up an account for them. Sherry and Kim said they will donate any extra funds to other burn victims. BOX IT: Send donations to Garry Colgin c/o Vectra Bank 1990 West 10th Avenue, Broomfield, CO 80020. Cards may be mailed to 7561 Wolff Street, Westminster, CO 80030.

No injuries in Thursday fire
A structure fire Thursday afternoon near Seafield resulted in property damage but no injuries. At approximately 1:15 p.m. Thursday, the Wolcott Fire Department responded to a report of a fire in a swine barn at the Irvin and Shirley Furrer farm, County Road 2357 N-600 W, about a mile north of US 24 and two miles east of Wolcott. The Reynolds Volunteer Fire Department and Remington Volunteer Fire Department responded with tanker and pumper trucks and mutual aid. According to Wolcott Assistant Fire Chief Jack Buntin, the floor of the building was being redone, so no animals were inside the building at the time of the fire. The fire is believed to have been caused by a stray spark from a welder, he said. “They took all the precautions they could,” said Wolcott Assistant Chief Jack Buntin. “It was just one of those freak things.” No damage estimate was available Thursday. 

Firemen battle blaze 
By: Matthew Houpt 08/14/2003 
Workers were evacuated from Gordon Waste Company last Wednesday after a fire ignited in the back of the warehouse. Jim Boymier, an employee at the recycling business, said that a co-worker was repairing a conveyer belt using a welder when flying sparks ignited paper shreds travelling above on the belt. The burning paper continued to travel on the belt until it looped under the floor where it ignited some cardboard boxes. "I couldn't see the fire, but I saw smoke coming up from under the floor so we called for help. Better safe than sorry, you know?" Boymier said. Get the complete story in this week's Columbia Ledger. 

Fire ignites at Tampa Tank on East Adamo DriveSaturday, August 16th 
An investigation is underway into a fire and explosion in Tampa on Friday night. A worker at Tampa Tank on East Adamo Drive was using an acetylene torch when it caught on fire. He was able to put out the fire, but it re-ignited and spread beyond his control. Two or three 30-gallon acetylene tanks under a tree exploded. There is some damage to a building, but no reports of injuries. 

Two Hurt in Gas Line Accident; Fire department says plumbing crew caused pipe to blow up
By Mark Hall 
Two Shoreline Plumbing workers were injured Wednesday after they accidentally ignited as natural gas line between 1995 and 2005 Moyo Drive. According to the Lake Havasu City Fire Department, the workers were sweating a water line with a torch. Believing that an adjacent pipe was a water bubbler line, they continued their work until the line blew up. River Medical transported one worker to Havasu Regional Medical Center for moderate burns he suffered to the face and hands, fire personnel said. The other worker stayed at the scene. Flames spewed out of the hole in the ground from 8:33 to 10:10 a.m., before UniSource Energy Services (formerly Citizens Arizona Gas) workers and firefighters smothered the flames with water and clamped the gas line. The hole was located south of two apartment buildings that were evacuated by the fire department. Workers attempted to gain access to the line by digging a hole into the pavement on Moyo Drive, which was located in front of the leak. However, they were unable to find the line, therefore the smother and clamp procedure was executed. While flames spewed out of the ground, firefighters sprayed nearby vegetation to prevent it from being damaged by the heat. 

Prince William school catches fire during construction
Associated Press August 14, 2003 
HAYMARKET -- A high school under construction in Prince William County caught fire when a worker accidentally ignited foam insulation on the roof. A plumber using a cutting torch lit the petroleum-based insulation at about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Battalion Chief C. Hadden Culp of the Prince William Department of Fire and Rescue. It took 60 firefighters from Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier and Fairfax counties and Manassas one hour to control the fire, which destroyed a stack of insulation and charred the roof. The side of the building sustained heavy smoke stains. Damage costs were not available. The unnamed school is in the Dominion Valley area north of Haymarket. A high school under construction in Woodbridge also caught fire in May when a worker accidentally ignited foam insulation. Part of the roof at that school was destroyed. No one was hurt in either fire. 

Worker killed in plant explosion 
02:05 PM CDT on Thursday, August 14, 2003 From Staff Reports 
A man was killed when a spark from his torch triggered an explosion Thursday at a Tarrant County oil and gas plant. Tarrant County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jay Six said the man was working atop a 75-foot tower at the Eagle Mountain Pipeline plant on Hicks Field Road when something ignited, causing the explosion. The man was doing contract work inside a tube used to vent carbon dioxide for a natural gas pipeline at the plant, which was closed. The incident was reported around 9:30 a.m. His name was withheld pending notification of relatives. Six said the man appeared to be in his mid-30s. He was a contract worker with Prime Contractors. The plant is majority owned by Chief Oil and Gas in Dallas. Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson told WFAA-TV the man's body was still in the tower. Anderson said the tower likely would have to be dismantled to remove the body. No other injuries were reported and there were no visible signs of damage, Six said. There was no danger to the public and no need to evacuate the area, he said. 

Roof work sparks fire at SE Portland school 
08/13/03 LYS MENDEZ 
Fire investigators say a four-alarm fire Monday at Binnsmead Middle School was started by roofing contractors using a propane torch to apply roofing materials. Jack Finders, spokesman for the Portland Fire and Rescue Bureau, said the fire smoldered for several hours before burning through the roof. Because the fire was confined to the auditorium roof, school will start as scheduled on Sept. 3, said Lew Frederick, Portland Public Schools spokesman. Finders said the fire did $1.5 million in structural damage plus $300,000 in damage to the contents of the Southeast Portland school. Most of the damage inside the auditorium was caused by water. This was the seventh school fire, some intentionally set, in the Portland and Vancouver areas in the past year. Portland schools are self-insured, but Frederick said MacDonald Welte, the roofing contractor, is expected to cover the costs of this fire. Construction crews were working on a $2 million project to repair the roof at Binnsmead and were almost done with the auditorium, said Pam Brown, director of facilities at the school. Brown said two months' worth of work on the auditorium was lost. Workers had attached flashing to the roof, heating it with torches to make the self-adhesive backing stick, before leaving the site at 3 p.m. Monday. The Fire Bureau received a call about the fire at 6:10 p.m. and arrived at 2225 S.E. 87th Ave. in four minutes. Only two small classrooms and office space in the back of the auditorium were damaged, making it unlikely that the school year will be delayed, Frederick said. "We still have to determine how safe the school is," he said. "We have to do air monitoring and check the structure, but this will be taking place over the next few days." About 770 sixth- through eighth-graders attend the school. About 45 percent speak English as a second language, presenting school officials with the challenge of sending out notices to families who speak more than 22 languages, Frederick said. A hot line will be available for parents who want information about the fire in the five primary languages of the school: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Russian and Vietnamese. Frederick said Monday's school fire has caused the most damage, surpassing the $1 million in damage caused by a fire at Lent Elementary in Southeast Portland on Feb. 17. The cause of that three-alarm fire was determined to be arson. No arrests have been made in connection with the Lent fire. Binnsmead's auditorium is used at the beginning of the school year for welcoming assemblies, which now will take place in the cafeteria or the gym, Frederick said. Monday's fire was fought from the sides of the auditorium because firefighters couldn't determine how much weight the roof could hold, making it difficult to contain the fire. A trench was cut in the middle of the roof, and the fire was controlled at 7:56 p.m. A firefighter cut his hand, but there were no serious injuries. Frederick said that staff and parents were at the scene Monday night to express their support to the school. "This is a close-kni community," he said, "and this is going to pull the community closer together."

Spark from welder likely cause of fatal explosion
By JORDAN DRACKLEY, Courier Staff Writer
NEW HARTFORD - A man killed in an explosion Monday may have been welding on or near a waste oil barrel. Todd Johnson, 40, was working alone in the shop at the time. He died from injuries he received in the explosion and resulting fire. Shane Ballhagen, the New Hartford assistant fire chief, said Tuesday an employee at Todd's Repair shop had broken a pipe that funneled oil into the tank last week and Johnson was most likely trying to repair it. fter spending Tuesday digging through rubble, firefighters found welding equipment near the barrel. The State Fire Marshal believes Johnson was preparing to weld a cap on the tank, according to Ballhagen. "That was the explosion everyone heard," Ballhagen said. Johnson had pulled a water hose over to the area in case of a spot fire, he said. His welding safety equipment was also near the site. When the barrel exploded, burning oil was thrown across the shop. Neighbor Wayne Thoren heard the explosion and saw Johnson running out of the building, his clothes on fire. "I didn't know what to do right quick, so I just grabbed the comforter off the bed," he said. "My brother-in-law, Verne Dennis, grabbed him and threw him on the ground. I threw the blanket on him." He said everything else was a blur. Others called the fire department. "I just stayed right there with him. I tried to comfort him as best I possibly could. I just waited," he said. "It seemed like an eternity." Johnson was sent to Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls and airlifted to a burn unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. He died late Monday. Friends and family have placed flowers and candles near the shop, Thoren said. Johnson's stepfather, John McEnaney, said he'd been in business about 10 years at two different shops in New Hartford. "He was there to help anybody he could whenever he could," he said. "Never took advantage of anybody. "He was a great family man. Everybody knew him. He didn't have an enemy in the world," McEnaney added. "He's going to be greatly missed by all." 

Fire breaks out at Motera 
Express News Service
Ahmedabad, August 11: A fire broke out at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium at Motera on Monday afternoon destroying more than 200 discarded wooden and plastic chairs and other material. Besides, the transformer room of the stadium was partially damaged in the incident. However, nobody was reported injured. According to Ahmedabad Fire Brigade (AFB), the fire was caused when a burning piece of metal fell on the chairs and fibre and plastic sheets near the scoreboard where some electric welding work was in progress. In minutes, all the inflammable material stored near the scoreboard, on the western end of the stadium, caught fire. The fire brigade used three fire tenders, six water tankers and more than fifty to put out the flames in about 45 minutes. According to fire brigade officials, the fire was caused as the workers, engaged in the electric welding work, had not taken care to remove the inflammable materials away from the vicinity of their place of work. A statement released later in the day by President of the Gujarat Cricket Association Narhari Amin said the fire had caused a loss of about Rs 20,000-25,000. However, GSA’s Honorary Secretary Vikram Patel said there was no negligence on part of any staff working at the stadium and it was merely an accident.

Hundreds evacuated from Chelmsford firm's headquarters 
By JACK MINCH Sun Staff Tuesday, August 12, 2003 
CHELMSFORD On the heels of moving into its new worldwide headquarters on Mill Road last month, Zoll Medical Corp. had to briefly evacuate yesterday because of a two-alarm fire. The blaze, which was blamed on a welding job, started near the receiving dock about 11:31 a.m. yesterday. Black clouds of smoke billowed into the air from the rear of the building until the blaze was doused 15 or 20 minutes after firefighters arrived. The flames reached from the foundation to the top of the wall and the roof over the receiving doors. A silver aluminum skin exterior near the dock melted with insulation. "It just caused that to extend somewhat into the walls," said Capt. Rick Rivard. Most of the company's employees milled in the parking lot, along with workers for Siemens, which shares one of the two co-joined buildings. They played catch with a football, talked on cellular telephones and found shelter from the sun in the shade of trees lining the parking lot. Most of the damage was limited to the exterior of the building though a sprinkler inside did go on, said Fire Chief John E. "Jack" Parow. Employees were back the three-story buildings later in the day. Welders working on the doors created a hot spot between partitions which started the blaze, Rivard said. Officials indicated tools used by contractors in the area might have set the fire. "One of the workers was using some kind of soldering tool that overheated," said chief financial officer Ernie Whiton. The fire doors were closed between the two buildings and damage inside was limited, said Ed Dunn, vice president of operations. Boxes and shelves inside the receiving doors appeared undamaged from a short distance away. Zoll manufacturers medical equipment such as external defibrillators and pace makers for treating cardiac arrest and heart arrhythmia. The company moved from Burlington in July and started operations on July 28. Even without the benefit of a fire drill since moving into the building, it was evacuated easily, officials said. The building is owned by Boston Properties and subleased from Tellabs. It was unclear yesterday who will be responsible for footing the bill for repairs. Discussions will be made between the three companies and the company working on the receiving dock. "When you add it all up we've got a lot of people to check with," said Ernie Whiton, Zoll's chief financial officer. 

UPDATE Blame is shared for Duke oil tank fire
EarthTech was the contractor blamed in the fire at Duke Energy in Moss Landing. EarthTech employees did use a cutting torch on the tank. Now that those facts are out, consider these facts: The tanks belonged to Duke, which was supposed to have emptied them. As the entity holding the contract to dismantle the tanks, Duke had the responsibility to manage that contract, to assure that all precautions were followed, such as inspecting each tank prior to start of work and having an employee known as a contract manager present during the course of work. EarthTech should not shoulder the entire blame for this fiasco. Duke had ultimate responsibility. It was their tank, their oil and their contract. True, EarthTech should have checked out the tank beforehand. That is the one thing I haven't seen in the press. Did EarthTech check the tank first? If not, why? It could've been because of assurances from Duke, or an assumption that because one tank was empty the others were empty as well. Dismantling a fuel tank is like cleaning a gun: Check the chamber and remove any bullets before proceeding. We all know what happens when you fail to check that chamber. Walter Keplinger Salinas 

Torch ignites fluid, injures worker
(Friday, August 08, 2003 Jennifer Roy
Business in the service department came to a standstill Thursday afternoon at Mike Brown Ford. Instead of thoughts of fixing cars and trucks, employees were now concerned for one of their own. Arnold Makara, 49, of Bluff Dale was injured while working with a torch in the service area. Granbury fire inspector Kevin Jones said the torch Makara was using somehow ignited fumes from some brake cleaning fluid that was stored in the area. “I’m not sure how it ignited, but that chemical is extremely flammable,” Jones said. “The lid was firmly in place, it must have been just some fumes or something.” Makara suffered burns to his hands, singed hair and scorched clothing. He was taken by CareFlite to Parkland Hospital in Dallas where he was treated and released. 

Fire at International Paper Site 
Erie fire officials say demolition crews accidentally started a fire at the former International Paper Site on East Lake Road Saturday night. irefighters were called to the property around 6:30 p.m. he fire started inside a 12-story building known as the digester. The former paper making facility is in the process of being demolished. Fire officials say sparks from a welder`s torch ignited some wood chips and insulation inside the building. Crews were on scene for three and-a-half hours putting out the fire and hot spots. They say some sections of the fire were difficult to get to. One firefighter was taken to the hospital and treated for heat exhaustion. 

MAN BURNED IN FIRE 
Associated Program : Newsline 9 Live at 5 August 6, 2003 
ONE PERSON IS HOSPITALIZED.. AFTER A FIRE IN PLOVER THIS MORINING. IT HAPPENED AT THE PLOVER ETHANOL PLANT ON HIGHWAY 54. WITNESSES SAY THAT A WORKER AT THE PLANT WAS DOING SOME WELDING AND THAT SPARKED THE SMALL FIRE. THE WORKER WAS BURNED AND WAS FLOWN TO A BURN CENTER IN MADISON. THE PLANT MAKES FUEL GRADE ETHANOL BUT IT WILL BE SHUT DOWN FOR SEVERAL DAYS WHILE REPAIRS ARE MADE TO THE BUILDING. THERE ARE 6 WORKERS AT THE PLANT.

Fire ruins attic
Tuesday, August 05, 2003 By Christine Tognetti 
SAN MARTIN - What started off as a normal installation of a water softener turned into an attic fire Monday afternoon causing more than $250,000 worth of damage. Elouise Hartman was coming home from a quick trip the store when she noticed gusts of smoke in the sky. “I could tell it was in my neighborhood, but as I got closer I started to realize this might be my house,” Hartman said. The smoke was pouring out of her attic at 12600 Sycamore Road in San Martin, where an employee of Culligan Water was installing a new water softener pipe. According to California Department of Forestry Fire Capt. Paramedic Mike Matheisen, while installing the pipe, the sparks from the welding ignighted the insulation causing the fire. CDF/South County responded quickly with five fire engines, 22 firefighters and two fire chiefs. They were able to contain the fire quickly and minimize the damage. The fire was located directly above the master bedroom. Matheisen said firefighters used an approach where they located the fire, drew a line and then pushed the fire back by entering the ceiling from the area not yet burned. “We approached the fire very aggressively, and we’re lucky to have had this contained when we did,” Matheisen said. “The wind was blowing and some of the skylights were open in the attic. We could have lost much more.” Hartman sat on the lawn and watched the firefighters save what they could of her home. “I just can’t believe this,” she said. “I just had a new roof put on two months ago.” 

ISU project scorched
By Steven Friederich and Tanna Barry - Journal Writers
POCATELLO - It took only moments for a fire to start on the roof of Idaho State University's yet-to-be completed performing arts center on Monday, and it took firefighters less than an hour to put it out. Damage did not appear to be extensive. The fire on the roof of the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center started when sparks from a welder's torch ignited insulation and tar paper on the west side of the concert hall roof around noon. The fire spread quickly from the rubber roofing material to the foam underneath, filling the sky with "one huge, big, black plume" of smoke, according to Travis Packer, who was working at the nearby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' stake center. Pocatello Fire Department Division Chief Kevin Quick confirmed the sparks as the fire's source. He said a welder was on the roof when the fire started, but the welder and 104 other construction workers on site were evacuated within 50 feet of the building. No one was hurt. ISU officials said construction crews uld estimate damage today to determine how long the construction was delayed and how much it will cost to replace the charred roofing, said ISU's Vice President for University Advancement Kent Tingey. Workers started the roofing only last week, said Sletten Construction spokesman Josh Guisti. Sletten is the main contractor for the $35 million building, which is scheduled for completion next fall. Steel underneath the roof served to protect the rest of the building from any fire damage, Quick said. When Darrell Buffaloe, ISU's physical plant director, arrived on scene, he said it looked like flames reached 20 feet above the roof of the concert hall. He could see the orange flames jumping while the dark smoke filled the sky. "It scared the daylights out of me, but it looked worse than it really was," he said. "It is just unfortunate." Buffaloe said he doesn't believe the fire will slow construction much because the fire was limited to just the roof over the concert hall. The fire was reported at 12:21 p.m. and it took about 40 minutes to extinguish, Quick said. After the fire was officially out, firefighters stayed on the roof to control "hot spots." Quick said he had to call in almost everyone on his force - including a couple off-duty firefighters - to control the blaze. A tower truck was used to handle the fire because stairs do not reach the roof. Tingey said the building is insured by both Sletten and the state. 

UPDATE Investigators look into how tank was labeled 
By Benjamin Gedan, Globe Correspondent, 8/4/2003 
Fire investigators are looking into whether Triram Corp. properly labeled the 15,000 gallon storage tank that exploded on July 3, killing a welder, Framingham Fire Chief Michael Smith said Friday. Smith said investigators were focusing on whether the labeling on the tank indicated that the tank's contents were highly flammable and whether it provided adequate safety information. ''They are mandated to identify the product and have the proper paperwork,'' Smith said. ''All of that has to meet very specific specifications and compliance.'' The tank holding liquid asphalt and petroleum solvents exploded after welders using a cutting torch ignited fumes atop the 26-foot high structure. Christopher Lyon, an independent contractor from Connecticut, died July 14 from injuries he suffered in the explosion. His assistant, whose name has not been released, survived the accident. Smith said the company never received a license for the tank, a process that would have required a site inspection and scrutiny of its labeling procedures. A placard on the tank omitted the phrase ''cut back,'' a term used to describe the volatile mixture of liquid asphalt and petroluem solvents that the tank contained. He said labeling on the tank was required to list safety precautions and flammability information. A report from a private fire engineer, expected to be released this week, will address the labeling issue. State officials shut down the plant following the explosion; it has remained closed pending the engineer's evaluation. Donald Cunningham, president of Triram Corp., did not return several calls for comment. Francis O'Brien, chief operating officer for Rhode Island-based The Hudson Companies, which owns Triram, also was unavailable for comment. The welders had been constructing a catwalk atop the tank, which was recently installed at the facility, located near downtown Framingham. It was one of several new tanks at Triram's Waverly Street site, none of which received approval by the Framingham Board of Selectmen, Smith said. The company had proper paperwork for storage tanks that had been previously installed, but Smith said he would consider asking the selectmen to rescind those licenses. An investigation by the state fire marshal's office found several permitting violations, including the failure to obtain a state permit for keeping tanks that hold more than 10,000 gallons. The Framingham facility houses at least 12 above-ground tanks that each store more than 10,000 gallons of liquid asphalt, according to Framingham Fire Marshal Joe Leone. The welders lacked a permit from the Fire Department to work on the storage tanks, state and local officials said. The permit would have required the company to either empty the tank or treat it with inert gases. Last week, the fire marshal's office turned over documents to the Middlesex district attorney, said Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the fire marshal's office. District Attorney Martha Coakley will determine whether the asphalt manufacturer violated any criminal laws. The company, meanwhile, is being investigated by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA investigators could fine Triram up to $70,000 for any willful violations of federal workplace safety codes. 

Mid-day mayhem 
BY GARY CARTER HERALD DEMOCRAT
A welding accident led to a two-alarm blaze on Breezy Hill in south Denison, and after a few hours, part of the former Grayson County Shopper office was no more. Jason Hightower was among a crew of workers with Arizona Fence, one of two businesses leasing space in the building, and he said they were welding Friday afternoon at the Texoma Parkway site when, "one spark, it just started right up. There was nothing we could do." He said the welding torch caught some insulation on fire, and before they could get to the extinguisher, the blaze had spread. He and two other men scrambled out of the building. One of them, Nathaniel Wynn, received second-degree burns on his hands and arms before the fire boiled out of control. Denison firefighters were called out at 3:52 p.m., and soon two trucks were needed to battle the blaze. Thick, black smoke ate away at the metal building as flames jumped from the inside out. Office material was catching fire, making an eerie red glow from inside. Soon a firetruck's horn blasted three times, warning those firefighter's battling the blaze to pull back. The firefighters took a defensive position as they knew the building contained acetylene bottles full of highly flammable oxygen for welding. "There's eight of them in there, they're going to go up," Hightower said just minutes before one of the bottles blew. One firefighter jumped from a door jarred open by the blast. Shortly after, another bottle blew, sending debris flying straight up through the metal roof, blowing a hole in it. Black smoke soon vented through that hole, and another bottle blew. The intense heat got to some of the firefighters as another ambulance was called to the scene to provide IV bags for three dehydrated firefighters. Watching as the building started to sag, Hightower said, "We're done. We don't have any insurance. We're just done." He said they'd been in the building less than a week, and haven't even turned on the phones yet. "Guess we won't need to now." As firefighters concentrated on the burning building, grass behind it caught fire. Whipped by hot, heavy winds, another crew of firefighters were called to keep that small fire in check. Lt. Bill Ray with the Denison Fire Department said in all, 11 different emergency vehicles and 23 men were needed to battle the blaze. Reminded of a similar fire at storage sheds near the bowling alley a couple of summers ago, Lt. Ray said both fires were fought in the searing heat, taking a toll on firefighters. Both were in metal buildings. He said the blowing bottles added a bit of extra danger to this weekend's fire, "but that one at the storage sheds, it was much more compact, much more difficult to fight." As the police officers who kept the traffic flowing got hot in Friday's 105-degree temperatures, so did members of the media and those watching their place of businesses disappear. Two women from the Yellow Rose Saloon across the street kept a steady stream of ice cold water bottles flowing to those nearby. Family members comforted those who lost their work in the blaze. Lt. Ray said the fire burned for nearly four and a half hours. It was two hours into the blaze before they had it under control. The building is a total loss, but no value has been placed on the loss yet. Wayne Cox, who owns the building, showed up shortly after the blaze began and watched as it burned, asking the welfare of those inside the building when it began. 

UPDATE Human error cause of plant fire
By MONICA TORLINE AND JOHN JARVISThe Marion Star 
MARION -- The state fire marshal's office and Marion City Fire Department have determined that employee error caused the fire that put Ohio Galvanizing Co. out of operation temporarily. The fire Monday evening destroyed four of six polypropylene tanks used by the company to remove rust and mill scale from steel before galvanizing, and damaged two other tanks. All six will be replaced. In order to heat the tanks, which contain hydrochloric acid, employees use a "hot stick," a large steel cylinder with natural gas inside. Workers use acetylene torches to light the hot sticks before they are lowered by a crane into the tanks. On Monday, an employee left an acetylene torch next to one of the six tanks in the building. "When he came back with the crane, the tank was on fire," Marion City Fire Capt. Terry Bowdre said Thursday. "The guy feels real bad about it." Company vice president Frank Bellamy declined to name the employee or comment on whether the employee would lose his job over the error, but took some solace in having a reason for the fire identified. "At least we know what caused it this time. I feel bad for the employee, but knowing what the cause is versus the first time makes me feel ...," his voice trailed off. "I can accept that a little better." The first time was on July 22, 2001. The state fire marshal's office suspects that fire was arson, but a cause has not been determined. It caused an estimated $2 million in damage and closed the plant for 17 weeks. Determination of the cause of Monday's blaze at the plant on the city's northwest side "sheds some light on what must have happened" in the fire two years ago, Bellamy said. "It leads me to believe more than ever that the first fire was arson." He said both fires started in the same general area, but that no one was identified as present when the first blaze began. Steven Southard, the state fire marshal's office investigator on the 2001 fire, said arson was suspected because the fire started in a building made with noncombustible material, no combustible material was near the origin of the fire, the building was secured, and no one was known to be inside. Bowdre said it was an eerie coincidence that Monday's fire took place in the same area of the plant a little more than two years after the first. Monica Torline and John Jarvis are reporters for The Marion Star. 

Fire causes $50,000 damage
Friday, 25 July 2003 By Luke Eygenraam
Red-hot flames from a dangerous shed fire destroyed an estimated $50,000 dollars' worth of vintage car accessories yesterday afternoon. Smoke billowed from the shed at the rear of a Wood Terrace home and persistent rain did not stop the intense blaze from quickly enveloping the entire building. Metropolitan Fire Service area manager Wayne Haynes said a spark from a MIG welding machine had ignited combustible material stored in the shed. Paints, thinners and other flammable liquids fuelled the fire, causing extremely high temperatures and constant plumes of smoke. The shed owner, Mr Douglas Baynes, had gone inside his home and was unaware of the commotion rapidly building in the lane way behind his property. Fire service crews arrived shortly after 5pm and donned breathing apparatus to begin combating the inferno with high-pressure water lines. Circular saws were used to access the interior of the shed, and two fire fighters suffered minor burns during the 40-minute battle. An adjacent shed, the vintage car it contained and a large bird collection, were saved from extensive fire damage. A small grass fire was ignited in a neighbouring property, but was quickly extinguished. Four appliances attended the scene. Mr Baynes had an extensive collection of irreplaceable vintage car parts stored in the shed, which he used for vehicle restorations. The body of the vehicle he had been working on was completely destroyed by the smoke and flames. Fire cause investigators from Adelaide inspected the scene at 10pm last night and confirmed the blaze had been an accident.

Gas explosion injures three in Brentwood 
By Lara Bricker
BRENTWOOD - Three people were injured, one seriously, in a bizarre gas explosion at a condominium development Wednesday morning. Fire officials are still investigating what led to the explosion at the Windsor Meadows condominiums on North Road at 9:30 a.m., Brentwood Deputy Fire Chief Joe Bird said. The fire department received the 911 call from a third party after the fact as the three injured men drove themselves to the hospital. Their names were not available as the fire department did not transport them, but it is believed the most seriously injured man was transported to a Boston hospital, he said. Two of the men were from Tri-State Sprinkler and one was a plumber. They had gone into a utility building on the property to repair some sprinkler pipes using a soldering torch, Bird explained. The building has a small opening in the floor, which leads to a small basement area that is about 6 feet by 8 feet in size. One man was in the basement with the torch, while another looked on through the opening in the floor and the other stood by, Bird said. "He lit the torch and when he lit the torch it caused a flash explosion," Bird said, adding the man looking down into the hole was seriously injured. "He caught the full blast."  The three managed to get into a van and head to the hospital. "They were very lucky," Bird said, adding the injuries could have been much worse. The fire department, with the help of the fire marshal’s office, spent all day Wednesday trying to determine what kind of gas had caused the explosion. Air samples from the area have been sent out for testing. "We’re not sure exactly what it was yet," Bird said. In the meantime, the utility building has been blocked off so that no one can enter. 

Worker injured in oil platform fire; Welder's spark is blamed for blaze
Saturday July 26, 2003 From staff reports 
A worker suffered minor injuries Friday in an oil platform fire in Lake Pontchartrain two miles north of Kenner, the Coast Guard said. Three men were welding on a Clovelly Oil Co. platform near the St. Charles Parish line about 5:30 p.m. when a spark went into a vent leading to a fiberglass tank containing water and gas, Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan McCool said. The gas ignited, and the workers spent about 45 minutes putting out the fire, McCool said. One of the workers was burned, the Coast Guard said. No other information about his injuries or the other men were available. The owner of the platform notified the Coast Guard, which sent a boat and a helicopter to the scene. McCool said the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office monitored for oil spills, but detected only a sheen from less than a gallon of diesel fuel from firefighting equipment. 

Crews stop fire near dry bosque 
By Iliana Limon Tribune Reporter
A few welders working near the city's parched bosque learned that sometimes it's best to not mend fences. The crew working on damaged property Wednesday afternoon produced an errant welding spark that started a small brush fire northeast of Coors Boulevard and Montano Road, fire officials said. At 3:13 p.m., the welders reported that they couldn't stop the flames with a fire extinguisher. Five minutes later, crews already patrolling the bosque poured water on the fire, Albuquerque Fire Department Capt. Gil Santistevan said. "We were lucky that it happened this week instead of a week ago when it was so dry," Santistevan said as light drops of rain began to fall. "We're fortunate the humidity is high and the weather is really working in our favor. This could have easily been another disaster, but we were able to contain it to half an acre." The department is not releasing the name of the welding company until fire officials have a chance to talk with the owner, Fire Chief Robert Ortega said. The chief was at the scene within minutes. Two blazes in late June, one sparked by firecrackers and one by a campfire, tore through the banks of the river, threatening homes and heavily taxing the fire department. "We just haven't had enough rain here to justify this kind of welding and construction work around the bosque," Ortega said. "This may be a time where we need to politely ask the private sector to back away from construction like this near brush that could easily start a fire. "Yes, it's an inconvenience, but I think we learned the hard way from the last round of fires that it isn't worth sacrificing the heart of the city." One house under construction burned and stretches of vegetation in the bosque were heavily damaged during the fires. This time, police officers and National Guardsmen posted along the river responded quickly, closing Monta§o Road between Fourth Street and Coors Boulevard for crews. Winds briefly drove the fire close to town houses near Monta§o Road, and several residents voluntarily evacuated, Santistevan said. The fire was quickly contained by 25 Albuquerque firefighters and seven firefighters from Red Rock, Ariz., doing a rotation on the western regional fire task force, Ortega said. "We're getting good at putting these out, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Ortega said, shaking his head. Arson investigators were analyzing the half-acre fire Wednesday evening to confirm the cause and determine if the welders had a permit to work in the area.

Small Fire in Civic Center
KFYR TV 
Bismarck firefighters spent the afternoon handling a small fire..in a *big* building. There was a flareup in the Bismarck Civic Center arena just before 1:00 this afternoon. A crew was doing some welding... and sparks ignited some blankets that were covering the seats. About five rows of seats were damaged. But the battalion chief says that's not the worst of the damage. Kurt Leben/Battalion Chief: Put out quite a bit of smoke so it also activated the sprinkler system so we're probably going to have a little more with water and smoke damage than with actual fire damage. No one was hurt in the fire.

UPDATE Agencies continue plant fire probe; Investigation report may take weeks
By JONATHAN SEGAL montereyherald.com
Officials from at least four government agencies are continuing their investigation of a spectacular fire two weeks ago at Duke Energy's Moss Landing power plant. On July 8, a worker's cutting torch ignited 1.2 million gallons of oil sitting in a tank behind the Moss Landing power station. More than 100 firefighters worked for 24 hours to extinguish the blaze. The worker was demolishing the tank for Earth Tech, a subcontractor working for Duke Energy. The techniques being used on the job appear to violate safety procedures agreed upon by Duke and Monterey County. Michael Roberson, fire marshal for the North Monterey County Fire District, said the examination of the fire's causes and the determination of who is at fault for starting it will "be a long, drawn-out investigation." He said a written report about the cause of the fire will probably be released by early August, but determining responsibility and adding up the cost of fighting the fire would take a lot longer. "It's going to be an enormous suppression cost," he said. Roberson is working with several agencies, including the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, the county health department's environmental division and the Monterey Bay Air Pollution Control District. "We're all working together in the unified investigation," said Roberson. "It is just a very, very complicated event." Bruce Weldon, a specialist for the health department, said he is examining how workers were handling hazardous materials at the site and whether the fire resulted in any contamination. He said the department is testing soil and water, and interviewing workers. "We're looking into violations of local, state and federal laws that have to do with the handling of hazardous materials, hazardous waste and impacts to public safety, health and environment," said Weldon. When the agencies reach their conclusions, they will submit their reports to the District Attorney's Office for possible legal action. Matt Bogoshian, an assistant district attorney, said both Duke and Earth Tech could be penalized. While public agencies continue their investigations, Duke is performing its own inquiry, said Pat Mullen, the company's spokesman. "It's still progressing," he said. "Until we've completed it, we won't have any details." Mullen said he did not know if the study would be made public or when it would be completed. 

Fire destroys muffler shop
Memphis firefighters had to fight the heat outside and the flames inside a Mid-South business. A welder sparked the fire that damaged Parkway Muffler and Brakes on South Parkway. The building was well-involved when firefighters arrived. Chief Ron Mitchell, Memphis Fire Department said, "They were in the process of doing some welding on one of the automobiles over here and they had a leak in the gas line that throwed a spark and started the fire." No one was hurt in the fire. But in this weather, firefighters work in shorter shifts and take more breaks. 

Welder Sparks Blamed For Hay Barn Blaze 
Sparks from a nearby welder were blamed for a fire that destroyed a barn and more than 150 bales of hay at the Jon Fuller property on Fountain Road near the Scotland/Schuyler County line Monday, July 14. The Scotland County Fire Department was dispatched to the scene just after 6:00 p.m. but arrived on the scene to find the barn and its contents fully engulfed in flames. The barn was completely destroyed while the hay bales were unsalvageable and continued to burn well into the next day. The county fire department was joined by the fire department from Downing. The firemen worked to preserve a pair of adjacent grain bins by cooling the metal buildings. Both fire departments remained on the scene until near midnight to insure the fire did not spread to a pair of nearby hayfields or any other adjoining buildings or structures. 

Blaze at Bayside co-op; Plumbing repair work linked to 3-alarm fire
By WARREN WOODBERRY Jr. DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 
A stubborn three-alarm fire in Bayside yesterday may have been touched off by workers using a propane torch to do plumbing repairs, a fire official said. Fire Chief Patrick McNally said the blaze started at 1:36 p.m. yesterday in the basement of 217-24 73rd Ave. in the Windsor Oaks Apartments complex. Tenants were safely evacuated. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated at area hospitals. It took about 138 firefighters to bring the fire under control at 4:05 p.m. Four apartments in the two-story brick building were affected. One apartment on each floor sustained the most damage, McNally said. McNally said the fire spread from the basement, where the plumbers had been working, and then up to the second floor through the building's wooden floorboards. Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the blaze. Celeste Dippel, 46, said firefighters allowed her to rescue her parakeet, JoJo, from her second-floor apartment after she received a phone call at work that the building was on fire. "We had our life in there," said Dippel, who has lived in the complex for 15 years and has brought up her daughter, Julia, 9, there. Dippel said she and tenants in her building had been without hot water for some time, and that Tuesday, contractors had been working on the building's boiler. "They had been fixing it for the past couple of days," said Dippel, a former co-op board member. Displaced tenants were provided shelter at area hotels through the Red Cross. Dippel said she would stay with friends. "Accidents happen. What can you do? It didn't mean to happen," Dippel said. Windsor Oaks Apartments, a co-op community with some rental apartments, has 900 units on 37 acres of land.

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)

 

Fire races through apartment complex
By Sarah Schulte
January 25, 2003 (Downers Grove) — More than a dozen apartments in Downers Grove were damaged after a fire broke out in a unit that neighbors say was in the process of being remodeled. The blaze left 100 people homeless. The fire department will not confirm an exact cause, although neighbors believe it had something to do with a blow torch. Over all some 25 suburban fire departments were brought in to battle the blaze. At the height of the fire flames could be seen shooting out of second-floor windows and the roof. Neighbors say they believe the fire may have been triggered by work crews using a blow torch. One witness told ABC7, "I got here before the first fire truck came along. Apparently someone was sweating pipes or something in the bathroom and they dropped the blow torch and it just started up and just spread over there, too. I'm just hoping the brick wall right there is going to hold up so it doesn't burn my apartment down." Soon smoke engulfed the whole area, forcing the evacuation of more than a den units. While some animals were injured in the fire, fortunately no human beings were injured, although there are plenty of people left homeless. Some of those people were put on buses to keep warm. The red cross was on hand to make sure people have shelter.

Demolition slated to begin
Updated: 1/25/2003 11:23 AM By: Mike Crispino
The row of homes on Livingston Avenue destroyed by Friday's fire are being demolished. Friday afternoon, six homes on the 800 block caught fire. Fire investigators said the fire started after someone tried to unthaw pipes in their home with a blow torch and it quickly spread from there. Later in the evening, as firefighters continued to put out the flames, the roofs collapsed into the second floors. One resident said "Woke up, saw smoke coming out of my vent in the wall." "I've been in this house for 30 years. My mother lived in this house. I grew up here," said Deborah Ellis. Decades of memories, lost. A fire ripping through the lives of almost a dozen families. Deborah Ellis has called 811 Livingston Avenue home since she was a child. Ellis said,"Very sad. My pictures and everything are gone. You can't replace them." Firefighters battled a multiple alarm blaze and sub zero windchills. There was ice dangling from wires and billowing smoke was made worse by blustery winds. Several fire fighters huddled together to prevent the fire from spreading further, hosing down a neighboring building. Chief Michael Dunn said, "Firefighters are all set, rotating them in and out to go down and get warm bringing new guys in. Mutual aide from Troy, Cohoes, Watervliet." The Red Cross was also on scene, comforting families forced out on the street. Donna Diviney of the Red Cross said, "We're gonna find them a place to stay for the night, get them emergency clothing, emergency food, that sort of thing. Then we're going to sit down with them and see what we can do about getting them resettled." While Deborah Ellis lost almost everything, her husband was able to save the family dogs, sliding down a snow covered hill in a dramatic rescue; one small piece of good news. Ellis said, "My dogs are out. That's all I care about, my dogs."

Salinas restaurant evacuated for fire
ASalinas restaurant was evacuated Friday when a small fire broke out in a ventilator duct on the roof. Elli's Restaurant, a new business at 1250 S. Main St., was cleared out at 1:40 p.m. after someone noticed smoke billowing from the roof. Salinas fire Capt. Brett Loomis said roofers were using a torch on a repair when a spark caused a small fire in a filter. Loomis said the heat melted a plastic motor casing, burning a filter inside. The business was evacuated for about 20 minutes, while firefighters put out the fire. Damage was minimal

Fire shuts down Dothan poultry plant
The Associated Press January 25, 2003
A fire at a Perdue Farms Inc. poultry plant Saturday damaged equipment and left nearly 1,000 employees temporarily without work. Approximately 15 maintenance workers were at the poultry plant when the blaze started on the first floor at around noon, said Capt. Ed Roberts of the Dothan Fire Department. None of the workers were injured and it was unclear how the fire began. Firefighters contained the fire after two hours and capped an unrelated ammonia leak that prompted optional evacuations in surrounding neighborhoods. Roberts said the blaze was possibly started by sparks from a grinder that maintenance workers were using. Perdue Farms is the fifth largest employer in Houston County. 

UPDATE Faulty methane checking may be to blame for mine explosion 
Sunday, January 26, 2003 By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer 
Investigators say that Wednesday's fatal explosion in a ventilation shaft at the McElroy Mine in West Virginia may have occurred because workers failed to properly monitor methane levels at the bottom of the 940-foot-deep hole. And the presence of "two different atmospheres" -- one with explosive levels of methane and one without -- could have complicated the testing. Monitoring methane, a combustible gas that is common in underground coal and rock formations in the area, is required by state and federal law. Doug Conaway, director of the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety & Training, said a pocket of methane trapped behind a metal barrier used to form concrete around the inside of the 24-foot-diameter hole may have been ignited by an acetylene torch being used to cut a hole in the form. "Before a torch is struck or a flare lit the law requires a methane examination. If there's any kind of flammable atmosphere you're not to strike that torch," Conaway said. "Here there were sealed off areas behind the forms so they were looking at two different atmospheres. If a proper examination was made, it should have revealed the explosive atmosphere." Although investigators initially found no indication that any methane monitor had been used at the bottom of the shaft, they found one Thursday in the pocket of a coat taken from injured crew boss Richard Brumley, 51, of Waynesburg, Greene County, before he was flown to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The air shaft construction project at the mine, owned by a subsidiary of Consol Energy of Pittsburgh, was contracted to Central Cambria Drilling Co. of Ebensburg, Cambria County, which has done numerous similar ventilation shaft projects for the mining company at its Bailey, Enlow Fork and Eighty Four mines in Pennsylvania. The active workings of the mine were about 1,200 feet from the accident site and were not affected. Conaway said the pocket of methane might have been trapped in a "water ring," a 4-foot-deep, 4-foot-tall hollow circular channel dug periodically into the sides of the shaft to collect water and keep it from running down the inside of the shaft. The water rings can be pictured as giant, hollow doughnuts spaced periodically from the surface to the bottom of the shaft, with the shaft forming the holes of the doughnuts. "That was the area they were working on," Conaway said. The workers had a metal form between them and the water ring, he said, and, "They had a metal door in the form, and I think they were removing it to gain access to the water ring." Conaway said state investigators finished collecting evidence at the blast site Friday afternoon. They went to the bottom of the ventilation shaft to map the blast site and take photographs. Interviews with two of the three surviving miners were to take place yesterday. "Everything we know so far clearly points to methane as the cause," Conaway said. "I'm confident we had a methane explosion. The workers were at the bottom of the shaft and the acetylene torch could have provided the ignition source." Killed in the accident were Richard E. Mount, 37, of Shadyside, Ohio; David W. Abel, 47, of Belmont, Ohio; and Harry P. Roush III, 23, of Colver, Cambria County. Injured in the blast were Aaron Meyer, 28, of Cameron, W. Va.; Benjamin Bair, 23, of Pentress, W.Va.; and Brumley. Meyer was treated at a West Virginia hospital. Brumley was upgraded from serious to fair condition Friday and moved out of the burn unit in Mercy Hospital. Bair remains in critical condition in Mercy and has undergone multiple operations. 

Plumbing accident sparks 2-alarm fire
William Kaempffer, Register Staff January 23, 2003 
NEW HAVEN — A plumbing mishap sparked a two-alarm fire in the city’s Hill section that left five people temporarily homeless. The blaze at 126 Plymouth St. caused considerable damage to the 2½-story house and began in a second-floor closet, fire fighters said. Neighbor Angie Castillo said she saw the heavy smoke outside and saw heavy flames after she opened her window. "I opened the window and I saw fire, so I called 911," Castillo said. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Grant said the fire started in the closet and quickly extended to the third floor. Five residents, including three children, were put up by the American Red Cross. A plumber using a torch to work on pipes apparently started the fire accidentally. Leith Fraser, the plumber, said water pipes froze and then burst after the furnace stopped working. The owner hired him to fix the plumbing and he was doing that when the fire started. He said he was welding in a new section of pipe when he started smelling smoke. They tried to put out the flames with water but called the fire department when they were unsuccessful. 

Dresses burn after welding accident
LONG BEACH Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of dresses went up in flames after a welding accident on a tractor-trailer at the Port of Long Beach, an official said. Sunday, January 19, 2003 - A cargo container containing about $1.2 million worth of dresses was attached to a trailer, which was being repaired. A heat transfer caused some of the dresses to catch fire about noon Saturday, said Wayne Chaney of the Long Beach Fire Depart ment. Firefighters used foam to extinguish the blaze, and used a ventilation system to prevent smoke from damage the remaining clothes, he said. The actions saved about 75 percent of the dresses, which were bound for a Carson business, Chaney said. David Rogers

Three Killed, Three Injured in Air Shaft Explosion Near Mine 
Location: Cameron, W.Va. Posted: January 22, 2003 1:18 PM EST From NewsChannel 8 News:
An explosion killed three people digging an air shaft for a coal mine early Wednesday and injured three others, two seriously, officials said. The workers were about 1,000 feet underground when the explosion occurred about 1 a.m. The shaft was not connected to an active mine. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the blast at the McElroy Mining Co. operation, however officials were investigating whether there could have been a buildup of methane gas, said Tom Hart, Marshall County's emergency services director. The 24-foot-wide air shaft was being dug toward a coal seam that is known for releasing methane, officials said. "They use explosives to break up the rock and take it out. They use acetylene torches to cut metal and do work. There could be any number of things that could cause this," said Thomas Hoffman, vice president of public relations for Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy, which owns McElroy Mining Co. Mercy Hospital spokeswoman Linda Ross in Pittsburgh said a 51-year-old worker was in serious condition with second-degree burns to his face and hands, puncture wounds and a concussion, and a 23-year-old was in critical condition with second-degree burns, multiple fractures and internal injuries. The third survivor "essentially walked away," said Terry Farley, administrator of the state office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training. Farley said he wasn't sure how the three made it out. The bodies of the three workers killed in the explosion remained in the air shaft Wednesday morning in the Navoo Ridge in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle, Hoffman said. Their identities were not immediately released. The bottom of the shaft was several thousand feet from the active McElroy mine, so the mine wasn't affected, he said. Operations there continued Wednesday. The workers' employer, Central Cambria Drilling of Ebensburg, Pa., could not immediately be reached for comment. Company president Jack Williamson was at the site of the accident and phones there were not working, said a woman who answered the phone at the company headquarters. They were the first mine-related fatalities in West Virginia in 2003, Farley said. The state had six mining deaths in 2002.

Fires ravage two homes 
Tuesday, January 21, 2003 By SEAN C. McCULLEN Staff Writer 
BRIDGETON -- Two house fires in the city Monday afternoon were quickly brought under control by the Bridgeton Fire Department, but both have left the victims displaced for the time being. The fire department received their first call to duty Monday at 12:13 p.m. when a neighbor reported a fire at 131 South Ave. The fire was declared under control at 12:45 p.m., according to fire investigator Gene Shelton. "The quick response from the fire department and the fact that a neighbor called in the one on South Avenue saved it from totaling the whole house and pretty much kept it to a small area," Fire Chief David Schoch said. No one was home at the time of the fire, which Shelton said has been ruled accidental. The fire department was once again called to action at 3:21 p.m. for a reported trash can on fire at 19 Rose St. But once firefighters arrived to the scene, they discovered it was more than a mere trash can on fire -- the blaze had quickly spread to the rear wall of the house. The Rose Street fire was declared under control at 3:53 p.m., according to Schoch, but left a large section of the wall and a window severely damaged. Two children and their baby-sitter were at the Rose Street residence when the fire started, but no one was injured. "The fact that the smoke detectors were there and in working order helped avert a much bigger problem," Schoch said. The South Avenue fire started when tar, which had been applied to the roof earlier in the day, leaked down through cracks in the roof into the home's walls. Schoch said the residents finished sealing the roof with a blow torch, which apparently caused the tar to catch fire. The tar leaked down into the walls, slowly burning, and was further fueled by the home's wood. The South Avenue victims were given contact information for the Red Cross in the event they could not find a place to stay while the necessary repairs are made to their home. Shelton said five adults and two children live there. A Red Cross spokesperson said Monday afternoon the organization had not been contacted. The victims of the Rose Street fire were supposed to begin staying at another residence owned by realtor Bob Thompson today. "We usually have enough empty houses to put them up," Thompson said. "In an emergency, we can take care of people, too." Thompson, who said he is also providing temporary lodging to a family displaced Saturday by a fire at a property of his on Cedar Street, said the victims were planning to stay with friends or family last night. He said the victims could move into a property he owns on Bank Street once city officials inspect it for occupancy approval. Schoch said the fire department was assisted at both fires by the Bridgeton Emergency Ambulance Association and the Office of Emergency Management. The Hopewell-Stow Creek Fire Department joined the effort at the South Avenue fire and the Gouldtown Fire Department assisted on Rose Street. Schoch said the two departments, as well as the Fairton Fire Department and Upper Deerfield Fire Department No. 3, are part of a mutual aid agreement with his department. The agreement requires four departments to respond to any fire within a designated quadrant of the city between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The city fire department likewise responds to any fires in those municipalities during the 12-hour span. After 6 p.m., the departments call in any additional help they may need. 

Torch blamed for fire in city building
By John Davis Poughkeepsie Journal
City of Poughkeepsie firefighters believe a propane torch meant to thaw out pipes started a fire Saturday evening that heavily damaged a historic apartment house on Union Street. No one was hurt during the fire, which caused the residents of the approximately six apartments to evacuate the building. The fire, which started about 5:45 p.m., quickly spread, doing substantial damage to the rear of a white clapboard house with green shutters in the city's historic district, in the vicinity of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. The house at 201 Union St. is just west of the corner of Grand Street, where St. John the Baptist Catholic Church stands. City of Poughkeepsie firefighters quickly doused the flames, which were spectacular against the night sky. ''I saw the whole thing going up. I saw it on my back porch,'' said Barbara Thorne of Main Street, who hurried over to the nearby fire scene. ''I saw the fire, the flames.'' By 6:30 p.m., firefighters had doused the flames, but continued monitoring the smoking building, illuminated by spotlights. City of Poughkeepsie Deputy Fire Chief Ed Decker said his preliminary prognosis was ''some kind of a propane torch'' started the blaze. ''The owner was thawing out some pipes,'' in the wall in between the kitchen and bathroom in an apartment, Decker said. The fire spread quickly throughout the rear of the old structure, built in the late 1800s, Decker said. The second floor was most damaged by the fire, which burned parts of the first floor and attic. ''There's heavy smoke throughout,'' Decker said of likely smoke damage. 

Man severely burned in accident
Last Updated: Jan. 15, 2003
Town of Delafield - A Dousman man was in serious condition Wednesday after he was severely burned in an industrial accident, officials said. Michael J. Mogensen, 54, was taken to the burn center at Columbia St. Mary's, Milwaukee Campus, with second- and third-degree burns to his face, hands and arms, Fire Chief Dean Richards said. Richards and Waukesha County Sheriff's Detective Steve Pederson gave the following account: A crew from Ideal Masonry Inc. was pouring a concrete basement for a home near Lexington Lane and Fairfield Way. An oil used to pour over the frames during the construction process was too thick to use because of the low temperatures. So Mogensen, the company's owner, was in a truck about 10:45 a.m. using a torch connected to a 100-pound propane tank next to the truck to warm a 50-gallon pressurized tank containing 25 gallons of the oil. The heat caused the tank to ignite. Mogensen's employees pulled him out of the truck and away from the fire. They also put out the flames burning his upper body. "This man is the luckiest guy in the world," Richards said. "A little bit more fire or if his employees hadn't been there to pull him out, he wouldn't be here."

Fire breaks out at Taiwan's skyscraper under construction
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP): A fire broke out Thursday at the construction site of what architects say will be one of Asia's tallest skyscrapers. No one was injured as workers were quickly evacuated, officials said. Smoke belched from the ceiling of a shopping mall that is part of the partially built Taipei Financial Center, which will be 408 meters (1,347 feet) tall when completed, officials said. Vice Taipei Mayor Ou Chin-der said the fire might have been ignited when workers using welders let sparks fall on waterproof materials in the structure. The mall is scheduled to open in September. "The fire is under control. No one was injured,'' Ou said. Last April, five construction workers were killed when a magnitude 6.8 earthquake dislodged two cranes from the top of the 60th floor. The 101-storey building is supposed to be completed in about a year. So far, 78 floors have been built.

Fire forces evacuation at Torrington Company plant
By Anna Simon CLEMSON BUREAU
HONEA PATH -- About 250 first shift employees were evacuated at the Torrington Company plant, one of the largest employers in the Honea Path area, Tuesday morning after a fire started in the air conditioning duct system about 9 a.m. No one was injured in the fire that was confined to the duct system, said Jimmy Smith, chief of the Honea Path Volunteer Fire Department. The fire was ignited by a cutting torch being used to do some duct work, Smith said. First responders in the plant's fire brigade kept the fire isolated and protected the rest of the plant until firefighters arrived, Smith said. "You could see the smoke a mile-and-a-half away," Smith said. "There was a lot of smoke due to cutting oils and greases used in the plant." Honea Path Police Chief Steve Hanks, who also was at the scene said, "When we first arrived on the scene behind the fire trucks there was quite a bit of smoke coming from the plant. There were no flames coming through the roof. It was just smoke." Firefighters from six fire departments from Anderson and Abbeville counties and the American Red Cross responded to the scene. The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes, but firefighters went through the duct work looking for hot spots through the morning. When the alarm sounded, plant manager Butch Harris said he thought it was just a fire drill. The plant has quarterly fire drills. He and other employees evacuated as they had practiced during drills. Smith said the evacuation went smoothly and all employees were accounted for. The fire caused an estimated $10,000 in damage to the plant, Harris and Smith said. First shift employees sent home during the clean-up will be able to make up the time so they can receive full pay, Harris said. The plant on Brick Mill Road, between Honea Path and Belton, manufactures automotive components and employs 550 people, Harris said. Its biggest customers are Chrysler and Ford.

Small fire causes stir in Batavia 
By Veronica Gonzalez Daily Herald Staff Writer January 11, 2003 
When Lee Shafer walked up to the Holmstad's nursing and rehabilitation center to visit his wife, he saw the place surrounded by fire trucks and thought it was a drill. What he saw was no drill. Roofers replacing an air-conditioning vent Friday atop the Michealsen Health Center were using a torch to install roofing around the vent when insulation caught fire, Batavia Fire Chief William Darin said. "We never saw a fire," Darin said. "It was smoldering." But at 11:47 a.m. six other fire departments, each of the Tri-Cities' police departments and four ambulances were summoned to the retirement community at 831 Batavia Ave. in case the 89 residents had to be evacuated, Darin said. Police blocked off part of Route 31 in front of the Holmstad for roughly an hour. "We had a lot of excitement, but thank God not too tremendous a situation," Darin said. Gray smoke filled the building's first floor, prompting 44 elderly residents to crowd into the main lobby along with about 40 staff members. People who need rehabilitation, are dying, or can't care for themselves live in the Michealsen building. "We didn't want to take these people outside because of the weather," Darin said. The smoke wafted in through the air vent the roofers had just installed but smoke never reached the second floor, said Susan Graunke, associate healthcare administrator for the Holmstad. "When I smelled the smoke, I realized something was going on," said Shafer, 83, who lives in a different Holmstad building from his wife, Margaret. "I had hoped there was no damage to anybody in the building." The roofers are subcontractors working for Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo Construction as the building is renovated. It's part of the Holmstad community's $13 million expansion. "It's a common construction fire," said Pete Gronset, project superintendent with Leopardo. Four roofers were working at the time and one of them started dousing the fire with extinguishers before firefighters arrived on the scene. It took firefighters minutes to cut the newly installed vent and use extinguishers to ensure the fire didn't spread. Two firefighters received minor injuries. One injured a finger and the other an ankle. The Holmstad, where 600 people live, regularly holds fire drills. The Michealsen residents initially were kept in their rooms as part of the community's safety procedures before firefighters decided to prepare them in case they needed to leave the building. "I decided to count this as an evacuation drill today," Graunke joked. "This was a good evacuation drill, even though it wasn't planned." 

Six animals die in fire 
LANSDALE (AP) - About a half dozen animals died in a fire that gutted a Montgomery County veterinary hospital Friday. Fire officials suspected that a welder's torch started the afternoon blaze at Gwynedd Veterinary Hospital, which had been undergoing renovations, authorities said. Hospital workers released animals from their cages when the fire started and saved at least 16. The exact number of animals that died wasn't immediately known. Ed Davies, operations manager for the Montgomery County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said area veterinarians offered assistance in housing the surviving animals.

Bridge worker killed in accident 
By Sean Holstege STAFF WRITER 
Friday, January 10, 2003 - A man working on Bay Bridge seismic improvement projects has died in a Texas factory explosion. Metalworker Ernesto Moreno, 26, was killed Monday, reportedly as he worked on a steel casing for the bridge pilings. He is the third worker to die in the course of the retrofit. The accident in Ingleside, Texas, comes one week before pile driving is set to begin on part of the new Bay Bridge. One motorist was killed on the bridge during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake after driving into a gaping hole that appeared in the upper deck, when strong ground shaking collapsed a section of road and prompted the seismic retrofit. The Texas explosion reportedly occurred when sparks from Moreno's grinding tool mixed with leaking gas fumes from a nearby welding torch. Federal workplace safety regulators have shut down manufacturing of the steel casings, Caltrans spokesman Greg Bayol said. He added that it remains unclear if the stoppage or the resulting safety probe will affect the construction timetable in Oakland. In the meantime, some pre-fabricated steel piles have been assembled in the construction staging area near Burma Road, which is known colloquially as "Camp Kiewit" for the prime contractor, Kiewit/FCI/Manson Joint Venture. The Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit is building a $1 billion skyway, the first leg of a new $3 billion bridge to run parallel to and replace the quake damaged eastern span. Moreno worked for a Kiewit subsidiary. This week's accident follows a string of problems involving the retrofit of the western span and painting subcontractor Robison-Prezioso Inc. In 2001 a construction panel collapsed onto the lower deck and killed passing motorist Anthony Menalosco of San Jose. Last year a scaffold buckled, pinning Oakland painter Darryl Clemons to the underside of the top deck. The freak accident killed him and hurt three co-workers. One of those colleagues, Nate Castilleja, filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court last week seeking damages from prime contractor California Engineering Contractors/Modern Continental Construction and from the New York firm that built the scaffold, Beeche Systems Corp.

Workers Injured In Explosion
An explosion at a stone quarry injured two workers Thursday morning, authorities said. The names of the injured were not immediately released, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening. Both were burned in the blast at Scotty's Contracting and Stone Company, Bowling Green. Fire officials said a cutting torch came in contact with a barrel containing oil or gasoline, triggering the blast. There was no fire after the explosion. The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. CDT. Barren River and Richardsville Fire Departments responded.

Explosion kills 1, injures 5; Welding gas causes fire at Kiewit
By Jaime Powell and Venessa Santos-Garza Caller-Times
INGLESIDE - Welder Tommy Lee heard an explosion and saw an 8-ton piece of metal go airborne. "It was like a kite. It flew straight up in the air and came crashing back down on a piece of equipment," said Lee, 22, who was working on Kiewit Offshore Services Inc.'s San Francisco Bay bridge contract. "It went at least 50 feet up." The blast, at 8:45 a.m. Monday, killed Ernesto Moreno, 26, and injured five others, law enforcement officials and workers said. One of the five injured was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center Burn Unit in San Antonio. The other four were taken to Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial in Corpus Christi from the Ingleside-area metal fabricator's yard on the ship channel, on the north shore of Corpus Christi Bay. Monday afternoon, Christus Spohn spokeswoman Rita Patrick said that one of the injured was admitted. The other three remained in the emergency room Monday night, where Patrick said they were being evaluated. Law enforcement and state environmental officials at the scene described the accident as an explosion and flash fire caused by ignited welding gas. Moreno was on top of the section that blew into the sky. He was killed on impact, San Patricio County Sheriff Leroy Moody said. The injured men suffered burns and impact wounds from flying metal. Lee, still dressed in his work clothes, was waiting at the hospital for word on a family friend who suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns from the explosion. Din Thai, also a welder, said the injured were working on the San Francisco bridge project. Thai, 33, was working on a nearby section when the explosion occurred. His brother-in-law, Kiet Ly, 22, was injured when metal slivers sent flying by the pressure of the blast pelted him, Thai said. Thai said doctors have told him that Ly will have to spend at least a week in the hospital. "But he's going to be OK," he said. Property entrance guarded Lee said he and his coworkers are with Louisiana-based RBT Petroleum Associates. They had been working at the Kiewit yard for four months on 10-hour shifts, seven days week. Greg Bayol, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the bridge project, said his office had heard about the explosion at Kiewit. The explosion occurred in a footing box, which serves as a guide for 300 piles that will sink to the bottom of the bay and support the bridge, he said. The footing box, which is supposed to be moved to California on a barge, is intended to allow workers to build a new span of the bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland. Monday's explosion should not delay the construction of the new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Bayol said. "I think those are being fabricated ahead of when we need them," Bayol said. Driving of pilings for the bridge is tentatively scheduled to begin Wednesday, he added. Kiewit officials weren't answering calls Monday morning or afternoon. A spokeswoman for OSHA said an investigator for the federal agency was on the scene Monday. The investigator will be looking for violations of OSHA rules and the investigation could take as long as six months. Companies are required by law to report fatalities on the job or when three or more people have been hospitalized. OSHA spokeswoman Diana Petterson said in this case, fire department officials had notified the agency first, which is common.

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

Fire Sparks Concerns
By John T. Anderson TIMES RECORD 
The city may more closely monitor renovation of historic buildings in light of Thursday’s fire that took down two historic structures, a city employee said. The loss of two buildings along what is known as Produce Row is the latest fire to claim historic buildings in Fort Smith. Matt Jennings of the city Planning Department said preliminary reports from firefighters indicated the fire started while construction workers were using a cutting torch to remove old pipes. Apparently, insulation near the pipes ignited, Jennings said. “They believe it started in the basement,” Jennings said. He said old structures warrant increased precautions. The Eads Brothers Furniture Co. Building at 414 Garrison Ave. and The Josiah Foster Building at 222 Garrison Ave. were destroyed by fires following a tornado that struck Fort Smith in 1996. The tornado sparked a move to expand the city’s historic grid, which today more or less encompasses an elongated rectangle-shaped area running from just east of the Arkansas River along Garrison and Rogers avenues. The west end of that rectangle ends near Cisterna Plaza. Jennings said the city may need to watch over construction workers, especially when older structures are involved. “It hasn’t come up at this point,” Jennings said. “I wouldn’t doubt that there will be some conversations about that.” Thursday’s fire comes as the city seeks to revamp the dilapidated downtown area. The changes really began with the establishment of the amphitheater at River Park, located on the banks of the Arkansas River. Shops and restaurants have followed and more are planned. The Produce Row area is significant to Fort Smith historically because produce from area farms was graded and shipped from the structures, which are located near a network of railroad tracks and the Arkansas River.

Man accidentally torches house
By Globe Staff and Wires, 12/29/2002
Two adults and two children were left homeless yesterday as fire tore through a two-family duplex at 59 Irving St. in Everett. Firefighters from Everett, Malden, Chelsea, and MassPort, were called in to help battle the two-alarm blaze, which started shortly before noon, fire officials said. The fire started on the second floor when the homeowner, using a plumbing torch to make repairs in the bathroom, accidentally ignited the wood frame behind the shower, said Everett Fire Captain Anthony O'Brien. There was only one family living in the duplex, O'Brien added, and the homeowner was in the process of converting it into a large single family home. No one was injured and the family is being assisted by the Red Cross.

CREWS FIGHT PIT FIRE NEAR ROOSEVELT 
Fire crews in Duchesne County spent nearly six hours Saturday battling an enormous blaze at a disposal pit north of Roosevelt. No injuries were reported in the fire, which broke out just after 2:30 p.m., apparently sparked by welders who were working in the area. Fire crews from Roosevelt, Altamont and Neola contained the flames by about 8 p.m., according to police dispatchers. Late Saturday, firefighters were still on the scene to make sure the fire did not reignite. 

Investigation under way in welder's death 
By TOM MORAN Staff Writer 
Monday, December 23, 2002 - As an investigation into a fatal accident Saturday on the North Slope begins, the welder killed in the accident has been identified as Rodney Roost, 55, of Soldotna, according to The Associated Press. Roost was working with a pair of other workers on a 28-inch diameter section of pipe at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday when a plug blew out of the pipe and struck him, killing him. The other workers sustained minor injuries. The accident took place inside Module 301, Gathering Center No. 2, a climate-controlled processing area about 6 miles west of the Prudhoe Bay base camp. The main purpose of the center is to separate water and natural gas from oil. According to BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. spokesman Daren Beaudo, Roost was welding a flange onto the end of a 28-inch section of pipe when a plug that had sealed off the pipe section blew out and struck him, killing him. The plug was made of metal and sealed with a rubber gasket. According to Beaudo, the section of pipe had been sealed off and filled with nitrogen to prevent an explosion from the welding equipment. "This was a sealed, isolated section of pipe," he said. Beaudo said there wasn't an explosion, and that the source of the pressure that forced the plug off is unknown. "What we're trying to determine is what source of force caused the plug to come loose and strike an individual," he said. Beaudo didn't have information as to where Roost was struck. The three men were working for the BP contractor Norcon, which is a subsidiary of the construction giant Veco Corp. Beaudo said the first investigators into the accident arrived Saturday night and that a preliminary investigation team is in place. He said a full investigation is planned, including assembling a team of people from BP, Veco, Norcon, and other organizations, including a lead investigator flying over from Aberdeen, Scotland. "It'll be sort of a cross-section of people because this is considered, obviously, a major incident for BP," he said. "This'll be a long process," Beaudo said of the investigation. "We go through a very formal, very meticulous process to find cause." According to Beaudo, the last time a BP worker or contractor died on the North Slope was in 1998, when two people died in separate incidents. A BP oil field operator suffered serious burns in an August incident in which a well ruptured, releasing a torrent of natural gas into the small metal building covering the wellhead, uprooting flooring and gravel in the wellhouse and sparking an explosion and fire. The incident led to what BP called an unprecedented safety check in which the company shut down and tested about 150 oil wells. The tests did not reveal significant problems, according to a top BP official interviewed by The Associated Press.

UPDATE, Costly blaze on liner tied to welding work
NAGASAKI (Kyodo) A fire that severely damaged an almost completed ocean liner in early October was caused by welding work below a passenger cabin, Nagasaki Prefectural Police said Thursday. Police said they will investigate early next year to determine if the fire was the result of professional negligence. The 113,000-ton cruise liner was under construction at the Nagasaki shipyard of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. at the time of the Oct. 1 blaze. According to police, the fire broke out in Cabin 320 on the No. 5 deck. Welding work near the ceiling of the room below Cabin 320 caused a 5 mm steel plate between the floor of Cabin 320 and the room below to overheat and start the fire, police said. An experiment conducted by police last month confirmed that welding work caused the fire, they said. Police said they have interviewed about 900 workers on the ship and are now focusing on the welders. The liner, with 14 decks, is owned by British shipping firm P&O Princess Cruises PLC and is the largest passenger ship ever built in Japan. The liner was launched in May and at the time of the fire was docked at the Mitsubishi yard for interior work. The sprinkler system had not been installed. MHI is also building another ship at the same time for P&O Princess Cruises. On Nov. 11, MHI said it had agreed with the owner that the damaged ship, which was to be named Diamond Princess, will now be named Sapphire Princess and delivered in May 2004, instead of the previously scheduled June 2003. The other liner, which was to be named Sapphire Princess, will be renamed Diamond Princess and its delivery brought forward three months to February 2004, the company said.

UPDATE, Blaze Destroys W-P Storage Area
By GABE WELLS And SHELLEY GARRISON
Sparks from a worker cutting a chain in the storage area of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.'s Martins Ferry plant may be the cause of a fire that led the company to temporarily halt production and evacuate all 150 workers Tuesday afternoon, Martins Ferry Fire Chief Ed Duke said. Workers were back on the job Tuesday evening and production was expected to resume, company spokesman James Kosowski said. The fire apparently started about 45 minutes after a worker finished cutting chain in the storage area of building No. 20. Duke said debris on the ground near the welding site most likely caught fire. There were also a number of propane and oxygen tanks 30-45 feet away from the start site that fueled the blaze. The storage area was declared a total loss. No injuries were reported. Duke said firefighters planned to remain at the scene throughout the night to check for hot spots. He classified the fire as one of the "worst structure fires we've had for awhile." Kosowski said the blaze began at about 1 p.m. Firefighters were successful in keeping the fire from spreading to the production portion of the plant. "The building was evacuated and the lines were shut down," Kosowski said. "This facility has a number of different units. All of them were shut down. ... (The fire) has not spread to the manufacturing facility." Wheeling-Pitt employee Wayne West was near the storage area portion of the plant when the fire broke out. He said power in that section of the plant went out when the blaze began. He said he did not know there was a fire until he saw employees running through the facility. West said he was surprised how quickly the building went up in flames. Duke, a Wheeling-Pitt employee, said the fire area would be roped off and the remainder of building No. 20 could be utilized. Martins Ferry Mayor Lloyd "Bud" Shrodes was also at the scene of the fire. Shrodes said many of the city's employees are Martins Ferry firemen. Shrodes said the city employees were relieved of their duties to fight the fire and stressed the importance of the Wheeling-Pitt plant to Martins Ferry. "We have to do everything we can to help them," Shrodes said. "We can't afford to lose this plant." Martins Ferry, Bridgeport, Bellaire, Wheeling and Brookside fire and police departments and the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency responded to the scene. One of the main concerns was keeping the fire from spreading to the center of the mill, where paint thinner and other chemicals were stored. Fire crews called for utility companies to shut off gas and electric to slow the spread of the fire. The fire generated so much heavy smoke that communities across the Ohio River in West Virginia called their local fire departments to report smoke in their neighborhoods.

Fire burns column at hotel
By Dawn Bryant The Sun News
A wayward spark created a scare Monday at the nearly finished Radisson Plaza Hotel at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. A column in the hotel's lobby, which is set to greet its first guests in a few weeks, caught fire midmorning Monday as construction crews were welding stainless steel. A spark from the welding gun set the column on fire. Workers used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames before Myrtle Beach firefighters arrived. With an entourage of trucks with flashing lights, firefighters checked for structural damage. There was none, Battalion Chief Bob Derr said. "They had the situation under control," he said. The charred column is easily fixable in a couple of day's work and won't cause structural problems or delays in finishing the building in time for the opening, said Tom Woods, vice president of Welbro Constructors, the firm building the hotel. "Nothing major," he said. "It doesn't threaten anything." The $48 million, 404-room hotel, financed by the city of Myrtle Beach, is set to open next month. The firetrucks parked in front of the hotel sparked some concern Monday, including from Mayor Mark McBride, who was shopping nearby. He watched as firefighters surveyed the damage. 

Hamburg carwash fire
December 11, 2002 
A road in Hamburg was shut down this morning after a fire at the Stop and Gas Carwash on Saint Francis Drive. The Lakeshore assistant fire chief says an employee was trying to defrost pipes with a propane torch, when he ignited a bird's nest. Fire trucks arrived on the scene while the block was closed off for more than an hour. No one was injured; damage is pegged at $10,000. The carwash will remain closed for the afternoon. 

26-year-old welder electrocuted
EUGENIA OKPARA, Owerri
THE Orji Mechanic Village of Owerri North Council area in Imo State was at the weekend thrown into confusion as a 26-year-old welder, Festus Ibe, was electrocuted in a grotesque circumstance. A witness account had it that the late welder was working on a Volkswagen Golf car when the ugly incident happened. A friend of the late Festus Ibe, fondly called “DD”, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that the late welder was welding something under the car “and unknown to all of us, a live wire fell on the metal board on which he was lying.” The witness told the DAILY TIMES that their attention was drawn to the spot when they realised that he was no longer working. Explaining, “one of the people around bent down and discovered that all was not well with Ibe and raised alarm which attracted other colleagues to the scene”. Continuing, he said that they had no premonition of the impending doom adding that “we all came to work as usual and prayed for a peaceful, fruitful outing but unfortunately we had a tragedy”. “Discovering that he was motionless under the car after calling him and there was no any response, we switched off his welding machine, brought him out and rushed him to a nearby private hospital where he was certified dead by a medical doctor”, he said. He said the staff of the hospital did all they could to resuscitate Ibe but did not succeed. The late Festus Ibe was a native of Umuofor Amaimo in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State and had earned his living at the Orji Mechanic Village as a welder before the incident. It would be recalled that the same mechanic village lost one Kennett Nwachukwu in August through electrocution, thereby making the death of Festus Ibe the second artisan to have been electrocuted this year. The irony of the situation is that the two victims of electrocution were from Ikeduru Council Area as late Nwachukwu hailed from Ikembara. Meanwhile, the remains of the late Ibe have been deposited in the morgue of an unknown private hospital. 

UPDATE, Airport authority approves $2.19 million insurance deal for new hangar, expenses 
December 13, 2002 Independent/Barrett Stinson By Carol Bryant 
The Hall County Airport Authority approved a $2.19 million insurance settlement with Travelers insurance on Thursday resulting from the May 14 fire that destroyed the Great Lakes Aviation maintenance hangar. Travelers insured the hangar at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport. The airport will receive a total of $2,194,676, board attorney Ron Depue said. It has already received Travelers insurance payments totaling $733,718 and will receive the remainder, $1,460,958. Because of expenses the airport has had, such as demolition of the burned building and engineering fees related to plans for the new hangar, about $1.9 million will remain to cover construction costs of the new hangar, Airport Manager Bill Stovall said. "We've gone a long ways on building and design work," Stovall said. Stovall said he appreciated the work of airport board Chairman Harold Rosenkotter, a retired State Farm Insurance agent, and Depue, who drove to Denver last week for negotiations. "A lot of work has gone into these negotiations," Stovall said. The hangar that burned was constructed in 1942 for the Grand Island Army Air Base and had a wooden frame. Workers had been at the old hangar installing a new bi-fold door. Sparks from a cutting torch caused the fire. After the fire, Great Lakes relocated its maintenance center to a hangar just south of the one destroyed. One issue in the negotiations was determining replacement cost of the original hangar -- the cost to rebuild a 1942 hangar plus upgrades that had been made since then. "No one can tell you replacement costs until you have had bids," Depue said. The hangar that burned covered approximately 26,000 square feet. The new hangar will cover between 30,000 and 60,000 square feet and could be completed by this summer, Stovall said. The new hangar will be just east of where the old hangar was, freeing the location of the old hangar for economic development opportunities. Taking the cash settlement from the insurance company will help the Grand Island airport construct the type of hangar it wants, Rosenkotter said. In other business on Thursday, the airport board tabled action regarding a proposed contract with Airplanners, a consulting firm based in Avon, Colo., to develop an airline service program for the Grand Island airport.

Firefighters quickly put out blaze at downtown building
By TIM O'NEIL Post-Dispatch
A three-alarm fire sparked by a cutting torch Wednesday damaged a vacant building downtown that was being renovated for loft apartments. The fire was reported at 11:34 a.m. Wednesday in the upper floors of 1110 Washington Avenue, an eight-story brick building. Firefighters on Engine 12 saw smoke as they were driving downtown for repairs and headed for the building, said Fire Chief Sherman George. Four of nine workers inside the building escaped by climbing down a firetruck aerial ladder, and the rest got out on their own, George said. One man suffered a minor hand injury and declined treatment. The fire began on the fourth floor. Workers said a torch ignited paint or a chemical and spread quickly. "I could hear the noise, and I went to the window and saw flames," said Nathaniel Fell, 48, a laborer. "The smoke got so bad, I couldn't see how to get my way down. The firemen got me down their ladder." Firefighters working from inside with hoses and from the outside with aerial ladder nozzles quickly put out the smoky fire. Bill Bruce, owner of the building, could not be reached Wednesday. Workers said they recently began stripping the interior to make way for lofts.

Blaze at hospital contained to roof area; welding blamed 
By Peggy Matthews 
Teresa Cothern was sitting at her son's bedside when she heard the fire alarms go off at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. "They've been having false alarms, but we kept hearing the sirens, too. I didn't know what was going on until I opened the curtains and saw all the fire trucks out there," she said. "Nobody was panicky and the nurse said everyone would be safe." A blaze broke out Tuesday on the roof above the fifth floor, apparently caused by a spark from a welding machine, officials said. The fifth floor had been vacated for construction of a $17 million sixth and seventh floor to house a pediatric surgery wing, which is under way. No injuries were reported, and no one was evacuated. A damage estimate will not be available for a couple of days, but the facility suffered only water damage, primarily to a south stairwell, said Mark Wall, a hospital administrator. "The patients were never in any danger," Wall said. The Jackson Fire Department received the call at 9:10 a.m. and were on the scene three minutes later, said Fire Department investigator Norman Presson. "There was a considerable amount of smoke, but the fire was never actually inside the building itself," he said. The fire was confined to the roof and was quickly extinguished, he said. The Fire Department's response went off like clockwork in large part because it had just conducted three days of training at the hospital last week, District Chief Robert Bush said. "It is very labor intensive when you get into a high-rise situation," Bush said. Fifteen units and seven support personnel responded to the scene, he said. The general contractor on the expansion project is W.G. Yates and Sons Construction. Shane Deville, senior project manager, said a subcontractor, Bracken Construction, was working on extending the structural steel when the accident happened. "It's not uncommon. I've seen it happen on other jobs — it's just the nature of construction," he said of the fire. "Fortunately, it was contained pretty quickly."

Toledo worker is crushed in Mich. quarry
OTTAWA LAKE, Mich. - A Stoneco, Inc., employee was crushed to death yesterday while working at the company’s Ottawa Lake quarry, Monroe County sheriff’s deputies said. Raymond Bermejo, 42, of Toledo was pronounced dead at Flower Hospital shortly after the accident occurred at 10:42 a.m., deputies said. Deputies said Mr. Bermejo, a truck driver and mechanic for the firm, was working at the bottom of the quarry on Sterns Road, using a cutting torch to remove bolts from a section of catwalk attached to a conveyor belt. After cutting loose a series of bolts, he was fatally injured when the catwalk section fell on him. Other workers freed him and he was taken to Flower Hospital.

Fire causes $1.7M in damage; Dayton Alloy blaze takes 4 hours to control 
By Candice Brooks Dayton Daily News 
DAYTON | Damage was substantial when Dayton Alloy Wheel, 1117 W. Stewart St., caught fire for the second time in 12 hours Monday. The fire, which was reported at 1:48 a.m., took six engines and more than four hours to get under control because of hazardous materials on the property, said Bob Alexander, public information officer for the Dayton Fire Department. "Zinc, copper, chrome and nickel were found, causing the water to turn greenish," said Kara Allison, spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. "The water was contained to the property's site and the adjacent property. A little of the water got into a storm sewer that runs into the Great Miami (River), but no problems are expected because it will dilute." Alexander said damage was estimated at $400,000 to the building and $1.3 million to its contents. He said the department is still seeking the fire's cause, although it may have been caused by roofing work or an electrical problem. One firefighter, who suffered a minor eye injury, was treated at Miami Valley Hospital and released. An earlier fire at the business, which attaches chrome to rims of vehicle wheels, was reported Sunday. That fire caused about $5,000 in damage. Alexander said it was caused by roofing work, but Monday's fire started in a different area of the building.

Arcadia Street fire was started by plumber's torch
By Irene Muchemi
WESTWOOD - A fire that heavily damaged a home at 39 Arcadia St. Thursday night started with a plumber's torch, officials said. The house has been under renovation for a month. Deputy Fire Chief Roderick Morrison said soldered pipes burned behind the bathroom walls, where workers were installing a new toilet. "They didn't realize it," said Morrison. "There's no way to tell when it's in hidden wide spaces; the 2-by-4s that hold the walls. It could have been burning for one or three hours." Morrison said the fire didn't become visible until it came through the roof. Officials have not yet determined a damage estimate. About 45 firefighters from Westwood, Walpole, Dedham, Norwood and Needham responded to battle the 7 p.m. fire in poor weather and visibility. The home's owner, the Rev. Emmanuel Clapsis, said firefighters' quick response and hard work kept the house from burning to the ground. Fire Chief William Scoble said firefighters knocked down the flames in about a half an hour, and were lucky to get such a large number of firefighters and so much equipment to the scene because it helped put the fire out faster. "They were heavy, real flames, and heavy smoke overlapping," he said. "The fire started in the walls in the kitchen, and there was a lot of it in the partitions , kitchen and bathroom and attic - most of the interior really. It was hard to fight." Clapsis said neither his wife nor their two children were home. The family has been renovating the two-story house for a month, and were looking forward to having it ready for Christmas, he said. "But now we don't even have a house for Christmas."

1 killed, 7 injured in a blast at Sewri 
By: UNI December 7,2002 
One person was killed and seven others were injured in a blast in the tank of a barge under repair at the Bombay Port Trust (BPT) High Bunder at Sewree this evening, police said. The incident took place around 1645 hrs, police said. Fire brigade and police officials have reached the spot and said preliminary investigations pointed to an accidental blast. While four of the injured have been rushed to the government-run J J Hospital at Byculla here, one of the workers is still trapped inside the tank, police said adding that efforts were on to rescue him. The statements of two of the workers who sustained minor injuries are being recorded, police said. "Initial reports say the blast appears to be a an accident but we are checking out other possibilities too" says Javed Ahmed, Joint Commission of Police - Law & Order. ''This morning the tank was repaired, painted and then a coat of ethanol was applied. While some welding was going on in the adjacent chamber, gas spread out from the chamber resulting in a fire and the blast'', a senior police officer told said at the accident site. The blast is close on the heels of the explosion at the mumbai central railway station here yesterday in which 25 people were injured.

Welder sparks tug boat fire
By JAIME HERNANDEZ Staff Writer
ORMOND BEACH -- No one was injured in a fire that broke out Wednesday on a World War II-era tug boat being restored at a dock in the 2600 block of John Anderson Drive. The fire was reported to the Ormond Beach Fire Division at 1:12 p.m. and extinguished by 2 p.m. Jack Gordon McCarthy, the tug's owner, said the 102-foot-long vessel has been moored at the dock on the Halifax River for four years to undergo restoration. Sparks from a welding torch ignited mattresses and life jackets in the forward hold. The Coast Guard and Ormond Beach fire officials are investigating. 

UPDATE, Workers saved own lives, saved Marion $250,000, Official damage total could take 2 weeks

By MONICA TORLINE
MARION -- Marc Miller began working on a city leaf collection machine just after 1:30 p.m. Friday in the same spot he always used at the city garage. This time, the welder's flame ignited gas fumes, and the whole building was ablaze within two minutes. The city's old garage at 960 W. Center St. in downtown Marion was destroyed by a fire, sparked by the explosion of a diesel fuel tank that held at least 20 gallons of gasoline. The tank was leaking fumes, which were ignited by the flame of Miller's torch. Had he known the tank had a leak, Miller said he would not have begun his work in the garage Friday. But he said there was no way for him to know because the fumes' odor was undetectable. "I feel bad. Everybody tells me accidents happen," Miller said. "That's the way I gotta look at it." Using two large fire extinguishers, Miller tried to put out the flames by himself. When he realized the fire was too unwieldy for him to handle alone, he tried calling for help. "Then I tried to call 9-1-1, but I couldn't call out on the phone back there," he said. Mark Sigler, the city's transit administrator, was the only other employee in the building on the second day of the Thanksgiving weekend. Miller ran toward Sigler and alerted him to the flames just a few hundred feet away. "I called 9-1-1. While talking to the fire department, I looked down the north bay and saw fire in the west end, and the smoke rolled in on me," he said. "We knew we were in trouble when we made the call." After calling for help, the two men began to move city vehicles away from the encroaching flames, but time was not on their side. "We heard the first explosion somewhere during that time," Sigler said. Sigler saved one bus from inside the garage, and both men saved numerous city vehicles parked on the south side of the building. Their quick thinking saved the city about $250,000, Safety/Service Director Dale Osborn said. A wrecker, a recycling truck and two buses were destroyed in the fire, a loss totaling about $250,000, Osborn said. Marion City firefighters spent three hours dousing the building with water on Friday and returned to the scene Saturday to extinguish smoldering materials. Miller and Sigler decided against running back into the building to save all the vehicles because the smoke was so thick. "Inside the bus, I couldn't feel or smell any smoke around me, but I knew the visibility was bad," Sigler said. "The smoke was pretty hairy, worse than you could imagine." Sigler said he wished they could have saved more vehicles, but he also said it would have been unwise to put their lives in danger. "It was tempting to go back in, but once you're out of a building, you don't go back in," he said. "Anyone who ever did that never made it out again."

Workers Injured in Restaurant Fire
One man is in the hospital with second and third degree burns after a fire at a restaurant under construction on the city's East Side. Warren Township fire investigators say four people were on the roof of Christie's Restaurant when a blow torch came too close to a can of cleaner that tipped over. They say that caused a small explopsion. Paramedics took one man to the hospital with second and third degree burns on his face and stomach. One of the other workers was treated for minor burns. No one was inside the building at time of the fire.

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

Banquet hall lost in blaze
By: Gordon Wilczynski, Macomb Daily staff writer November 30, 2002 
Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire that started when a roofer accidentally ignited the roof at the Chateau Montreuil, but didn't notice until a few seconds later. The complex is located on 23 Mile Road at Callens. The roofer, Todd Lucas, 42, of Port Huron, unsuccessfully tried to extinguish the blaze. He immediately ran downstairs to the adjoining NO SWET Sports Bar, where he notified a bartender and patrons of the fire, according to Chesterfield Township Police Detective Deron Myers. Lucas then remembered he left a 50 gallon propane tank on the roof and climbed back up to retrieve it before it exploded, Myers said. Chesterfield Township Acting Fire Chief Scott Messer said he could not immediately estimate the damage, but added that both the hall and the bar were destroyed. Messer said it appears as though the cause of the fire is accidental. Bill and Dee Montreuil of Shelby Township, who bought the hall in 1996 and opened it the following year, said they would spend much of Friday evening calling people who had a wedding or party scheduled. Dee said it is too early to say what she and her husband will do. "I don't know what we are going to do now," said Dee Montreuil, while being consoled by friends, including New Baltimore Councilman James Morisette. "Since our insurance was increased so high recently we only insured the place for 50 percent of the value. We'll have to go inside later (when firefighters are through) and determine what is left." Lucas, who works for Complete Roofing on Green Street in New Baltimore, said he was on the roof working on a flashing, a piece of metal used to seal joints, against a wall. He said he was "torching down" roofing material to seal the roof to the wall. "I went to get a drink of pop and saw a fire between the roofs," said a shaken Lucas while trying to answer questions in the back of a police car. The roof on the hall is two feet higher than the roof on the bar. "I got the fire extinguisher and couldn't get near it. I tried pouring water on the fire, but it didn't do any good." Myers said Lucas then climbed down into the bar to notify patrons about the fire. Kristi Montreuil, the owners' daughter-in-law, said she was inside a hall office when notified. Firefighters spent three hours working on the blaze. Chesterfield Township received assistance fighting the blaze from Macomb Township and New Baltimore firefighters. Lenox Township firefighters responded to any calls at the Chesterfield fire hall in the event of an emergency. Lucas said he was stunned to see how fast this fire started. "He (Lucas) did obviously made a big mistake, but he did a great job of getting off the roof and getting everybody out of the bar," Messer said. Myers said Lucas tried to remove the flashing from where the two roofs meet to help put out the fire. "He tried like hell and even ripped off the flashing and poured his own water on it," Myers said. "He then remembered his propane tank was still up there and he got that off." On at least three occasions, firefighters were ordered to back off from the building when portions of the roofs collapsed. Bill Montreuil said the roof above the hall and bar is made of steel with plywood and roofing on top of 2-by-4 wood. He said Lucas was repairing the roof because of some rust holes in the steel. "He (Lucas) was by himself taking care of the entire thing," Montreuil said. "None of this would have happened if he had another worker with him." Chesterfield police Sgt. Brad Kersten said the hall experienced an arson fire several years ago, prior to ownership by the Montreuils. He said police found a toaster with a cloth attached to a timing device. That fire caused considerable damage to the hall, but police never charged anyone. "We could never prove who did it," Kersten said.

Welding sparks fire in Rockland boat yard
By: Daniel Dunkle November 27, 2002 
ROCKLAND - A fire started by welding equipment on a fishing boat at Rockland Marine Corporation Tuesday sent a plume of black smoke into the sky, but the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was injured, according to the boat yard's owner. The fire started about 1 p.m. in the fish hold on the Isabelle Taylor owned by Shafmaster out of the Portsmouth, N.H., according to Perry Holmes who owns Rockland Marine Corporation on Mechanic Street. The vessel is more than 100 feet long. Sparks from a plasma cutter welding tool being used in the hold ignited the fire in some foam insulation in the hold. About 10 employees were working on the vessel at the time. "They told me to call 911," said executive assistant Kristen Holmes. "There was fire and smoke, but no one was hurt." Perry Holmes said Rockland Marine employees wielding carbon dioxide fire extinguishers managed to get the fire mostly out before Rockland firefighters arrived, but he added that it was important to call the fire department because there was no way to know if they were going to be able to put the fire out themselves. The fire never spread beyond the fish hold. Holmes added that the company keeps a good supply of fire extinguishers on hand. Kristen Holmes said employees used up 19 fire extinguishers on the blaze. Holmes said the insulation gives off a heavy smoke when it burns. Two Rockland fire trucks arrived at the scene along with an ambulance. Rockland police blocked off the street for a short time. The boat was in dry dock having work done when the fire started. Holmes said the damage to the boat was minimal. The burned insulation was scheduled to be replaced as part of the project anyway. The vessel did have some smoke and fire damage and Rockland Marine lost at least $12,000 worth of welding equipment in the fire, according to Kristen Holmes. She expects the loss to be covered by insurance. "We don't care," she said. "Those things can be replaced. We're just glad no one was hurt." Two employees were posted to watch the vessel overnight to make sure there were no more problems, she said. 

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

Basement sprinklers save Rochester restaurant
Tuesday, 11/26/02
(KAAL) - Basement sprinklers protect a popular restaurant in downtown Rochester from a fire that firefighters are saying could've been devastating. The fire started in the basement of Henry Wellingtons at around 10:30 last night. A man was removing paint from the walls with a scraper and paint stripping chemicals, and then decided to use a propane torch instead. When he lit the torch he also ignited all the fumes as well, creating a flash fire. Minnesota adopted a statute mandating the installation of basement sprinklers in all businesses back in 1982. Ryan O'Donnell, KAAL News

Welder's Torch Starts Fire at Primary Children's Medical Center
Saturday, November 23, 2002 
More than 100 people were evacuated from the outpatient wing of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City Friday after sparks from an adjacent construction site started a fire, officials said. The sparks from a welder's torch fell three stories and onto plywood coverings over air ducts servicing the wing, igniting the plywood, said hospital spokeswoman Bonnie Midget. The smoke was sucked into the air ducts and infiltrated the south wing of the hospital about 9:45 a.m., prompting the evacuations. Two surgeries were under way in the wing, but were in unaffected areas and proceeded, she said. The north end of the hospital, which houses inpatients and the intensive-care unit, was not affected since the hospital has fire walls and fire doors, which can be used to seal off the wing, she said. The fire was extinguished and the building was cleared by the fire marshal within an hour, but the hospital canceled its clinic for Friday and rescheduled non-essential surgeries and appointments so the smoke could dssipate. Those evacuated included visitors, outpatients, their families and hospital employees. The hospital and the construction site were undamaged, Midget said, adding the outpatient wing should be operating as normal by Monday. Workers are constructing a new clinic and new surgical suites on the hospital's southeast side, she said.

Smoke summons fire engines to NARMC twice
By KEVAN MATHIS November 22, 2002
Two fires have occurred two days in a row at North Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Harrison with no reports of injuries, according to the Harrison Fire Chief John Neal. Several Harrison Fire Department engines were dispatched to the hospital at 620 North Willow Street at approximately 8:11 p.m. Tuesday when roofing materials caught fire on the roof above the emergency room and laboratory. The Harrison Fire Department responded with three fire engines and officially called the scene safe at 8:54 p.m. Officials said the fires started after employees with Harness Roofing Company installed a hot asphalt mix, accidentally ignited the roof, while using their open propane torch-down system. "The smoke from the roofing process was pulled down into the ventilation system and created some concern inside the facility," according to Marsha Carter, spokesperson with the hospital. "Everyone responded as needed and there was no cause for concern or problems for the staff, patients or visitors." Patients, visitors and non-essential personnel in the emergency room and laboratory area were evacuated outside as smoke entered the building from the roof and ceiling, Neal said. Hospital patients already assigned to emergency trauma rooms were not evacuated, however, since smoke apparently did not cause a safety problem in sealed individual rooms. Three more fire department engines were dispatched back to the hospital at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and stayed on the scene until 4:15 p.m. when smoke again entered the ventilation system. "We vented the emergency room out with positive pressure fans and cleared out all the smoke," said Neal. "All the hospital's fire alarms and fire doors worked properly and the fire was quickly extinguished."

Belle man burned in welding accident
By Jim Holland, Journal Staff Writer
BELLE FOURCHE - A longtime Butte County businessman is being treated at a Colorado hospital for burns suffered Monday in a welding accident. Carl Ogaard, 70, sustained third-degree burns to his chest and neck when hot metal from a grinder ignited a polyester shirt he was wearing, according to his stepson, LaVern Bills of Belle Fourche. Ogaard was welding a metal sign in his home hobby shop when the accident occurred about 5 p.m. Bills said. Ogaard was using a grinder to smooth out a weld, when a fragment of hot welding material ignited first his shirt and then the jacket Ogaard was wearing. Ogaard managed to extinguish his burning clothing, then called a neighbor for help. The neighbor in turn called a doctor, a longtime friend. The doctor took Ogaard to the Lookout Memorial Hospital emergency room in Spearfish. Ogaard was flown to the North Colorado Medical Center burn unit in Greeley, Colo., where he was initially listed in critical condition. He was upgraded to serious condition Tuesday. Bills said Ogaard also suffered injuries from toxic fumes from the burning polyester. "The lung situation is the probably the most life-threatening right now," Bills said. Bills said doctors expect Ogaard to remain hospitalized for six to eight weeks. Skin grafts are to begin late this week, he said. Ogaard founded Carl's Trailer Sales, a Belle Fourche business for more than 50 years. Bills asked well-wishers to refrain from sending flowers or other mementos to Ogaard. The gifts would not be allowed in the Greeley burn center's intensive-care unit because of the risk of infection, he said. "We're just asking that people keep Carl in their thoughts," Bills said

Three welders burned in silo explosion
Associated Press
NEW LONDON, N.C. - Three men were severely burned in a freak explosion just as they were finishing a welding job in a silo Monday, officials said. Tony Eddins, 22, of Albemarle; Robert Poplin, 58, and Bob Pickler, 50, both of Mount Gilead, were in critical condition at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill, a hospital spokeswoman said. The three had been welding a metal chute for about an hour and a half inside one of eight silos at Fiber Composite Corp., which makes wood composite for decks and rails. As they welded the last 6 inches of the chute into place, an explosion occurred about 9:30 a.m. "They triggered the dust and there was an explosion," said Stanly County Fire Marshal Bill Rogers. The silo, though empty, had contained wood and polyethylene chips, said Fiber Composite President Douglas Mancosh. Dust particles mixed with oxygen in the right proportions can explode when sparked by static electricity or a welder's flame, officials said.

Welding explosion burns 3
Men working in a silo at Fiber Composite Corp. when dust sparked
KYTJA WEIR
NEW LONDON - Within inches of finishing a welding job in a silo, three men were severely burned in a freak explosion Monday, officials said. Tony Eddins, 22, of Albemarle, Robert Poplin, 58, and Bob Pickler, 50, both of Mount Gilead were all listed in critical condition at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill , a hospital spokeswoman said. The three had been welding a metal chute for about an hour and a half inside one of eight silos at Fiber Composite Corp., which makes wood composite for decks and rails. As they welded the last 6 inches of the chute into place, an instantaneous explosion occurred about 9:30 a.m., officials said. "They triggered the dust and there was an explosion, " said Stanly County Fire Marshal Bill Rogers. The silo, though empty, had contained wood and polyethylene chips, said Fiber Composite President Douglas Mancosh. Dust particles mixed with oxygen in the right proportions can explode when sparked by static electricity or a welder's flame, officials said. No one reported hearing any boom, officials said, and the three men staggered from the silo calling for help. Because the explosion was just a flash, the silo itself never caught fire. Only discolored marks appeared on the walls, officials said. But the room was still smoking when New London's volunteer firefighters arrived, Rogers said. Ambulances took the men to a local hospital, where they were then flown by helicopters to Chapel Hill. Officials said burns may have covered up to 40 percent of at least one man's body. Rogers said that the polyethylene in the dust might have made the burns worse. "It would be a hotter fire and would stick to you" more than wood dust alone, he said. Eddins and Poplin both worked for Pickler, who owns Carolina Welders, just south of the accident site on U.S. 52 in Albemarle. They had been hired to work on the expansion of the 140-person Fiber Composite plant. Rogers called the accident a freak occurrence. 

UPDATE, Liberty Steel Fabricating cited for worker's death
(St. Joseph-AP, November 18, 2002, 7:40 a.m. ) Liberty Steel Fabricating is being cited and fined after an investigation into the death of a welder. 25-year old Dustin Gaul of Bridgman died August 15th while using a torch to preheat and weld an aluminum mold for the Berrien County company. The company was cited for two serious violations, failing to provide adequate training to Gaul and failing to vent the mold. State investigators say steam built up pressure in cavities in the mold, causing it to blow apart violently. Gaul was struck in the chest and abdomen by a steel backing plate. Other plant violations unrelated to Gaul's death were discovered during the investigation. They include the company's failure to use approved welding regulators and hoses -- and failure to develop and train on a hazard communication program.  Liberty Steel President Andrew Gantenbein says the company is making all changes to be in compliance with regulations. The company is appealing the $4,500 in fines.

Workers start fire in old train car
By Anthony Plascencia, Correspondent November 14, 2002
A fire erupted Wednesday inside a vintage passenger car that was being restored by the Fillmore and Western Railway Line, officials said. Investigators said the 1922 Pullman Business Class car was parked in the company's train yard at 351 Santa Clara Ave. and workers had recently started restoring it. "They were doing some welding and replacing some metal paneling on the walls," said Chief Pat Askren, of the Fillmore Fire Department. Askren said horsehair, which was originally used to insulate the car, likely started smoldering inside the walls of the car's kitchen area. A cleaning crew working on another car noticed smoke coming from the Pullman about 5:50 p.m., so they reported the smoke to company officials and tried to put out the flames. But it wasn't until the Fillmore Fire Department responded that the fire was knocked down. "We had to cut into the walls before we could put it out completely," said Askren. The car's antique wood panels were not damaged because the fire burned mostly in the kitchen and was knocked down before it could spread. Railway owner Dave Wilkinson said the blaze caused about $200 in damage. The car is one of 74 owned by the railway. It was purchased about a year ago and will likely be used in movies after it is restored. The car will be worth between $100,000 and $120,000 when it is fully restored, Wilkinson said. 

UPDATE, Industrial Accident Victim Dies
By Ruth Anne Lipka, Times-Union Lifestyles Editor
FORT WAYNE – A Mentone man injured in a Nov. 2 explosion succumbed to his injuries Wednesday. Richard Grimm, 38, of Mentone, died at 9:47 a.m. at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he was a patient since being airlifted from Valley Foods (formerly Kralis Brothers Foods), Tinkey Road, Mentone, after the accident. Grimm suffered burns to the right side of his face and inhaled some of the flame, officials said. He also suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a concussion. He was comatose and in critical condition after the accident, but was upgraded Monday to fair condition before his condition worsened. Grimm, an employee of Craig Welding of Mentone, was working at Valley Foods to replace roof support rafters in the chicken processing plant when the cutting torch he was using apparently ignited a previously undetected natural gas leak. The natural gas was pocketed in a false ceiling in the area where Grimm was working to cut out the final rafter. When the explosion occurred, Grimm was blown off the ladder from which he was working and onto a cement floor. A flash fire occurred along with the explosion, but it burned itself out almost immediately.

Sparks from welder likely cause of blast; man hurt
By: JAMES VAN OORT, The Daily Republic November 15, 2002
A Mitchell man was injured Thursday after sparks from a welder fell into a bulk waste oil tank, causing an explosion. Larry Hohn, of Mitchell, was welding at Larry's Texaco on South Burr Street when the explosion happened, according to Detective Chris Konrad of the Mitchell Police Department. "It looks like the gentleman was welding on a vehicle in his shop, and we think some sparks got down into a bulk waste oil tank down in the floor," Konrad said. The explosion occurred at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Hohn was not burned, but a piece of metal hit him in the leg, injuring his leg and ankle. Captain Mark Eliason of the Mitchell Fire Division said Hohn was taken to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital. He was then transferred by Mitchell Ambulance to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls for his leg injury. Hohn's condition was not available, but his injury was not life-threatening, Eliason said. No others were injured in the explosion. Konrad said that other than Hohn's injury, damage seemed to be limited to the garage. "It looked mostly like the garage door and then the grates above the bulk tanks," Konrad said. "A few lights and windows were broken from the (explosion), and then the grates and the garage door." No vehicles in the building appeared to be damaged, Konrad said. The incident is still under investigation, but Konrad said he is considering it an accident.

Roof fire caused by spark from torch, Mishap should not delay bar opening
KIRSTEN MURPHY
A fire Monday evening on the roof of the Store House Bar and Grill, the building meant to replace the Tulugaq Bar, caused $2,000 in structural damage. Fire Chief Cory Chegwyn said Nunavut Construction Corporation workers were on the roof of the one-storey building when the blaze started around 7 p.m. "It looks like a spark or an ember from a (propane) torch ignited some building materials," Chegwyn said. A small area of insulation, particle board and plywood needed to be replaced. The repairs were expected to be complete by the end of the week. Before firefighters arrived, a construction worker attempted to quench the flames with a hand-held extinguisher. But high winds kept the fire going until a water truck arrived. It took 16 firefighters and 200 gallons of water to extinguish the fire. No one was injured. However, residents of the adjacent high rise apartment building spilled into the parking lot at the sound of the building’s fire alarm. Smoke filtered into the intake system and triggered the alarm. "There was some smoke in the other buildings but it dissipated fairly quickly," Chegwyn said. The mishap is not expected to delay the opening of the new bar, scheduled for next summer.

Walsh Avenue fire controlled
By Danielle M. Pothier / Staff Writer
Firefighters quickly extinguished a two-alarm fire in a Walsh Avenue basement last Wednesday afternoon. "They did a great job stopping it and confining it to the basement," said Fire Capt. Ed Regan. The Fire Department was called to 22 Walsh Ave. at 12:23 p.m. for a report of a basement fire. "We were coming back from a call on Montvale Avenue and we were on Main Street when we got the call," said Fire Lt. Frank Gould. "We were right near the corner of Franklin Street and we headed right down." When Engine 1 arrived, firefighters found the homeowner, Elio Commito, and a plumber from Heritage Plumbing and Heating in the front yard. "When I pulled up, there was a lot of smoke," said Police Officer Bob Kennedy, who was one of the first to arrive on the scene. "The Fire Department acted quickly. They were flying around." Gould, along with firefighters Bill McNulty and Frank Brown, began an interior attack of the fire. Both Ladder 1 and Engine 5 arrived, and firefighters Justin Petrillo, Sean Fitzgerald and John Galla laid down a second line to the Engine 1 crew. Firefighter Paul McIntyre assisted with both the interior attack and laying down the line. "The ladder crew started ventilation," added Regan, who was the incident commander. Because of all the smoke, Regan said the firemen were uncertain what they were facing inside the house. "We weren't sure what we had, but we knew it was in the basement," said Regan. Regan said he was concerned the fire may have entered the walls, but the blaze was contained to a small portion of the basement and was quickly extinguished by firefighters. A second alarm was struck at 12:32 p.m., which sent a Melrose Fire Department engine company to Walsh Avenue and a Reading engine company to the fire station on Central Street. Several firefighters responded to the department's callback request, including Matt Mayo, Matt Grafton, Guy Cammaratta and Scott Greenleaf who responded to the scene to help overhaul the fire. According to Commito, he hired Heritage Plumbing and Heating to replace a water valve for the washing machine in the basement. "The plumber had been working, replacing a water valve in the basement and the plumber's torch caught on fire," said Gould. Gould said the plumber attempted to put the fire out himself, but realized he couldn't. He rushed upstairs and told Commito to get out of the house. The pair called 911 before leaving and waited for the Fire Department in the front yard. "No one was hurt, which is good," said Gould. "There was a finished side to the basement, with finished walls and ceiling, and there was some damage to the finished paneling and ceiling, as well as the electrical wires in the wall in that area." Gould said the fire was caused by the plumber's torch being used on the water valve, which was right up against the wall paneling. "The paneling caught fire and so did the insulation behind the paneling," said the lieutenant. Fire officials were uncertain how much monetary damage was down to the basement.

Blaze destroys eatery
November 11, 2002 by JENNIFER ROY
As Monday morning dawned the charred remains of a popular burger joint told a haunting story—a Sunday afternoon fire destroyed the Lone Star Drive-In on South Morgan Street. Granbury and Indian Harbor firefighters responded to the 3:45 p.m. blaze and quickly knocked down the flames on the A-frame structure owned by the Hood County News. “The fire started between the flat room and the A-frame,” city fire inspector Kevin Jones said Monday morning. “Roofers were working on the flat room using a blow torch. They were using the torch near some flashing and it caught some wood on the A-frame on fire. The roofers tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher, but couldn’t.” The restaurant was closed at the time of the fire, but employees were working inside. No one was injured, fire officials said. Jones said the fire quickly spread up the A-frame destroying the building. “There was a lot of free air space in that A-frame,” Jones explained. “So the fire spread pretty fast up into the roof.” Jones did say that many of the contents in the building could be salvaged. “The food preparation area was pretty much a loss,” Jones said. “But I was surprised that so many items in the front of the restaurant and in the back portion of the building weren’t damaged by the fire, smoke or water.” Hood County News publisher Jerry Tidwell said he plans to tear down the building. It’s unknown if the restaurant owners plan to relocate. Granbury volunteers used the ladder truck to attack the blaze, said GVFD chief Jeff Mhoon. “They used the ladder truck to knock down the fire,” Mhoon explained. “Ground crews put out the hot spots and helped with clean up. The truck helped us get the fire out quickly and safely.” Granbury police shut down northbound traffic on Morgan Street allowing GVFD full access to the fire hydrants in front of the Hood County News and Port Brazos Shopping Center. Motorists heading north were diverted around Meadows Drive to Paluxy Highway. Southbound traffic was delayed due to onlookers. “I did get a funny call (about the fire) from a Cleburne radio station,” Jones said. “They thought the Brazos Drive-In (movie theater) had burned down. I quickly corrected them and they said they needed to make the change before their next newscast.” 

Florida man dies in freak accident 
A Florida man was killed in a freak accident on Saturday, November 2, when the wheel rim he was welding on exploded, according to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department. Anthony Ray Edwards (37) was in Dodge County to go hunting with friends. He was a skilled welder and was doing a favor for Jack Bray by welding a log truck rim for him. The rim had a tire on it that had approximately 90 pounds of air pressure on it. A bystander told Edwards to deflate the tire before welding on it, but he proceeded without doing so. The bystander told deputies that he walked away as Edwards began welding on the rim. The bystander then said he heard a loud boom. The Dodge County EMS was called to the scene as well as the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department. Medical personnel were not able to revive Edwards at the scene.

Warehouse suffers damage in fire
By DAN CROWLEY, Staff Writer 
Saturday, November 9, 2002 -- SOUTHAMPTON - Firefighters from four towns were called Friday afternoon to put out a fire in a warehouse at the Marmon/Keystone Corporation at 1 Clark St. Firefighters at the scene said the fire began when cardboard and oils were accidentally ignited near an interior wall during a welding operation in the warehouse. For nearly an hour, thick, black smoke billowed in the wind from one end of the nearly 100,000-square-foot building, and flames reached as high as 20 feet inside, according to the Southampton Fire Department. "Warehouse (employees) ran in and said 'Call 911,' and we just hit the fire alarm and got out of there," said Barbara Soja, an administrative manager at the company, standing among her colleagues outside. "We're all safe." About 24 employees evacuated the building with no reported injuries, company officials said. Southampton Deputy Fire Chief Stephen J. Hyde said it took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the flames. "They (employees) tried to put it out themselves, and there was a delay in calling the fire department," he said. Firefighters from Easthampton and Westfield worked to vent the smoke and heat from the building, cutting skylights open on the building's rooftop and using a chainsaw to open up a metal exterior wall. The Westhampton Fire Department also was called in for assistance. Fire officials could not immediately report on the extent of the damage. Some piping and other materials were destroyed inside they said, with clear structural damage to one of the walls of the warehouse. James L. Westcott, a manager at Marmon/Keystone Corp., said employees probably wouldn't enter the building again until after the weekend when the smoke had been cleared out. The Marmon/Keystone Corporation distributes steel piping and tubing. 

$400,000 fire destroys family's thriving mill
By MICHELLE PAINE 
A SAWMILL at Orielton has been destroyed by a fire probably lit by machinery sparking into sawdust. At least $400,000 damage was caused to Muskett's Sawmill at Fingerpost Rd in the early hours of yesterday. The sawmill is owned by Owen Muskett, who lives at the site and who also owns a Huonville mill it supplies. Production at the Orielton mill, just north of Sorell, had doubled since being taken over by two of Mr Muskett's sons and a partner only three months ago. The Orielton brigade responded to the 2.30am call after the flames were noticed by the Muskett family. They were followed by the Midway Point and Richmond brigades. More than 20 firefighters worked until 2pm yesterday damping down "hot spots" which kept springing up from the sawdust beds. "On our way out here we were coming up the straight and could see the blaze from over the top of the hill," Orielton brigade chief Greg Birch said. "When we arrived it was fully involved and with the area, the intensity of the fire and all the dry material, sawdust and chips, it takes a lot of putting down. It hurts when you see it." He said an Orielton volunteer who also works at the yard used an excavator to move logs away from the blaze, saving a large quantity of timber. Six people are now out of work and supply to the Huonville mill will dry up. Josh Muskett had taken over the cutting contract from his father, along with brother Justin and Craig Swan. "We'd doubled production and have worked long hours," he said. "There's nothing salvageable." The mill was producing 50 to 60 cubic metres of boards a week. Oxyacetylene and LPG gas complicated the fire. Fire investigator Stephen Walkley said it was likely sparks from grinding and welding equipment in operation on Thursday caused a spark or molten metal to land on sawdust. "They had taken precautions but last night it was really windy and that would have stirred it up and got it going," Mr Walkley said. 

Fire at Wappingers Falls condominium displaces 26
By Nik Bonopartis Poughkeepsie Journal
WAPPINGERS FALLS -- A fire damaged a condominium complex Friday afternoon, displacing at least 26 people from their homes, authorities said. Firefighters from the Hughsonville Fire Department saw flames coming through the roof when they arrived at the scene of the 16-unit Pavillion Condominiums, fire Chief Glenn Kramer said. The fire was brought under control within about 20 minutes, he said. No one was injured. Kramer said the fire was started by a man welding pipes near the bathtub of a top floor apartment. The fire spread from a wall into the roof, leaving two top floor units destroyed by fire, smoke and water. The Red Cross of Dutchess County was notified and a disaster action team was meeting Friday with residents displaced by the fire. Mutual aid at the scene was provided by firefighters from the Village of Fishkill, and the Chelsea Fire Department provided standby service. 

Harmony, Beaver County 
A Crescent Township, Beaver County, man was killed Saturday in an explosion at a propane gas company in Harmony Township. Richard Franc, 46, of Daisy Lane, was pronounced dead at AmeriGas at 2898 N. Duss Ave., where he worked. Franc was filling up a welding bottle with propane gas shortly before 4 p.m. when the cylinder exploded, Beaver County Coroner Wayne Tatalovich said. No other employees were at the business at the time. The business was cordoned off until a propane leak was stopped. No other homes or businesses had to be evacuated. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Four dead, two injured in explosion 
PUNE, NOV 8 (PTI)
Four persons were killed and two injured in an explosion in an oil tank at a company in Kukumbh MIDC area in Daund taluka of Pune district today, police said. The explosion occurred when workers of Parakhpur edible oil company were welding an empty oil tank. The tank suddenly caught fire and exploded killing the four on the spot. Probably, some residual oil might have been there in the tank, which was being emptied for welding, police said. The deceased have been identified as V S Shivadasan (24), R R Nair (26) and B Gowda (22), all hailing from Kerala, and M I Desai from Bagulkot, police said. The injured have been rushed to a private hospital here where their condition is stated to be serious, police. 

Welding torch ignites Nikiski business 
By PHIL HERMANEK Peninsula Clarion 
Thick, black smoke filled the sky Tuesday afternoon as flames shot through the roof of the R&K Industrial maintenance building just off Kenai Spur Highway at Thunder Road in Nikiski. No one was injured in the blaze. The fire apparently started when a welder turned off his welding torch, set it down to begin doing some grinding work and suddenly noticed a flash as the acetylene torch somehow reignited, according to company safety manager Brad Hill. The welder had been cutting plate steel in the oilfield-service company's welding shop. Hill said the extremely hot fire quickly spread to some wood-supported shelving above the area where the welding was being done, and then caught the wood-frame building on fire, burning through the roof. He was unable to estimate the amount of damage. The welder and about 19 other employees in the building at the time all escaped safely. The 40-by-80-foot building housed the company's vehicle maintenance and welding shops, the safety department office and offices for the receiving department, the general manager and dispatching. The fire appeared to have spared the safety office. Hill said the Nikiski Fire Department responded within minutes of the early-afternoon blaze and fire alarms sounded throughout the office areas, but administrative employees already had evacuated the building. The fire was called in at 12:56 p.m., according to 911 dispatchers in Soldotna. Nikiski Fire Chief Daniel Gregory said one engine, three tankers and one rescue truck from Nikiski responded to the fire. Units from the Kenai Fire Department and Alaska State Troopers responded as well. The company, which employs 50 people, has not experienced any prior fires, according to Hill. A paint shop and equipment washing shop also are at the Thunder Road location. They were not involved in the fire. Owned by Robert Peterkin II and Mike O'Toole, R&K Industrial also has administrative offices in the Economic Development District office complex about one-fourth mile from the shops. 

Torch ignites blaze at auto body shop
SALEM — A welder’s torch sparked a fire Wednesday afternoon at a body shop outside Salem. The fire broke out about 2 p.m. at Bob’s Auto Body and Truck Painting, 7085 Hazelgreen Road NE. Firefighters found thick smoke coming out of the front of the metal building. A vehicle inside the building caught fire as an employee conducted repairs with a welding torch, said Lt. Bill O’Neil of Marion County Fire District No. 1. He said it was put out about 20 minutes later. Shop owner Bob Schwab said the business was insured against the loss. A paint booth suffered moderate damage, and the building’s frame shop and the car being worked on suffered heavy damage. No dollar estimate was available. Most of the building was saved because of a swift response from fire crews, Schwab said. Fire crews from Marion County were joined by Keizer and Silverton firefighters for a total of about 25 firefighters extinguishing the blaze.

Little damage done by blaze, no one is hurt 
By BRIAN CULP 
A fire in Knauf Fiberglass GmbH’s boiler house shut down one of the fiberglass manufacturer’s lines for several hours Monday afternoon. Firefighters responded to the call at 1:40 p.m. at 240 Elizabeth St. No one was hurt in the fire, which was extinguished quickly. The fire was started by a bolt that had been cut off of a pump using a cutting torch. The hot bolt fell into some oil- and resin-soaked fibers, which caught on fire, Plant Manager Jay Moser said. The fire spread up the wall of the building to the second floor. Equipment Tender Rick Bernard and the maintenance man working on the pump, who was not named, were the only two people in the building. Bernard said they tried to put out the fire, but realized almost immediately it was too big for them to handle. The maintenance man immediately called 911, Moser said. Moser said the fire caused minimal damage. Besides having to replace several pumps, there was only smoke damage and some melted Plexiglas windows. “We lost a couple pumps and some wiring, but we’ll be back up in a couple of hours,” he said. Most of the plant remained running; the fire shut down just one production line. The boiler house is located next to the railroad tracks that run through the Knauf property. The building houses the plant’s wash-water system, water-filtering system and air-compressor system, all of which are used to run the lines. Moser said his staff is trained to extinguish small fires, but is instructed to call the fire department quickly for any blaze beyond that. “We have annual firefighting training,” Moser said. “But for the most part, if it’s anything that’s even close to being an issue we call the fire department, step back and let them handle it. We don’t like to put our people in danger.” Knauf has had several kitchen fires and a small gas fire that required fire department assistance in the past, but Moser said he doesn’t believe Knauf has had a major fire recently.

20 evacuated as fire damages church 
GRAEME SMITH 
AN Aberdeen church which was having a controversial mobile telephone mast installed in its spire has been damaged by fire. Workmen on the roof of the Holy Family Church in Mastrick raised the alarm when they saw smoke in the roof space of the 40-year-old church, which has a congregation of about 200. About 20 people were evacuated from the adjacent church hall, where a fund-raising event was being held. Firefighters salvaged "essential items" of value from the church, including the sacred vessels and the vestments. For more than two hours, firefighters tackled the outbreak from the outside as the flames were beneath the external copper plating on the roof and the ceiling. They had to peel back the copper sheets to reach the fire. Father Anthony Pelan, the parish priest who only took over a month ago, said last night the church had been "ruined" by the smoke and thousands of gallons of water. He said: "The main thing is, thank God, no-one was inside." One theory being investigated is that a spark from a welding torch being used by the mast contractors may have set fire to material in the roof space. At one stage, more than 35 firefighters were involved in the operation. Hutchison 3G, the telecom firm, had initially been refused permission for the mast in the church spire after opposition from local residents. Last month, it was given the go-ahead after planning officials from Aberdeen City Council said revised plans meant the design of the spire would not be altered. The three antennas and one microwave dish were to be concealed inside a glass-reinforced plastic spire replacing the existing copper cladding panels.

Complex will rise again; Fire delays accommodations for seniors
Scott Crowson and Wendy-Anne Thompson Calgary Herald Monday, November 04, 2002
The distraught owner of an unoccupied, $20-million seniors' complex that went up in flames Sunday vows to rebuild. "We're devastated and, as upset as we are, we are glad there wasn't any loss of life. And I guess that after the appropriate authorities have done their investigation, we're going to start over again," said Carl Bond, president of Summit Care Corp. Hundreds of seniors were planning to move in to Newport Harbour Care Centre in the spring, when construction on the complex was scheduled to finish. The centre was to house 125 residential rental apartments connected by a Plus-15 pedestrian overpass to the Harbour Care Centre, with 125 beds. But Sunday morning, a fire tore through the complex. Initial investigation suggests the fire was started by a worker's torch, the same suspected cause of the Erlton condominium complex inferno in late May. That construction fire destroyed several buildings in the Waterford and River Run complexes and left 300 homeless. "We were just getting to the point where we were hiring staff and getting ready for an opening," Bond said. "I can't begin to tell you how many lives this is going to affect, including our own." "I just hope we can get back on it as quickly as possible. And thank God no one was hurt." The three-alarm fire at 8 Country Village Bay N.E. broke out shortly before 10 a.m. Flames shot skyward as black, billowing smoke climbed high in the nearly windless, clear, blue sky. The ominous tower of roiling smoke could be seen all the way to Calgary's south end. Chris Keeler, who was working on the centre's roadway, was one of the first outside the building to notice something was wrong. "It was just a little trickle of black smoke right in the middle of the roof," Keeler said. "About two minutes after that, the whole thing was engulfed in flames." The fire started in one wing of the structure and moved rapidly to another, both on the southside of the complex. Forty construction workers were at the scene when the alarm was sounded. One worker on the roof of the three-storey complex had to scamper down a ladder to safety. An initial head count indicated that an electrician was missing, but he was soon found. Despite the quick response from Firehall 31, which is only a block away, there was little the firefighters could do alone. They immediately called in a second alarm and then a third alarm. Fire department spokesman John Conley said the additional alarms were called due to the magnitude of the situation and to prevent the flames jumping to the other wings. "Because the building was in the construction phase, the fire spread quite quickly," Conley said. None of the workers was hurt, but one firefighter suffered a minor injury when he slipped in the mud and twisted a knee. Forty-eight firefighters and 18 rigs, including the city's 50-metre Bronto skylift, battled the fire. Hundreds of shoppers at the nearby Country Hills Town Centre watched the drama unfold. The IGA Garden Market, the closest business to the blaze, was evacuated at 10:30 a.m. The intense heat caused some damage to the grocery store's rear siding. Edith Tucker, 86, who was planning to move into the facility in the spring, witnessed the destruction from her son's house in nearby Harvest Hills. "She was watching from our living room window and was very worried," said daughter-in-law Marlene Tucker, who went to the scene with her husband, Robert. The Edmonton senior has been staying with the couple since August in anticipation of moving into her new home. Family members, who had been gathered around the kitchen table, learned about the fire from a neighbour. "We came over right away," Tucker said. She said her mother-in-law would have been extremely disappointed if her suite, which faces a lake, was damaged. "It was just gorgeous," Tucker said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed." The rental suites -- studio, one- and two-bedroom units -- were saved, separated from the blaze by a Plus-15, that became the focus of protection efforts. Although the section containing the rental apartments was nearly complete, it wasn't scheduled to open until the rest of the complex was finished. That's because the kitchen, health facilities and other amenities were in the portion that was destroyed. Bond said he and his staff will meet this week to discuss how they can accommodate the seniors. It will be at least 15 more months before new construction will be complete. "We'll have to have many meetings to figure out how we are going to accommodate the people we thought we were going to look after," Bond said. Newport received $8 million in capital financing from the province. The Calgary Health Region is also responsible for operating costs for beds in the centre. Lorne Robertson, the CHR's director of supported living, said more than 100 seniors from other care centres were scheduled for transfer to beds at Newport in the spring. The seniors scheduled to move into Newport apartments are living in private residences. Many of the seniors are at the Scottish Care Centre, which has been sold, and the Foothills Care Centre. Robertson said there will be 45 extra beds at the new Col. Belcher Care Centre, scheduled for a spring opening. "This is very tragic. It's a tragedy. We need to digest what has happened, look at the extent of the damage and look at the long-term plans," Robertson said. "There are a number of possibilities we will be considering." Newport Harbour Care Centre was built, along with three other seniors' centres, as part of a $33.2-million project financed by the provincial government. The other centres include Mckenzie Care Centre, the Beverly Centre and Southwood. The city's new mobile command centre arrived at the fire shortly after 11 a.m. to co-ordinate the emergency departments' response. First used in limited capacity during the Erlton incident, it houses special communications equipment. If waiting paramedics at the scene were needed, they would have been dispatched from the vehicle. The unit also has a communications link to the police helicopter to relay information. The HAWC1 helicopter, with a water bucket slung underneath, landed at the scene and was on standby in case it was needed. The building and construction managers stayed in the command centre to let firefighters know what they were dealing with, Conley said. The amateur radio emergency response unit set up hand-held and remote cameras so firefighters could see what was happening on all sides of the huge complex. "It's all fully outfitted and ready to go," Conley said of the command centre. "It does an excellent job." 

Garage lost in fire, Fire destroys Ream Road garage
News-Messenger reports 
Sandusky Township firefighters and other emergency officials wait for water pressure to fight the blaze at the home of Al Frey on Ream Road on Friday afternoon. A Sandusky Township firefighter look at the remains of Al Frey's garage that was lost during the fire on Friday. A Sandusky Township homeowner's garage was destroyed by fire Friday after the insulation accidentally ignited during the installation of a hot water heater. Sandusky Township firefighters were called to Al Frey's residence at 208 E. Ream Road at 1:50 p.m. No one was injured. "The fire was caused by the owner soldering some water lines together," said Fire Chief Dean Schneider. "A flame from the torch must have got to the insulation in the wall, and into the ceiling and took off." About 10 Clyde firefighters were there for mutual aid with the 13 Sandusky Township firefighters on scene. The firefighters worked just over two hours and used 7,500 gallons of water, Schneider said. Schneider estimated structure damage at $50,000 and the contents destroyed at $25,000. The fire also melted the siding on the garage and house of the neighboring residence, 300 E. Ream Road. It is a rental property also owned by Frey. Schneider estimated damage at about $1,500. Schneider said the safety message is: "Keep an extinguisher handy anytime you are using torches or welding equipment." 

Nashua fire damages structures, but salvage yard still operational 
A salvage yard is sifting through the ashes and picking up the pieces following a fire earlier this week. Around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday fire ignited at Wilken and Sons Auto Wrecking, eventually burning down a shop building and causing damage to other structures. Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 12:30 p.m. The damage is estimated at $250,000, parts manager Todd Bienemann said. The salvage yard, however, is up and running. The office and many vehicles were not damaged. The biggest loss was the company's hoist, he said. Wilken and Sons Auto Wrecking, 1157 275th St., plans on rebuilding the shop, but it will take a while, Bienemann said. "We'll start rebuilding probably in six to eight weeks," he said. "With winter coming and the fact we don't have a hoist, it'll make work a lot tougher." An investigation is under way, but officials believe the fire was caused by gas fumes from a cutting torch. Nashua Fire Department controlled the fire with help from Ionia, Charles City and Plainfield departments. 

Warehouse Explosion
Pratt KAKE News 
An explosion and fire at a Pratt warehouse injured three men and kept firefighters busy for hours Saturday afternoon. Fire crews from the surrounding area battled the blaze for close to three hours before finally getting it under control. Flames came dangerously close to nearby fuel tanks. Three men were working on a car in the warehouse when the accident happened. Investigators say an acetylene torch the men were using may have ignited spilled gasoline, causing the explosion. Witnesses say the force of the explosion sent one man through a window, burning him badly. He was rushed to a Wichita hospital and is now in critical condition. The other two men suffered minor injuries. Crews are currently working to extinguish hot spots throughout the building. 

Welders may have sparked fatal Vietnam office fire
Authorities in Vietnam say careless welders may have set off the fire that raced through an office block killing at least 61 people. Police are said to be investigating whether builders working in the Blue discotheque on the third floor of the seven-storey Saigon International Business Centre sparked the fire in Ho Chi Minh City. They are looking for the builders who fled the scene. Meanwhile, anxious relatives are waiting for rescue workers to complete their sweep of the office complex for any remaining bodies. Officials says 61 people have been confirmed dead but state media has been reporting that more than 100 people were killed. 

Jackson County Plant Catches Fire
From The NewsChannel 19 Newsroom, 10/29/02
A Jackson County plant caught fire around 10 a.m. Thursday, while crews were doing work at Scottsboro Aluminum. Investigators say workers were trying to remove a smoke stack at the plant, which is now closed. Apparently, the crews used a torch to burn holes in the stack, when flames lit some grease on fire. The fire caused minor damage to the building's walls. The plant closed in August 2001 due to financial problems. More than six hundred workers lost their jobs. 

UPDATE, Welders detained in Vietnam fire investigation 
01 November, 2002 
HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - Investigators into a fire in Vietnam's commercial capital that killed at least 61 people have detained two workers who were using welding torches in a discotheque in the building, an official said on Friday. State-run media, including the Vietnam News Agency, said the two workers had been arrested on suspicion of violating rules on fire fighting and prevention. But a spokesman for the government of southern Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City said the two welders, one aged 32, and the other, 19, had not been charged and investigators were still looking at other possible causes of the Tuesday blaze. "Three welding workers were not careful while working at the Blue discotheque," the spokesman said, adding that the two workers had turned themselves in to authorities. The third worker there at the time was missing. The fire at the International Trading Centre, in Ho Chi Minh City's business district, killed at least 61 people, including four foreigners, and injured 102. Early reports said the blaze was believed to have begun in a second-floor disco, the city's most popular dance spot. The city spokesman said the two workers had told investigators that during repair work in the disco with welding torches, a flame had set the ceiling on fire. "They shouted 'Fire!' and fled the site," the spokesman said. The fire, the city's worst in 27 years, was spotted at around 1:30 p.m. and lasted for five hours. The building had registered occupants of 200 and besides the disco, also had a restaurant, more than 170 shops and offices of 27 foreign companies. Previously, authorities and official media had suggested other possible causes of the fire, including a gas leak, an exploding gas cylinder and faulty wiring. Officials have said they were almost certain the fire was not caused by a terrorist act. The city spokesman said 32 injured people remained in hospital. Police were analysing DNA tests to identify about half of the victims. By Friday morning about 100 wreaths have been laid at the gates of the building. A dozen shops selling paintings, shoes and souvenirs near the building had reopened for business. 

Fire Forces Evacuation of Cleveland Hill School Complex
(Cheektowaga, NY, October 28, 2002) 
An emergency evacuation plan was put to the test at the Cleveland Hill School complex in Cheektowaga Monday, and it worked. News 4's Al Vaughters reports students, faculty and staff were forced to evacuate because of a fire on the roof of one of the buildings. Emergency officials put their evacuation plan to the test when fire broke out at the Cleveland Hill School complex. Nearly 1,700 students from K-through-12, plus their teachers and staff moved directly to their evacuation sites - eventually ending up at the Cleve Hill Fire Hall. Paul Tout said, "When we got here, we found out everybody was okay, and that is a little bit of a relief, but until you have the kids with you, it's a little bit scary." Donna Leone said, "I think they did a real good job. It was good that they brought the kids down here to get them out of the cold, and found places for them to go." Fire officials say a spark from a welder's torch touched off the fire on the roof of the elementary school building. Construction workers are building an addition onto the 55 year old structure that is connected to Cleve Hill High School. Cleve Hill Fire Dept. Chief Doug Egloff said, "Under construction, it was a little difficult, but we had planned for this for a while. We had taken all precautions as long as nobody got hurt. That's our main job - nobody got hurt - and we can deal with everything else." Elementary student Brandon Tout said, "We were in the library, and all of a sudden, the fire bell went off. So we went out and we looked at the top of the building, and there was all kinds of smoke coming out of it." While state law requires schools to conduct fire drills on a regular basis. those drills have a special meaning at Cleve Hill, where a tragic fire took the lives of several students back in the 1950's. Cleveland Hill Superintendent Bruce Inglis said, "It is unfortunate that it was a loss of life that occurred back in the 50's, but I certainly would like to think that today's safe evacuation was a result of some the lessons that were learned almost 50 years ago." Cleveland Hill School administrators now say the elementary school, Grades K-5, will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to the fire damage. Middle and high school students are to report, as usual.

UPDATE, Could the fire at the former Wolverine Litho building in Grand Rapids have been prevented?(Grand Rapids, October 28, 2002 6:45 p.m.) 
The big fire last week that burned most of the afternoon, causing the neighborhood to evacuate and businesses to shut down was caused by a cutting torch. It seems risky any time you start using open flame inside a building. So target 8 investigators wondered: Could this fire have been prevented? Are there any rules for using torches? What we found is a bigger problem and not much safety enforcement.Target 8 investigators have found at least a dozen fires around West Michigan in the last six years caused by torches resulting in injury or property damage. Across the country, fires caused by cutting, welding or other kinds of torches account for nearly 11,000 fires a year, killing two dozen and injuring more than three hundred. There are safety standards. in Michigan they are worker safety requirements.In last Monday's Michigan Litho fire in Grand Rapids, the man using a cutting torch to remove an old printing press did follow some of the rules. Grand Rapids Fire Chief Michael Burton says "The welder that was on scene did have fire extinguishers nearby and a container of water nearby, but apparently some oil caught fire and dripped down through the floor into the basement and started burning down there." But if he'd followed all the state safety rules that wouldn't have happened. There wouldn't have been a hole or cracks in the floor for flaming oil to fall down into. The state requires people using welding or cutting torches to cover cracks in floors and walls within 35 feet of the operation. In addition, there shouldn't have been any oil to catch fire. Another rule requires that the area be free of flammable conditions and if that's not possible, a second person should be on hand to watch for fire. Last Monday there wasn't. The welder works for West Side Iron and Metal, a Grand Rapids scrap yard. His boss told target 8 investigators that he didn't know there were state fire safety requirements. Target 8 investigators found that they are not enforced very often. The state occupational safety people enforce them fewer than ten times a year and the state department of consumer and industry service said it didn't know if any of the times it did resulted from fires.In fact, it appears the state is not looking into last Monday's fire either. So if the state rules are sometimes ignored and seldom enforced, what about the city enforcing safety rules? Fire Investigator Pablo Martinez; "The city doesn't require it because we don't issue permits for such things." In fact there is only once job using torches for which the city does issue a permit, when you're demolishing a building. Chief Burton says "When you're taking a building down there's a permitting process and the fire department is notified and there are some standards that kick in."But target 8 investigators checked further. The city does have demolition standards, but not for using cutting torches. City Inspector Ed Lumas says "The demolition procedure we have in the city code does not specifically address fire safety concerns."And so far the city has not considered creating standards for the safe operation of welding or cutting torches. Chief Burton says those tools are used for a lot of jobs in hundreds of places across the city every day. so it may be difficult to determine which uses to regulate. "I think we're going to have to look at this whole issue and what we learned from this event and make whatever adjustments that seem appropriate in our operations."If you're wondering why it's even the community's business, the fire at the Litho building is a good example. It put fire fighters at risk. It shut down neighborhood businesses for a day and because parking was restricted all last week it continued to hurt business. Common ground coffee house was down about fifty percent because people couldn't park in front. People were evacuated from their homes for several hours and once the rubble is cleared what happens to this corner could have a significant impact on the health of the neighborhood.

Smoke forces evacuation of Leprino addition
According to South Waverly Fire Chief Richard McConnell, approximately 30 firefighters from the South Waverly, Waverly/Barton and Athens Township fire companies were called to the scene at about 4:02 p.m. after a welding blanket being used in the addition smoldered and apparently caught on fire. Greater Valley Emergency Medical Services and the Salvation Army also assisted at the scene, McConnell said. McConnell added that work was being done in a concrete building when the welding blanket apparently caught fire. He noted that the building was declared safe at about 5:51 p.m. and the firefighters returned to the fire station. The whey facility began southward expansion last October by the Denver, Colo.-based food corp. as a move to remain competitive, Leprino officials said. Thurman Blanchard, Leprino plant engineering manager, said today that there was no damage to the building, but a lot of heavy smoke resulted. "Construction workers were evacuated as a safety precaution," Blanchard said. Bud Shaver, the facility's human resources manager, said there was no evacuation of employees from the rest of the plant, which kept operating as usual. "We're still checking out that happened and putting our report together in the interest of accuracy," he said. "But there was no fire; there was a lot of smoke in a relatively isolated section." 

Accidental Fire Destroys Garage In Grantsville
Sparks from a welder have been determined to be the cause of a fire that destroyed a garage at a Grantsville residence last Thursday. Firefighters from the Grantsville, Accident, and Addison (Pa.) volunteer departments were summoned at 11:53 a.m. to respond to the residence of Dean Hockman, 158 Bowser Lane, after a neighbor reported the fire. Upon their arrival they found flames coming from a 14'x22' wood-frame garage that was adjacent to Hockman's house. According to Deputy Fire Marshal Steve Wendling, who investigated the incident, the cause of the fire was the result of sparks created by a cutting operation with a welder, which ignited nearby combustibles. He said that the garage was totally destroyed, and he estimated the loss to be $10,000 for the garage and its contents. Approximately 25 volunteers brought the fire under control in about 10 minutes. Also responding was the Northern Rescue Squad. There were no injuries reported. Grantsville and Eastern Garrett firefighters were also summoned early Monday to assist several Allegany County departments in battling a structure fire in Frostburg. A two-story wood-frame duplex owned by Greg Gillium was declared a total loss from a natural gas explosion and subsequent fire. Injured in the fire was occupant William Bradburn, who sustained first- and second-degree burns and was listed in critical condition. 

Employees, visitors douse warehouse fire, Blaze sparked accidentally by workers
By DAVE MILBRANDT STAFF WRITER
CHINO -- Employees of a defunct furniture business and visitors to the company's site extinguished a potentially dangerous blaze Thursday morning before firefighters arrived on the scene. One employee was taken to the hospital and two were treated at the warehouse for smoke inhalation. The fire caused an unknown amount of damage. The fire started about 10:30 a.m. at Arbek Furniture Manufacturing Inc., 13780 Central Ave. Workers were dismantling a spray-painting booth with a cutting torch when sparks ignited paint residue on a nearby filter, authorities said. Witnesses Larry Cole and Frank Mack said about nine employees fought the fire. Cole and Mack arrived at the warehouse about 10 a.m. to pick up the spray paint booth and some other equipment to use at their Covina sound-system business. They helped employees put out the blaze. "We were in there 20 minutes but it seemed like forever,' Mack said. The two visitors were treated by paramedics at the scene and an unidentified employee was taken to an area hospital for treatment prior to the arrival of emergency personnel. Representatives of Chino Valley Medical Center declined to state if such a person was treated at the hospital Thursday. Chino Valley Independent Fire District spokesman Anthony Landin said the department received a call from an employee about 10 minutes after workers had started fighting the fire with dry chemical extinguishers. When fire engines arrived, light smoke was coming from the building's southwest corner. Firefighters climbed a fire truck ladder to inspect the roof, but saw no additional damage. Landin said he was glad nobody was seriously injured, but encouraged people to contact the fire department rather than attempting to battle a dangerous blaze without professional assistance. "They should have called us as soon as they discovered a fire,' he said. Mack said they feared the fire might reach the helium tank in the booth, possibly causing an explosion. "If we would have waited for the fire department, you would have had a big story,' he said. Arbek, an award-winning company founded 20 years ago by Daniel Torres and Carlos Morales, sold fine oak furniture to more than 1,000 retailers across the county and in Canada. A recent bank foreclosure caused the company to close its doors, according to a recent wire report. The Calabasas-based Buxbaum/Century Services began selling Arbek's furniture and equipment in mid-September and held an auction for the remaining items last week. 

Blaze displaces borough family 
By:Sally Goldenberg , Staff Writer 10/24/2002 
A single-family home on North Eighth Avenue went ablaze at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, causing no injuries to the occupants who have temporarily relocated. The fire started as homeowner Rodney Weikel was repairing a pipefitting in second floor master bedroom with a propane torch, Manville Fire Official Barry Van Horn said. Mr. Weikel then ignited the room's insulation and structural members. He unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire and eventually the fire spread, Mr. Van Horn said. The family moved in with friends and will not be able to move back into the home again for three to six months, Mr. Van Horn said. "There's substantial damage there," he said. "The insurance company is going to put a house trailer in their driveway." 

Quick response saves local home from fire, Calls from neighbors spare two-story home major damage By SHANE T. FARLEY
Two quick-thinking kids, and their mother, helped keep a fire from destroying a Winfield home Tuesday afternoon. “Another 15 or 20 minutes and we would have been in trouble,” Winfield Fire Captain Gordon Dippel said in assessing the blaze. The incident is still under investigation. Crews arrived at 1420 E. 10th to find smoke and flames coming from the home's second floor. A neighbor, Linda Bredehoft, had called the fire department after a pair of students from nearby Trinity Lutheran School knocked on her door. “They said the house on the corner was on fire,” Bredehoft said. “I looked outside and I could see and smell the smoke.” The students, who Bredehoft said live in Oxford, were apparently driving by the vacant house with their mother when they saw smoke. “She told them to go banging on doors to find someone to call 911,” Bredehoft said. The family noticed the fire just in time. With the house's close proximity to the fire station, crews were able to arrive in time to extinguish the blaze before it could cause major damage. Local realtor Bob Hauber had a key to the house which he sold to the current owner, Eileen Wilson, about two years ago. A propane torch being used by someone working on the house might have been the cause of the fire, Hauber said. “They tell me the damage is very minimal,” he said. Renters had moved out over a month ago. Hauber was appreciative of employees of Prime Place restaurant who also reportedly saw the fire, placed a call to 911 and then went to see if anyone was in the home. Todd Swords, an employee at Prime Place, entered the home to check to see if anyone was inside. He went to the second floor and saw the fire burning. “I got up there, checked around and then I heard the fire department and figured it was their job so I got out of there,” Swords told the Courier this morning. Jennifer Love's adrenaline was pumping Tuesday afternoon. After a few months on the job she finally had her first chance to go on a fire run as a reserve firefighter. Love, an employee at the City-Cowley County Health Department, was paged just after 3 p.m. to respond to a fire. “I was headed to a meeting and I had a dress on,” Love said as other firefighters worked behind her. She quickly made it to the fire department where she ducked into a closet for a quick change of clothes before emerging as Winfield's only female firefighter. Her job was to enter the house and look for anyone who might be inside. “It was an easy one today,” she said. Love, 27, has been through the required training and proven she can perform all the tasks the job requires, Dippel said. The men in the department have always treated her well, she said. “She's confident in her abilities, and that's what you need,” Dippel said. “There are a lot of ladies out there who can do this job.” At least two women, including Love, have expressed interest in a full-time position, according to Fire Chief Curtis Wilson. They would be given the same consideration as any other candidate assuming they have the proper training, he said. A Web site operated by Women in the Fire Service Inc. estimates that about 6,200 women in the United States are full-time firefighters. Another 30,000 to 40,000 volunteer to fight fires worldwide. You can visit the site at www.wfsi.org.

UPDATE, Welding spark sets dozens of boats ablaze at marina near Hastings
BY LISA DONOVAN Pioneer Press
A boat owner welding on his craft docked at King's Cove Marina near Hastings sparked a massive fire this afternoon. By 5:30 p.m., approximately 30 boats had been set ablaze. Firefighters from Hastings and other communities were still battling the fire early this evening, said Washington County Sheriff Jim Frank. No injuries have been reported in the two hours since fire crews were called to the marina, which straddles the Dakota-Washington county line and is on Hwy. 61. A boat owner was doing some welding on his craft when it caught fire, he said. Because the boats are dry-docked, they are parked close to each other -- making it easier for the fire to spread from one craft to the other, Frank said. “It sounds like a spark jumped…then the wind shifted,” Frank said. Firefighters from Prescott, Rosemount, and Cottage Grove, were called in to assist the Hastings Fire Department. 

Morning fire destroys former Wolverine Litho building
(Grand Rapids, October 21, 2002, 2002, 6:53 p.m.) Fire consumed the former Wolverine Litho building in Grand Rapids on Monday. It started about 11:40 a.m., when nearby witnesses heard an explosion. Fire quickly engulfed the building, and smoke that varied from white to dark brown could be seen for miles. The former Wolverine Litho building, located at the corner of Fulton and Carlton, had been empty for three or four years. One person was inside at the time the fire started. Ken Lukas tells 24 Hour News 8 that he was using a torch to separate large printing presses. The presses were too large to remove from the building without being disassembled. Lukas says sparks from the torch may have lit some of the oil from the presses on fire. He says the oil dripped into the basement area, where old cardboard, wooden floors, and other material quickly caught on fire. Lukas says he ran out the building as soon as he realized what was happening. Fortunately, no one else was inside. Greg Gilmore, a local restaurant developer, was in the process of buying the building. Gilmore told 24 Hour News 8 that he had planned on turning the building into a gourmet restaurant and market. However, there is currently a lawsuit pending on the building by another interested party. It is not immediately clear what stage that lawsuit is in right now. Fire investigators say the are working under the premise that this was an accidental fire caused by the welding work. However, they are not closing the door on other possibilities, and the investigation continues. 

Fire destroys more than 20 boats at marina in Hastings
Pam Louwagie, Star Tribune Published Oct 21, 2002 FIRE21 
A fire believed to have been accidentally started by a propane torch destroyed more than 20 leisure boats Sunday at a marina across the Mississippi River from downtown Hastings. There were no serious injuries, but several expensive boats were among the vessels that burned in a winter storage lot at King's Cove Marina. "You just have to be real grateful that nobody was injured," said King's Cove co-owner Laura King Spillane. "I feel bad for the owners whose boats are involved. This is their cabin, it's their second home, they live on them all summer long, and they care for them." She said the boats ranged in value from $15,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The fire remains under investigation, but firefighters believe it began as a man used a heating device fueled by a propane torch to warm the shrink-wrap covering on a boat, said Hastings fire chief Mark Holmes. Fire departments from Hastings, Cottage Grove, Rosemount, Miesville and Woodbury responded. Authorities closed Hwy. 61 north of the Hastings bridge for a time because black smoke was drifting across it, causing problems for drivers. Dozens of people walked along the highway to get a better view of the blaze. Jeff Deitner, 17, of Hastings, was in his kitchen, he said, when he "heard these popping noises coming from across the river" about 3:45 p.m. "There were some explosive bangs and then puffs of black smoke," he said. "We went outside and the sky was pitch black." The fire had been contained by early evening. Emergency workers were cruising the nearby water to watch for pollution, and container booms were ready for use, Holmes said. He said they were also concerned about particles and odors from burning fiberglass, glue and resin. An emergency response crew from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will visit the marina this morning to check runoff and measure air quality, said MPCA spokesman Mike Rafferty. He said MPCA officials, after talking with firefighters, concluded Sunday evening that there was no immediate danger. King's Cove, with slips for 415 boats, is one of the metro area's larger marinas. Spillane and her brother, Bill King, own the marina, which their father, William, started 36 years ago. She said King's Cove is insured. Boat owners were not allowed to enter the marina Sunday night. At midevening, firefighters said they couldn't get close enough to the burned boats to determine who owned them. However, the commodore of the King's Cove Yacht Club, Bill Schreiner of Woodbury, said his phone was ringing almost constantly Sunday afternoon as club members heard about the fire. Some of the club members' 86 boats may have been stored in the area where the fire occurred, he said, including one of his two boats. "I'm pretty sure one of them is toast," he said of his boats. He said he often towed that 16-foot dinghy, named "Smarty Pants," behind his yacht on the nearby St. Croix River. "It's one of our children," he said. "You know how boats are." Mel Kidney of Forest Lake and his fianceé, Peg Rowe, stood in the light snow on a road overlooking the marina, watching once-shiny boats melt in the heat and fearing they had lost "Yes Dear," a 41-foot yacht they bought a year ago. "This was my dream boat, the boat I wanted to retire in," Kidney said. He said they had filled the yacht's tank with 320 gallons of fuel to prevent condensation over the winter. When they saw an aerial view of the fire on TV and knew their boat was in the area, "it pretty much made our hearts fall to our feet," he said. Still, he added, "Life is about people, and being able to enjoy your friends down here. Boats can be replaced." The fire began about 3:30 p.m. and spread to other boats within 15 minutes, Holmes said. The cabin cruisers, houseboats and other vessels at the marina range in length from about 28 to 41 feet. Many have large fuel tanks and propane stoves. Spillane's father opened the marina near the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers after he saw the site on train rides to his job in Red Wing, Spillane said. Spillane said the size and intensity of the fire surprised her. "I didn't think it would be anything like this -- never in a million years." Staff writer Terry Collins contributed to this story. 

Fire contained in afternoon blaze 
Monday, October 21, 2002
Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire that broke out on the roof of a two-story building in the Jersey City Heights Saturday afternoon, fire officials said. The blaze, which spread to the attic, started around 2:30 p.m. to a Hutton Street building between Central and Summit avenues, said Deputy Fire Department Director Jose Cruz. While no one was hurt, Cruz said firefighters were concerned because the building - a two-story wood-frame structure - was attached to five other buildings. "Once it gets in that cock loft (attic) you really have to be aggressive and open up the roof," Cruz said. "If it gets away from you, you will lose all five buildings." Firefighters used a ladder to get to the roof, Cruz said, and opened it up to let out the flames. The fire was confined to the roof and attic of the one building, he said. The fire is under investigation, but Cruz said witnesses told fire officials that workers were using a torch on the roof when the blaze broke out.

Material in roofing truck catches fire, no structures damaged. 
The Orange County Register 
A roofing truck crane caused a fire and a power outage in the 400 block of South Flower Street in Orange this morning. About 1,800 residents lost power when the crane got stuck in power lines. The tangle created sparks igniting materials on the truck, Orange Fire Department Capt. Doug Fackiner said. Thick black smoke billowed toward the sky. "It's usually tar-type materials that generate that kind of smoke," he said. The truck was damaged, there were no injuries. There was no damage to nearby apartments, Fackiner said. The fire department got the call at 10:02 a.m. and had the fire out in about 10 minutes, Fackiner said. Most of the affected residents had power restored within one hour. 

One killed, six injured in Durban factory explosion 
October 17, 2002, 07:20 PM 
A massive explosion shattered a Durban factory late this afternoon, killing one person and injuring six more. It is believed to be the third explosion at the Bresman factory in a month. The force of the explosion ripped-off sections of the factory's roof. One of the injured was flung about 10m through the air. A fire also broke out. Workers say they were welding on top of a container of bitumen. It is believed a spark triggered the explosion. A worker who suffered slight spinal injuries said it was his first day on the job. He works for a company contracted by Bresman. He was eating lunch when the explosion ripped through a tank he was leaning against. The injured were treated at a clinic a few metres away from the factory. Environmentalists are outraged. The Department of Labour had inspected the premises after last week's explosion. Company management has refused to comment. 

Mobile home fire shortcuts salvage job
By JAIME HERNANDEZ Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE -- A vacant mobile home went up in flames Thursday afternoon when a salvage crew worker accidentally ignited the paper insulation under the home with a welding torch, fire officials said. The worker was trying to weld a towing tongue onto the front of the mobile home at the Parkwood Mobile Home Park at the corner of Nova Road and Spruce Creek Road when the insulation caught fire around 3 p.m., Port Orange Fire Marshal Buddy Campbell said. A salvage company had just bought the home and was planning to tow it to an undisclosed location. The fire quickly spread to the rear of the mobile home and inside through a hole in the bottom of the dwelling. Firefighters had the blaze under control after 15 minutes, but the home was destroyed, Campbell said. No injuries were reported. Campbell said the fire was ruled an accident. 

Sparks burn boxes in empty building
By Sentinel staff October 18, 2002
A small fire broke out shortly after noon Thursday at the former Federal Equipment building in the 200 block of Lincoln Street in Carlisle when sparks from an acetylene torch caught on some cardboard boxes, says Deputy Carlisle Fire Chief Bob Snyder. No one was injured. Snyder says the call went to a second alarm because it was believed people were inside. However, firefighters arrived to find the workers from contractor Perry County Metals Inc. had gone to lunch and the building was empty. The building is being demolished to make way for construction of a $3.3 million Carlisle police station. Perry County Metals was hired to remove the metal parts from the building. 

Welding torch ignites fire in vacant building 
By Thomas Geyer 
A welder’s torch touched off a fire Wednesday morning in some insulation at the old Brammer Manufacturing Co. plant in Davenport, authorities said. The fire started about 11 a.m., when flame from the torch ignited some insulation as the worker was cutting through old scrap metal on the second floor of the plant, Davenport Fire Chief Mark Frese said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the small, but smoky, fire that caused puffs of white smoke to slowly billow out of the building’s overhead and side vents. Tom Rudbeck, the owner of the building at 1441 W. 2nd St., said he is in the process of gutting and cleaning the second floor, getting it ready for anyone who wants to use the building for warehousing or light manufacturing. The fire, he added, was just a small inconvenience. There is no damage estimate because everything in the building is going to be thrown out. "We’ve already gutted the first and third floors," said Rudbeck, adding that he has owned the building for about a year. "We’ve already taken about 10 semi loads of junk out of it." Rudbeck said a clean building allows potential business owners to better visualize how they can use the building. "I’ve been close a couple of times to having someone move in a couple of times," he said. But since there have been no takers, he has taken his time cleaning the building. "I’m hoping we’re done gutting and cleaning it up it in a couple of months," he said. "If someone comes along that wants to use the building, we’ll move more quickly." 

Roofers start fire on historic school building; Classes at Fresno High expected to resume today; two brothers working on roof seriously burned October 16, 2002
FRESNO (AP) -- Fresno High School was evacuated and classes were canceled Tuesday after roofers sparked a blaze on the oldest building on campus. Two brothers working on the roof were seriously burned, but all students and staff were evacuated safely, said school spokeswoman Jill Marmolejo. Students were excused for the day, but classes were scheduled to resume today. The school was being renovated when Fryer Roofing Co. workers using torches sparked a blaze on the roof of Royce Hall, officials said. Both injured men were taken to University Medical Center, where one remained in critical condition Tuesday night. The other was released. Flames soared above the roof of the 80-year-old building, and plumes of smoke were visible from far away. "My heart almost stopped when I saw those flames and I said, 'I just hope we can save the building because it means so much,' " said Principal Bob Reyes. Royce Hall is the core of the original school and houses an auditorium and classes on the 2,800-student campus. The blaz caused an estimated $450,000 in damage.

Welding Work Sparks Pharmaceuticals Fire, Building Suffers Little Damage
October 15, 2002
ROUSES POINT, N.Y. -- Welding work was blamed for sparking a minor fire at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Rouses Point Tuesday morning, according to fire officials. The fire started a little after 8 a.m. officials said. The Rouses Point fire chief said contractors were putting in new machinery and welding an angle iron to the ceiling. The workers got too close to the ceiling and the paint and the roofing material above it started bubbling, he said. There was some smoke in the building, but the building was only slightly damaged, officials said.

Fire department kept busy battling blazes 
By Scott Dalton / Staff Writer October 15, 2002
A pair of blazes kept the Harwich Fire Department equipment rolling during the last week. Nobody was hurt in either fire. The first fire began Thursday afternoon at Handler's Auto Parts on Route 28 in Harwich Port. Fire Chief Robert Peterson said an employee accidentally started the fire while involved in a salvage operation. "He was cutting a gasoline tank," he said. "The cutting torch was too close to a flammable substance. It ignited the cars, which in turn, ignited the building." Peterson said that firefighters used foam to control the blaze, which was put out in approximately 30 minutes. He said the department used an extra degree of caution because of the surroundings. "A junkyard situation is a little different," Peterson said, citing the presence of oil and gasoline among other potentially dangerous fluids. "We were very cautious. It can be explosive and they are definitely flammable." Peterson said the Handler's case has been closed and that there are no intentions to issue any citations at this time.

Tire inferno called 'environmental nightmare'
By Andrew Marra, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, October 14, 2002
PORT ST. LUCIE -- A 25-foot-tall pile of shredded tires caught fire and burned for hours at the Florida Tire Recycling plant Sunday, the second blaze at the 34-acre complex in two weeks. A huge plume of smoke from the plant in western St. Lucie County could be seen as far as 50 miles away. Firefighters were called about 2:30 p.m. But four hours later, the fire at 9675 Range Line Road seemed to have grown. "This is going to be a long-term event," said St. Lucie County Fire District Capt. Tom Whitley. "We will certainly be here through the night." He estimated the fire covered more than an acre. The blaze was not threatening any nearby buildings, and there were no reported injuries. But Whitley said the environmental concerns were considerable. "This type of a fire is really an environmental nightmare to the air quality as well as the water runoff," he said. "The concern that we have at this point is protecting the unburned piles." A similar fire ignited Sept. 30 at the plant, which turns old tires into chips used for septic fill, highway asphalt, playground surfaces and fuel for power plants. Whitley said no official cause was ever found. Dave Quarterson, CEO of Florida Tire Recycling, said Sunday night he believed both fires were probably caused by sparks from a welder's torch, used by a subcontractor to cut up scrap metal.

UPDATE, Water workers may have sparked devastating fire
October 9 2002
A spark from power tools used by Sydney Water maintenance workers may be to blame for a savage bushfire that razed 10 homes and severely damaged 11 others in Sydney's south. Sydney Water, which has launched its own investigation into the maintenance crew and its activities, said it would compensate families if it was found to be at fault. But that would have provided cold comfort to the 10 families who spent the night in local motels or at the Engadine RSL after their homes were reduced to ashes. It is believed the maintenance workers were using grinders or some other power tool to repair leaks on the Woronora Water Pipeline, when the fire broke out yesterday afternoon. The crew tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze near them, but were forced to evacuate the area when it took hold. Sydney Water acting managing director Ron Quill said given its crew was first to detect the fire, the company had a role to play in the investigations and would conduct its own review. "This will be provided to the investigators as soon as possible," he said in a statement. "It would be inappropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation. "Should however it be found that Sydney Water was at fault, we will ensure that people are compensated." The Rural Fire Service today ruled out the main natural cause of bushfires, namely lightning strikes, saying the blaze was either deliberately or accidentally lit. A spokesman for Sydney Water refused to elaborate on what crew members had told them, saying the statement was in response to accusations levelled at Sydney Water by an Engadine resident. He said Sydney Water hoped to have its investigation completed by the end of the week to forward to fire investigators. The revelation came as firefighters continued to battle to keep containment lines in place at some of the 80 fires raging across NSW. The Rural Fire Service (RFS), NSW Fire Brigades and the police force were expected to return to Engadine early today to gather evidence and determine the exact cause of the fire. A police spokeswoman said Strikeforce Toronto, formed last year following a spate of arson attacks that led to the Christmas bushfire crisis, would be reactivated today to investigate the latest fires, including the one at Engadine. RFS spokesman John Winter said conditions were expected to ease today with temperatures dropping to the 20s and humidity rising. While there was no doubt NSW faced a long, hot and dry summer due to the drought gripping most of the nation, crews were expected to gain the upper hand in the next 48 hours.

Bergenline fire uproots families 
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
By Michaelangelo Conte, Journal staff writer 
UNION CITY - A four-alarm fire left about a dozen families temporarily homeless yesterday and three firefighters injured, with one hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials said. Firefighters responding to the corner of Bergenline Avenue and Sixth Street at 11:22 a.m., found fire breaking through the roof between the corner building and an attached structure, said North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Anthony Avillo. The corner three-story building, which has an automotive shop on the ground floor and apartments above, as well as an attached two-story apartment building, were both evacuated, said Avillo. Within a half-hour, three additional alarms had been called, he added. Avillo said an employee of the auto shop was welding a metal awning to the side of the building yesterday and the heat from the tool likely conducted through the building siding, igniting the wood framing beneath it. The fire then traveled up through the wall and burst through the roof at the cornice level of the two-story building, Avillo said. Martha Estevez, who lives a few doors down on Bergenline, said she heard the landlord of the building where the fire originated yelling for water. "I looked out (the window) and saw he had a hose and was spraying water on the fire so I got dressed and got out of my apartment," said Estevez, who waited beyond the safety tape with those who could not return to their homes. The additional alarms were called because a large number of firefighters were needed to open building walls and ceilings to access the blaze and extinguish it, Avillo said. Officials were also concerned the fire would spread to the row of attached buildings. One firefighter was treated at the scene after getting debris in his eye and another for exhaustion, officials said. Battalion Chief Richard LaTerra suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to Palisades General Hospital in North Bergen where he was admitted, according to Avillo. The two corner buildings suffered fire, smoke and water damage, and although they are salvageable, residents could not return to their homes last night, Avillo said.

Small fire prompts evacuation of Marriott
By News-Sentinel staff
October 8, 2002
The Marriott hotel in downtown Knoxville was evacuated this afternoon after what authorities believed to have been a welding accident caused a small fire. Hotel employees mistook the fire for an explosion, authorities said. The Knoxville Fire Department responded to the hotel on Hill Avenue about 2:30 p.m. and found a small fire in the basement, according to Fire Department spokesman Charlie Barker. Barker said that hotel officials claimed an explosion occurred in the basement. However, fire investigators were unable to find any evidence of an explosion. KUB officials were called in to check the circuit boxes and found everything in working condition. The small fire did disrupt business at the hotel as roughly 75 guests were evacuated as well as the hotel’s management and staff. Arson investigators are still looking into the incident.

Welders ignite $25,000 apartment blaze
By staff reports
A welding crew accidentally ignited part of a Moorpark apartment building Thursday while attaching new supports to a staircase, according to Ventura County Fire Department officials. The 5 p.m. fire scorched part of the eight-unit building, on the 600 block of New Los Angeles Avenue, forcing residents to evacuate. Three fire engines and a support crew put out the fire within minutes. The crew was reinforcing the stairway in the two-story building when flames from their welding equipment ignited combustible construction materials on the structure, officials said. Investigators said the damage included $20,000 to the structure and $5,000 in contents. No tenants were displaced and no injuries were reported.

Northern Maine potato sheds burned by wind-fed fire 
PRESQUE ISLE (AP) -- A fire heavily damaged two potato-storage buildings in northern Maine. Officials say the fire at the Cavendish Farms sheds in Presque Isle was started by sparks or hot metal from a welding operation under way at the time. About three dozen firefighters were called to the fire late Wednesday morning. Presque Isle Deputy Fire Chief Darrell White says the fire started when a spark or hot metal dropped into foam insulation in a loading dock area where the two Quonset hut-style buildings are connected. Wind passing through the 300-foot-long buildings fanned the flames. Some machinery and about 80-hundredweight of potatoes were lost. About 15 people working in the buildings got out in time, and one worker suffered smoke inhalation.

Thousands of chickens die in Bendigo fire
About 20,000 chickens have died after a fire this afternoon at a chicken farm west of Bendigo, Victoria. The fire at Hazeldenes Chicken Farm at Marong destroyed a large empty breeder shed. Firefighters stopped the blaze spreading to a neighbouring shed, but 20,000 chickens in the building died from heat and smoke inhalation. The Country Fire Authority's Peter Philip says it is believed a spark from a welding tool caused the fire. He says it is an appropriate reminder about the dangers of using tools and farm machinery in warm weather. "Particularly at the moment where the country has dried off.... sparks from tools or tractors can easily start a fire and if there's a bit of wind around, particularly in grass, the fire will travel very very quickly," he said.

UPDATE, Damages total at least $50,000 in shop fire
By REED WILLIAMS / Daily Progress staff writer
A fire that caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to an auto repair shop Monday in Albemarle County may have been started by a cutting torch mechanics were using, a fire investigator said. Employees of Greenbrier Service Center & U-Haul off East Rio Road were working on a Toyota's exhaust pipe when someone smelled gas fumes, said Garry Hicks, who owns the business. "I was in the office when these boys started hollering," Hicks said Monday afternoon, as he stood watching firefighters finish extinguishing the blaze. "It just ignited around the floor," he added. "By the time we grabbed fire extinguishers and started hitting it, it ran right up the wall." Hicks pointed toward a damaged Sprint van in one of the building's three bays and said: "That van's history." The fire also blew out some of the bay windows, he said. Hicks said the fire caused between $50,000 and $60,000 in damage to the building and equipment. That figure does not include the van. He added that the building is insured. No one was injured in the fire. Firefighters received the emergency call at about 1:20 p.m. and arrived on scene in about two minutes, said James F. Barber, county fire investigator. Firefighters from Charlottesville, Earlysville and Seminole Trail departments responded, as did county Fire-Rescue personnel. Hicks said he has done business in the area since 1981 and never experienced an accident like Monday's. "I've never had this happen," he said. "Not in 21 years of business."

Fire damages Union-Tribune pressroom; no delays seen
UNION-TRIBUNE and SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
MISSION VALLEY – Monday's San Diego Union-Tribune will be delivered on time, despite a fire in one of the printing presses that prompted a one-hour evacuation of the building Sunday morning, a newspaper editor said. The fire in one of four presses that prints the daily newspaper sent smoke spewing through the Union-Tribune building's third floor about 11:30 a.m. The fire at 350 Camino de la Reina was contained within 20 minutes by cascades of water from the building's fire prevention sprinkler system, a San Diego fire dispatcher said. Workers continued to mop up the water in the printing press room this afternoon, said Leslie Wolf Branscomb, Sunday metro editor for the Union-Tribune. "One of our printing presses went up in flames, but we still have three presses in operation," Branscomb said. "The Monday paper isn't that large and we won't have any delays in delivering it." A Union-Tribune spokesman said in a statement: "Late this morning, a spark from a welder's torch ignited a small fire in the pressroom of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Employees evacuated the pressroom building, and the neighboring administrative building as a precaution, upon the start of the sprinkler system. All employees exited both buildings safely; there were no injuries. "Firefighters, who were alerted by the building's alarm system, contained and doused the fire. There was some water damage to press paper and one press machine. We will increase the volume on our other presses to ensure timely delivery of tomorrow's newspaper."

UPDATE, Worker dies from injuries after being burned from explosion
BLOOMINGTON - A 39-year-old Bloomington man died late Thursday from burns he suffered the day before in an explosion, San Bernardino County Supervising Deputy Coroner Randy Emon said. Authorities say Earl Bennett was using an arc welder on a diesel tank at his business in the 9600 block of Larch Street when the tank exploded about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday. Bennett was taken by ambulance to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where he was admitted with third-degree burns over 70 per cent of his body. He was pronounced dead at 11:59 p.m. Thursday night, Emon said. The San Bernardino County Fire Department is investigating the incident.

Capital school destroyed in massive blaze 
By BRIAN FERGUSON and MARK SMITH 
A HUGE fire destroyed a school which was to house 60 problem pupils in a blaze believed to have been started by sparks from a workman’s tools. One firefighter was injured by falling masonry as he helped tackle the blaze at the former North Merchiston Primary building yesterday. The building was being demolished today as a result of damage caused by the fire, which took place as workmen were carrying out a £1.9m refit to create a special school for troubled teenagers. The blaze sent flames shooting 40ft into the air and smoke billowing across the surrounding area creating chaos in the Polwarth and Merchiston areas. The roads surrounding the building remained closed this morning as the demolition got underway. More than 35 firefighters worked into the night to tackle the fire which was initially so fierce that they could not enter the building on West Bryson Road. Several residents had to be evacuated and more than 100 onlookers had to be kept well clear of the building by police officers after the blaze took hld around 3pm. An official investigation is underway, but it is thought the blaze was caused by a workman using an angle grinder, which was letting off sparks. Workers preparing the site for former pupils from Canonmills and Cairnpark special schools to move in next year fled the scene and raised the alarm after fire took hold in the building’s east wing roof. The new school - which was set to cater for teenagers with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties - had been used for the last three years as an annexe of St Thomas of Aquin’s High, which has just opened a new £14 million building. Cormac Moore, 27, from nearby Watson Crescent, told how heat from the fire left the windows of his flat burning hot. He said: "At the height of the fire there were flames leaping about 40 feet into the air. "The roof caved in at one point as well, sending smoke high into the sky. Although I live about 75 metres from the house, the windows of the house were burning hot. The fire was so intense it was heating up the whole flat. It was like an oven." Three men working on the site were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary suffering from shock. The firefighter taken to the hospital was thought to have suffered injuries to his arms after the roof collapse. He was recovering at home today after being treated at hospital. Police Superintendent Stephen Harvey said: "We got the call just after 3pm and the building was apparently well alight when we got here. "The early indications are that one of the workmen carrying out renovations on the site has been using electrical equipment which was giving off sparks and that’s what caused the fire to start." Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade officer, John Wynn, said six fire engines had been required to tackle the blaze. He added: "There was no danger to any members of the public but because it was such a big fire it was far too dangerous for any firefighters to be in the building so we had to tackle it from the outside. The building was in the process of being developed by the Edinburgh Schools Partnership, as part of a private public finance initiative with Edinburgh City Council. Work has just started in recent weeks. Martin Watson, general manager of the Edinburgh Schools Partnership, said: "All personnel involved in the refurbishment work have been accounted for and no injures have been reported."

Man critically burned while welding a tank
By JOE NELSON, Staff Writer
BL OOMINGTON A man was critically burned over 70 percent of his body Wednesday when his welding torch ignited a flash fire, officials said. Scotty Bennett, 39, of Bloomington was welding a diesel tank at Bennett's Radiator Service in the 9600 block of South Larch Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. when a spark ignited diesel fumes from the tank, said Bob Mendez, a fire investigator for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Bennett was rushed to the Inland Counties Burn Center at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, and was listed in critical condition Wednesday, hospital spokesman Jorge Valencia said. Firefighters were called to the family-owned radiator shop about 2:40 p.m., where they found Bennett laying outside and fellow employees dousing him with water, said Capt. Ken Munsey of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Bennett suffered second and third degree burns from his head to his knees. "His skin was sloughing off, and he had some respiratory compromise,' said Jade Morgan, a county firefighter and paramedic. Joyce Witt, 45, who lives across the street from the shop, said she was inside her house when she heard an explosion. She ran outside and saw Bennett, flames shooting from his body, running out. Then she heard another explosion. "Scotty was running out, in flames,' said Witt, choking back tears. "I ran over there and yelled, 'Scotty,' and he was burning.' Bennett's grandmother, Mildred Bennett, 87, sat with Witt in front of a house across the street from the radiator shop, watching firefighters. Her knee bobbed rapidly under a pink floral dress. Witt clutched her hand. Both worried. Both cried. "Scotty's such a good kid,' Mildred Bennett said. "I'm worried about Scotty.'

UPDATE, WCL ceases cylinder welding
By Barbara Martin
Canadian National Railroad has instructed its employees to cease welding on the type of cylinder involved in last week's explosion until a federal investigation into the incident is complete. Investigators were on the scene of Wisconsin Central Ltd. shop known as "round house" at 2201 Monroe St. immediately after the Sept. 19 explosion that killed 44-year-old Kerry C. Lutz of Stevens Point and injured 34-year-old James Williams, 4101 Hoover Ave., Apt. 4, , said Jack Burke, railroad spokesman. Williams has been released from St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, where he was transferred after being treated at St. Michael's Hospital. Williams said Thursday his facial injuries include some missing teeth and broken bones. Investigators shipped items involved in the explosion, including a cylinder, to a scientific lab for study, Burke said. "It will be thorough," Burke said of the investigation. Lutz and Williams were attempting to weld a broken cylinder when the accident occurred. The cylinder uses air  pressure to tilt the body of rail cars that carry ballast, crushed rock or gravel used between railroad ties, Burke said. The cylinder works off of the train's air system, he said. The company has decided that welding on this type of cylinder should be "halted until we get to the bottom of the incident," Burke said.

Blast rocks biz; Worker survives explosion
By KATIE CHALMERS, STAFF REPORTER
An explosion at a dust-control business shook up residents near Selkirk and sent one worker to hospital. "It was a thunderous boom. I ran out to see what happened," said Grant Jehle, owner of dust-control company Fort Distributors Ltd., at McPhillips Road and Highway 67, about four kilometres southwest of Selkirk. "I made sure my employee was all right. There was a lot of black smoke bellowing up into the air." The worker was cleaning out a tank about 9:45 a.m. yesterday when some residual oil inside ignited, creating an explosion that popped the lid off and sent it flying 200 metres. Flames spread to a nearby machine shop, burning the building to the ground. Nobody was inside the building, which housed welding equipment. The employee was taken to Selkirk and District Hospital with burns and was later transferred to Health Sciences Centre, said Selkirk RCMP Const. Jeff Moyse. The man remained in stable condition late yesterday afternoon. "He's a long-standing employee -- for about 12 years. He's certainly like family to us," said Jehle. "Our thoughts are with him right now." 'Feel the heat' RCMP believe the worker was welding and triggered the blast. "You could feel the heat right across the highway," said Scott Pawluk, a St. Andrews resident who drove by shortly after the explosion. Environment officials and a hazardous material team were on scene to assess any potential environmental dangers. There were five tanks nearby storing a magnesium chloride dust-control chemical, which did not ignite. There were no other injuries, and no nearby residents were evacuated, Moyse said. "We set up a perimeter to make sure there wasn't a problem. It was simply a precaution," he said. Jehle said the dust-control chemicals, which he described as environmentally friendly, presented no real threat. "It is essentially a derivative of sea water," he said. "It's like trying to ignite water." Jehle tried to battle the blaze as it ripped through the machine shop with a tanker on site until the St. Andrews fire department arrived. "I hought two semis collided at the corner," said resident Robert Ebbinghaus. Damage to Jehle's property was still being tallied last night.

Local firefighters battled a blaze for about nine hours, but failed to save a Middlesex Township house Sept. 12. 
The fire was sparked just before 3 p.m. in the basement by a contractor installing a geo-thermal heating system in the Logan Road home owned by Ed Ferree, said Dave Van Atta, Middlesex Township fire chief, adding a blowtorch had ignited some chemicals. "It was purely accidental," he said. Ferree and his wife were home at the time of the fire. All escaped unharmed. A dozen crews from Butler and Allegheny counties worked hard to save the home, but realized it would be a total loss sometime in the early evening, said Van Atta. "It was a hard fought battle," he said. A third alarm was needed to bring enough personnel to the scene, as most volunteers were at work when the fire erupted.

Chicago Store To Reopen After Rooftop Fire
Several propane tanks atop the Carson Pirie Scott department store in the Loop exploded as workers were pouring tar late Monday (9/23/2002) night, sending smoke and flames billowing from the roof but damaging only some offices on the top floor of the historic building before the fire was extinguished. Several offices on the top, 15th floor of the building at 1 S. State St. sustained heavy water infiltration, but the store itself was not damaged and was to open for business as usual at 9:45 a.m., officials said. Explosions lit up the sky, showered the street with flaming debris and caused many residents of the nearby Palmer House Hilton at 17 E. Monroe St. to leave the hotel. For a while this morning, the Chicago Transit Authority halted elevated trains running past the site. Fire Commissioner James Joyce said the fire began around 11:26 p.m. Monday and was under control at 12:43 a.m. today. Its cause remains unknown, though fire officials are calling it an accident. Seven workers were on the roof at the time of the explosions, said Dave Scalf, who identified himself as one of the workers. They were pouring a kettle of tar, he said, when “part of it flashed,” possibly setting off explosions in nearby propane tanks. “There were 11 propane tanks on the roof of the building, and at least five of them have exploded,” said Assistant Deputy Fire Chief Robert Ambos. Firefighters said the fire burned an area 75 feet by 100 feet on the southeast side of the building. As a precaution, the Fire Department sent five ambulances to the scene and called a hazardous material emergency because of the propane tanks. At the height of the explosions, debris fell onto State Street and the blasts broke windows at the nearby Palmer House. Witness Joe Crosthwaite was at street level and said some people thought the building itself was exploding. “It kind of sounded like Fourth of July fireworks,” Crosthwaite said. “It kind of left me deaf a little bit.” A Palmer House security guard, Mark Heflin, said there was no official evacuation of the hotel, but some people left the building. About 200 School of the Art Institute of Chicago students exited their State Street dormitory building, some of them standing in the street in their nightclothes.

Texas man killed in DeRidder welding explosion
The Associated Press 
DERIDDER, La. (AP) - A leaky welding hose caused an explosion which blew out the side of a work trailer outside a fertilizer plant Monday, killing one man and injuring another, police said. Victor Alaminski, 23, of Mexia, Texas, was killed, and another man suffered minor injuries in the explosion outside O'Neal Feeders Supply Inc., DeRidder police said. Both worked for Allen Foster Enterprises, a sub-contractor out of Allen, Texas, and were cutting metal for build grain bins when the explosion blasted out two 3-foot metal doors from a work trailer. The leaking hose was in a door in the trailer next to where Alaminski was working, Detective Kenneth Pine said. One door hit Alaminski. The other hurtled about 100 yards across a field and into woods where it hit a tree about 7 feet from the ground, Pine said. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators cordoned off the accident site; O'Neal Feeders employees were not affected.

UPDATE, Koch fire victim transferred
By: Scott Fitzgerald, Staff Writer 
A Drummond man who suffered second-degree burns to much of his hands in an flash fire at Koch Hydrocarbon plant south of Medford was transferred to Integris Baptist Medical Center's burn center in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Hamm & Phillips Service Co. employee Clifford Johnson, 40, was listed in fair condition, said Damon Gardenhire, center spokesman. Gardenhire reported medical conditions for three men taken to the hospital's burn center on Monday remain unchanged. Each worked for Gonzales Muffler Shop, a welding company in Medford. The men were injured in a flash fire at the plant Monday. Diego Herrera, 33, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 15 to 20 percent of his body and smoke inhalation. He remained in critical condition Tuesday. Christopher Callager, 34, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body and was in serious condition. Hipolito Velasquez, 51, suffered burn injuries and was in serious condition. Koch spokeswoman Mary Beth Jarvis, in Wichita, Kan., said the flash fire that occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Monday in the plant's central area - where raw natural gas is processed to remove impurities - was brief. Jarvis said Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were conducting an investigation. The four men injured in the flash fire were contract employees and were working on a vessel pipe connector that was out-of-service. How the fire ignited still was being determined Tuesday, Jarvis said. Spokesman Jim Palmer of Oklahoma Corporation Commission said officials with the state regulatory agency determined the commission did not have jurisdiction to conduct an investigation because the fire occurred somewhere in the processing stage. "We have jurisdiction over gas storage sites and where there is an injection of (salt) brine, for example. We will, of course, be interested in the results," Palmer said. Palmer said he talked with Koch plant manager Randy Kooiman on Tuesday and Koch officials determined the injured men were working on a gasoline treating vessel with a hot oiler, which shoots hot water to break wax buildup. Propane was being used in the maintenance job, Palmer said. Kooiman declined to comment and referred all inquiries to Jarvis.

Fire strikes Enka plant
By Jennifer Brevorka
ENKA - Workers dismantling machinery at the BASF plant ignited a fire Tuesday in an area no longer in use. No one was hurt in the fire, which began about 10:35 a.m. in the cooling plant. Workers with welding torches accidentally dropped a hot piece of metal onto rotting wood. The timber quickly caught fire and workers were unable to extinguish the blaze with nearby fire extinguishers, said Kelley Webb, assistant fire marshal for the Asheville Fire Department. The Asheville Fire Department, Enka-Candler Fire Department, Skyland Fire Department, regional response hazardous materials team, area police and the Buncombe County Arson Task Force were called to the structure fire, Webb said. BASF is a tenant at the textile facility owned by Colbond Inc., site manager Rick Roberson said. The water tower is near the facility's power plant and between several buildings. "The cooling tower that was set on fire is no longer in use, and is actually being demolished," Roberson said. "Thankfully, fire crews responded quickly and the blaze did not spread to other working parts of the plant." The fire was contained within 20 minutes and no workers were forced to evacuate, Webb said. But, investigators were concerned about hazardous materials located near the cooling tower. "There were trucks with the chemical caprolactam located nearby the cooling tower that was on fire," Webb said. "Our first concern was that the chemical was actually in the plant, but it turned out since the tower was no longer in use, the caprolactam were not inside where the blaze was located." Although the structure fire did not involve hazardous materials, fire crews still underwent a decontamination process after they extinguished the fire to ensure their safety, Webb said.

Welding fire destroys shed, bus 
By BETH IPSEN, Staff Writer
A fire that started when sparks from a welding torch ignited foam insulation destroyed a work shed and gutted a bus in South Fairbanks Friday afternoon. Larry Dickman said he was welding something right outside the shop's door when sparks started the fire shortly before 1 p.m. Since he didn't know the property was located within the University Fire Department's fire service area, he didn't call 911. The property is on the fringe of the fire service area. John Sawicki and Mike Herrman, who were working at businesses nearby, said they spotted the smoke and called 911. Sawicki drove to the gravel airstrip located off Tibor Street south of Van Horn Road and saw the shed on fire. He drove back to Great Northwest Inc. on Van Horn Road, called 911 and returned with a 2,500 gallon Hydro-seeder tank full of water and started hosing down the fire, which had spread through the shed and was licking two fuel tanks there. "I tried to keep the fire from catching the fuel tank on fire," Sawicki said. Meanwhile, the flames jumped to a bus parked nearby. An earlier call to the fire department might have kept that from happening, Herrman said. "If he had the truck here earlier, he would have saved the bus," Herrman said. Dickman said he bought the bus two years ago and was equipping it with the idea of using it as a recreational vehicle, but Friday's fire changed his mind for him. Firefighters did arrive in time to move Dickman's airplane as smoke and flames threatened it. The fire gutted the bus, leveled the 24-foot by 14-foot shed Dickman has worked out of for the past three years and destroyed his tools. The two fuel tanks remained intact. University firefighters worked for about 30 minutes to put out the fire while thick, dark smoke billowed out of the bus and from nearby tires. Amid the smoke, a small plane landed and another took off from the airstrip near where the shed was located. Dickman, who watched firefighters from his truck, didn't have an estimated value of what was lost in the fire. He does not own the property.

Investigators seek cause of explosion; One dies, one hurt in railroad yard
By Barbara Martin Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
STEVENS POINT - Federal officials are investigating an explosion that killed one Stevens Point man and injured another at the Canadian National Railroad yard Thursday. The accident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. in a roundhouse in the Stevens Point yard, where the workers were making repairs to rail cars. According to the Stevens Point Police Department, the men were attempting to weld a broken air cylinder when the accident occurred. Kerry C. Lutz, 44, of Stevens Point was pronounced dead at the scene. Another employee, 34-year-old James Williams of Stevens Point was treated for head and facial injuries and taken to St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point. He later was transferred to Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. A hospital spokesman would not reveal his condition. The railroad shops were closed immediately following the accident, said Jack Burke, a Chicago-based spokesman with the Canadian National Railroad. Counselors were on hand to help employees deal with their shock and grief, he said. The Stevens Point facility employs 47 workers, who staff the facility 24 hours a day, he said. Such accidents are uncommon in the railroad industry, Burke said. It had been more than a year since there was an accident with injuries at the Stevens Point facility, and this was the first fatality for the company this year, Burke said. The railroad has operations across Canada and in 15 U.S. states, has 18,000 miles of track and employs 22,000 workers, he said. Emergency crews arriving on the scene found no evidence of fire, said Capt. John Zinda of the Stevens Point Fire Department. Williams was able to walk when paramedics arrived, he said. No one witnessed the accident, and the investigation continues, authorities said. The police department contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate. The Federal Railroad Administration likely will investigate, Burke said. "In any sort of accident, we have more motivation than anybody to get to the bottom of it" and to ensure that future accidents are avoided, Burke said.

Welder at quarry likely electrocuted
Mine inspectors are investigating the death of the 43-year-old man at Plaza Materials in Zephyrhills. 
By MOLLY MOORHEAD, St. Petersburg Times
ZEPHYRHILLS -- A welder at a Zephyrhills quarry died about 7 p.m. Monday, apparently the victim of electrocution, authorities said. Leon R. Davison, 43, of 2625 Corvilla Drive in Zephyrhills was working on a 20-foot-high platform at Plaza Materials, south of Chancey Road, when co-workers saw sparks fly and heard Davison call out one of their names, according to Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports. Davison's stepfather, Robert Weber of Cape Vincent, N.Y., described Davison as a single father whose life revolved around his 14-year-old daughter, Michelle Lee. "He was pretty wrapped up in his daughter and his job," Weber said Tuesday. Lane Lohmayer, another worker at the quarry, and Donald Thomas, the night shift supervisor, told officials they went to the conveyor belt where Davison had been working Monday evening and found him lying on his back with welding equipment against his chest. Lohmayer told deputies he pulled the equipment away from Davison and found a faint pulse. Lohmayer told authorities that he wnt to call 911, and Thomas remained with Davison, but when he returned, Davison had no pulse. Davison was pronounced dead by paramedics at 7:07 p.m. at the scene. According to the reports, he had two burn marks, one on his chest and one on his back. The burn on Davison's chest matched a metal strap attached to the metal he was lying on, the reports said. He was apparently electrocuted while lying on the decking, the report said. Leroy Ford, a mine inspector with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, went to the scene Monday night. He said the agency, which has jurisdiction because Plaza Materials operates a quarry, is continuing to investigate. Ford said a team of investigators has been brought in from out of state. General manager Dain Williams of Plaza Materials, located at 41150 Yonkers Blvd., declined to comment. Davison moved to Zephyrhills about three years ago from upstate New York, where he grew up. His stepfather said he came to Florida for the mild winters and better job market. Weber said Michelle called Monday night with the news of her father's death. "Michelle is pretty broke up," Weber said. "She's taking it pretty hard. She's going to miss her father." Weber said Michelle is now staying at her mother's in Zephyrhills. In addition to his daughter, Davison is survived by his mother, Alberta Weber, and a sister, Valerie Claflin, 41, of Black River, N.Y. The Webers, who live in Clearwater during the winters, last saw Davison in

April before they returned to New York for the summer.

Barge fire threatens dock 
By Matt Johnson
It started as a tiny puff of smoke. A couple of hours after the last of the welders and metal cutters working for a marine contractor had left for dinner Thursday night, a smouldering fire aboard a barge became a drifting inferno that threatened to burn the Clinton ferry dock. It took a response from all South Whidbey's fire companies, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, the Chief Seattle fireboat, two Washington State Ferries boats and crews, and a plucky little tugboat, which all worked until about midnight to control the blaze that, despite its ferocity, did almost no material damage. At about 7:30 p.m., firefighters from Fire District 3 were called to the site of the fire, a 170-foot barge moored just off Brighton Beach, about a quarter mile away from the Clinton dock. Out of range of the firefighters and their trucks and hoses, the fire grew until the entire barge and another 70-foot barge lashed to it were engulfed in flames. The vessel's loads of creosote-soaked timbers and straw bales burned hot and with an inky black smoke. As more and more firefighters arrived, the blaze became a curiosity for beach residents. But as the last light faded from the evening sky, the fire burned through the barge mooring ropes and set the barges adrift. That's when fire Captain Eldon Baker, who was the duty chief for FD 3 Thursday night, got worried. "We didn't know what was going on at first," he said. Baker and other FD3 firefighters thought they could fight the barge fire by putting a fire truck aboard a ferry and sailing to where the barge was anchored. When the barges broke loose and started drifting down the beach toward the ferry dock, that was no longer an option. "There went Plan A, so we went to Plan B," Baker said. Plan B involved two employees from Manson Construction, which is building the ferry dock, and the company's tugboat, which was stationed at the dock. Baker said the two men, who had little training in operating the tug, maneuvered it close to the burning barges, hooked up a tow rope and started pulling. Though hampered by an incoming tide, unfavorable winds and a close call with the ferry dock, the tug pulled the barges into Saratoga Passage, though not before the barge had drifted close to Brighton Beach homes and forced an evacuation of the area. Over the next hour, fireboats from various agencies converged on the scene to help douse the flames. Also helping were the crews of the two ferryboats on the Clinton-Mukilteo run, which were freed up to help after ferry service was suspended at 8 p.m. Armed with water-pumping facilities and fire- fighting foam aboard the boats, the WSF crews were a crucial part of the firefighting effort. "We were real proud of our crews," said Susan Harris, a spokeswoman for the ferry system. Missing from the response was the Coast Guard. According to FD 3 Special Services Battalion Chief Darin Reid, the guard was engaged in a search and rescue operation at the time and was unable to send a fireboat. The only boat FD3 could use in the operation was a 15-foot inflatable motorboat, which patrolled the area all night in case any firefighters fell overboard. Baker said he was quickly able to determine a potential cause for the blaze. He said welding and cutting aboard the barges earlier in the day probably sparked a small fire that grew after quitting time. The barges, which are used at the dock during the work day, were anchored down the beach in case of fire. Damage to the steel barges was minimal. No other property damaged resulted from the fire, Baker said. The fire and suspension of ferry service did cause traffic to back up substantially in Mukilteo. Harris said that although service resumed at 11:30 p.m., WSF had to keep one boat running beyond its usually quitting time to accommodate the waiting line of drivers. Cleanup of the fire is being done by Manson Construction, according to Baker. Company officials did not answer inquiries about the fire by press time Friday afternoon.

Worker lands on next block in fatal blast
By S.K. BARDWELL, Houston Chronicle
An employee at a grease processing plant was killed Tuesday when a two-story tank he was trying to cool exploded, sending him soaring into the next block. Richard Anton Bajenski, 40, was killed in the accident that occurred just before 9 a.m. at GTM Waste Processing Inc., 6407 Hurst. The company recycles cooking grease. One employee was welding at the bottom of the tank, which was filled with cooking grease. Bajenski was atop the tank applying water to cool the container, said Mark Donovan, senior captain with the Houston Fire Department. A GTM spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon the company had no statement to make about the death. The employee landed in the parking lot at Seatex, 6325 Hurst, where an employee who declined to give his name said workers called 911, but initially had no idea what had happened. The welder working at the bottom of the tank was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital to be treated for shock. The cause of the explosion remained under investigation Tuesday.

Georgia Industrial Fire Contained Quickly
There was plenty of smoke but little damage from a fire Tuesday (9/3/2002) at Chemical Products Corp. on Old Mill Road in Cartersville. The fire was contained 45 minutes after it started with only minor damage to the building, according to CPC Technical Director Jerry Cook. The fire began when a worker switched on a breaker around 3 p.m., generating a spark that ignited a powder stored and processed in the building, Cook said. The fire sent billows of smoke into the air above it. The powder, stored in bags, is processed at the building into a slurry that is used in making paper, Cook said. The slurry is then sold to companies who use it as a catalyst in making paper. The fire started in the control center and ignited several bags of the powder. The result was a thick cloud of smoke that hovered over the building for the rest of the afternoon. Three fire engines from the Bartow County Fire Dept. responded and began dousing the fire.

Small blaze forces evacuation of Federal Building
DAMAGE: Welders working on remodel may have started fire.
Daily News Staff
A small fire late Wednesday afternoon in the Federal Building in downtown Anchorage forced an evacuation of employees and caused about $15,000 in damage, the Anchorage Fire Department said Thursday. The probable cause appeared to be welders working on an extensive remodeling project at the building, on West Seventh Avenue, said Fire Department spokesman Tom Kempton. Investigators found that welding slag, or molten metal, had dripped through a crack along a wall that extended down a few floors onto windows overlooking the central atrium, the agency said. Firefighters arrived at 5:25 p.m. to find the fire between the fourth and fifth floors. There was some charring on the roof and on panels between the walls, Kempton said. "But the fire was not large enough to set off the sprinkler system," he said. "There was a substantial amount of smoke, so they did evacuate the building. Though most employees had left for the day, many remained and had to wait outside the building before they could retrieve their vehicles in the building garage, Kempton said. The ventilation system, which automatically shut off in response to the fire, had to be turned on so the smoke could be vented, he said. Firefighters used a minimum amount of water to douse smoldering plywood and used Visqueen to minimize water damage, Kempton said. The number of employees evacuated and information on what precisely was damaged were unavailable Thursday. Building maintenance workers, employees of the federal General Services Administration that manages the building, would not answer questions. Eight units responded to the fire, including a truck company, a paramedic unit and a battalion chief, Kempton said. No one was injured.

UPDATE, State alleges safety violations in gas explosion
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Gas Energy has been accused of violating three safety rules in a natural gas explosion that injured two contract workers in Kansas City last year. A complaint filed Thursday by state utility regulators seeks permission to take MGE to court, where a judge could fine and penalize the natural gas company. The allegations stem from a Dec. 10 explosion in an underground natural gas pipeline vault -- a space containing pipelines, valves and regulating equipment. The explosion injured two contract workers for Midwest Gunite and Restoration, who were removing concrete forms from the newly installed vault doors. Both workers suffered burns, and one had broken bones. A report released Thursday by staff for the Missouri Public Service Commission concluded that the explosion was caused when an impact wrench ignited natural gas that had leaked into the vault. The gas remained trapped in the vault partly because workers had covered most of the opening with plywood, the report said. Workers had not tested the vault for gas before entering it -- a violation of a state rule requiring gas companies to take steps to reduce the chance of an accidental explosion, the report said. The PSC staff also accused MGE of not providing proper instruction and supervision and to the contract employees -- violating one state rule requiring training and another requiring companies to ensure that contract work meets safety requirements. Missouri Gas Energy serves about 500,000 customers in the Kansas City area and western Missouri, including the city of Neosho. A spokesman for the company said he had not seen the complaint and had no comment. The staff complaint alleging violations is to go before the full Public Service Commission, which would decide whether to refer the case to a circuit court to seek penalties against MGE. Fines could range from $100 to $2,000 for each of the three alleged violations, said Bob Leonberger, who heads the PSC's natural gas pipeline safety program. The case also could be settled before the court, or even before the PSC holds a hearing, he said. In such scenarios, "the operators usually would take measures to train people and make sure this stuff does not happen again," Leonberger said. "We're more interested in safety and making sure this doesn't happen again" than in fining companies. Any fines against utility companies go to the state's public school fund.

Flashback on compressed gas cylinder causes major incident
A major incident resulted from an accident in a Paisley garage when a flashback and fire rendered compressed gas cylinders unstable. A mechanic was injured when one acetylene cylinder caught fire while using cutting equipment. The ensuing major operation to clear a 200 metre exclusion zone surrounding the Underwood Road premises involved the evacuation for over 24 hours of 130 houses, a matter that created an immediate logistical problem for Renfrewshire Council who had to accommodate the displaced persons. Major route train services between Glasgow and Inverclyde/ Ayrshire were suspended as were proceedings at the nearby Paisley Sheriff Court. Road closures affected traffic as far away as the Paisley town centre. According to a Strathclyde Fire Service spokesman: "There was a flashback which is a small explosion involving a leak of the gas coming into contact with the flame and the canister of acetylene caught alight. We are tackling this fire according to established procedure and have requested one of our scientific advisors to attend the scene to assess the situation."

 

Small fire forces evacuation of downtown campus library; Welder's spark ignites insulation in ceiling
BY JIM BISSETT, The Dominion Post
A small fire Tuesday morning at WVU's downtown library complex forced an early checkout of 400 students and staffers. But the flames were quickly contained and no one was hurt during the evacuation. Firefighters believe an errant spark from a welder's torch caused the fire that broke out in a recessed ceiling on the fourth floor of the $37 million, 124,000-square-foot facility that opened in January. Morgantown Fire Lt. Joe Lewis said a Turner Construction crew was working outside, grinding and welding the surface of metal plates outfitted for scaffolding during the bulk of the construction work. The Pittsburgh-based company is the principal contractor for the project. Turner officials weren't immediately available for comment Tuesday. "They were welding when a spark somehow got in between the brick veneer and exterior drywall," Lewis said of the 11 a.m. blaze. "It went into a recessed ceiling on the fourth floor and caught the 1-inch Styrofoam insulation on fire." Lewis praised the work crew for quickly extinguishing the blaze. "I think they had it out in 10 minutes," Lewis said of the crew that dropped its welding torches and picked up fire extinguishers to put out the blaze. "That's a good job. I think we got there at 11:30 and it was out by then. Our job was just to check in the ceilings to make sure it hadn't gotten anywhere else." People were allowed back in the building at 11:40 a.m., around 30 minutes after the fire was discovered. Head access librarian Carroll Wilkinson praised the quick-thinking student who smelled smoke and immediately reported it to the staff. Wilkinson was at her post on the second floor, when the student, whose name she didn't know, came down to tell her. "She said she could smell smoke coming through one of the vents," said Wilkinson, who followed the student up to the fourth floor. "I couldn't see any flames or smoke," Wilkinson said, "but there was a definite smell of smoke in the air. You couldn't miss that." Wilkinson, called WVU's Department of Public Safety, before pulling the alarm that summoned four Morgantown fire trucks, including a ladder truck, to the scene. Student Salwan Mashat was working at a computer when he overheard Wilkinson's conversation. "She was telling somebody she was smelling smoke and that she was going to pull the alarm," said Mashat, a freshman physics major from Morgantown. "The next thing I heard was the alarm and a voice over the loudspeaker telling us to leave. There wasn't a whole lot to it. I guess that's a good thing."

 

Fire Breaks Out At Roosevelt Middle School
A student working on a welding project caused a fire at Oklahoma City's Roosevelt Middle School Monday, investigators said. The fire broke out in the woodshop at the school, located at 3233 S.W. 44th Street. A spark from a student welding on a project apparently got caught in the dust collection system in the woodshop, Maj. Brian Stanaland of the Oklahoma City Fire Department said. "There was a student that was welding in the woodshop working on a project, and they had their dust collection system on that they normally utilize. A spark apparently got caught in the dust collection system that caught the dust collection system on fire," he said. Firefighters were able to put the fire out with few difficulties. Because the fire broke out at about 4 p.m., there were no students in class at the time.

 

UPDATE, Delaware refinery blamed by board for fatal blast
Inspectors said Motiva could have prevented the explosion in which a Bucks man died. Motiva denied wrongdoing.
By Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer
Federal safety inspectors blame the owner of a Delaware City, Del., refinery for a July 2001 tank explosion that killed a Bucks County man and injured eight others. Motiva Enterprises failed to fix holes in the tank of sulfuric acid and ignored its own employees' warnings that the tank needed a thorough inspection, the government investigators said in a report to be issued today. The explosion might have been prevented had Motiva heeded the warnings, including one just three weeks before the blast, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The safety board is to vote on the report today; The Inquirer obtained a copy of the executive summary in advance. It is one of several federal and state investigations into the blast, which killed Jeffrey Davis, 50, a boilermaker and father of five from Fairless Hills. His remains were never found, believed to have been consumed in the 1.1 million gallons of sulfuric acid that spilled from the exploded tank and other nearby tanks that were damaged in the explosion. Motiva, a joint venture of Shell Oil Co. U.S. and Saudi Refining Inc., both of Houston, has denied any negligence or wrongdoing. Motiva officials declined to comment in detail on the case yesterday, citing pending litigation, but said they had acted properly. "We disagree with any characterization that the inspection reports were not acted upon," said Spiros Mantzavinos, a refinery spokesman. "We will carefully review their report and recommendations. Safety and environmental performance is our top priority." In a separate report issued on Monday, a team of company management and union officials suggested that some blame lay with the contractor that was hired to repair catwalks around the tank. That report acknowledged the presence of holes in the tank and the absence of certain safety measures, but it said the contractor's workers were using "arc gouging" torches that Motiva had not authorized and that generated lots of sparks, igniting vapors and causing the tank to lift off the ground. The contractor, Washington Group International, did not return a request for comment yesterday. The chemical-safety board blamed Motiva, saying the company never should have allowed the use of torches - or "hot work" - to occur before inspecting and repairing the tank. "Hot work should not have been authorized," the report states. "Motiva was aware of the condition of the tanks and the fact that they contained flammables." Some of the findings in the board's report had been aired previously. Among the new elements were recommendations to prevent such accidents in the future. The company maintains its sulfuric-acid tanks are not governed by certain U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules. The new report urges OSHA to revise the rules so that there would be no question that Motiva is covered. Had they been followed, the rules would have required Motiva to conduct a safety review before converting the tank from one that held "fresh" sulfuric acid to one that contained "spent" acid, the board found. Spent acid often contains flammable hydrocarbons, which are believed to have been ignited by sparks from the torches. The chemical-safety board also said Motiva failed to install an adequate "inerting" system - which would have pumped in sufficient carbon dioxide to prevent any gases from igniting. The refinery did have an inerting system on the tank that blew up, but it consisted of an ineffective rubber hose, the board found. The safety board does not issue fines or citations or apportion responsibility for accidents. Its mission is to prevent future accidents through investigations. Other investigations into the Motiva explosion have been conducted by OSHA, Delaware officials, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which filed a lawsuit last month seeking damages of more than $55 million. An attorney for Davis' widow, Mary, who has filed a federal suit against Motiva, said he was encouraged by the various findings. "These governmental agencies have come down in the harshest of terms against Motiva," said attorney Thomas R. Kline. "It just speaks volumes as to the character and nature of the misconduct that the various investigating agencies found." Kline said he had not seen the complete report from the chemical-safety board yet but had seen a summary. 

Portsmouth man burned when oil barrel explodes
By Eyewitness News
(Middletown-AP) -- A Portsmouth man was burned over most of his body when an empty oil barrel exploded while he was cutting it open. Joao Silva suffered second-degree burns to 80 percent of his body in the explosion yesterday at Tom's Lawn and Garden. He was using a plasma cutter -- which uses superheated air -- to open the drum. Co-workers pulled off Silva's clothes and used fire extinguishers to put out fires to the store's garage and doorway. Police say the fumes or residual oil in the drum may have been ignited by the cutter, causing the explosion. Silva was listed in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital late yesterday.

 

UPDATE, Fire investigation focuses on area above restaurant
By Roxanne Stites and John Woolfolk, Mercury News
Based on videos, interviews, wind patterns and the charred remains of the Santana Row building, investigators Wednesday zeroed in on where the devastating fire may have started: a 100-square-foot area in the northwest corner above the Chili's restaurant site. Interviews with dozens of construction workers, however, have turned up no more concrete information on the origin of the fire, which is believed to be accidental. Frustrated that no one has stepped forward, the San Jose Fire Department is offering a $5,000 reward for any tip that helps pin down the cause. The workers have been tight-lipped, said San Jose Fire Battalion Chief Greg Spence. ``Maybe because they're afraid to lose their job or be the whistle-blower,'' he said. ``Or maybe it's because they really don't know anything.'' An analyst's report from Wachovia Securities cites a rumor on the construction site that says the fire started from welding work on the vent hood in the Chili's restaurant. The report also said a Webcam monitoring the site backs up the rumor. A Santana Row spokesman Wednesday said the camera was scanning the entire building, taking digital pictures every 15 minutes, but probably captured nothing definitive. Officials with Federal Realty Investment Trust, a Maryland company, have yet to put a cost estimate on the damage to their $500 million retail and housing project. Monday's blaze, the largest in San Jose in at least three decades, consumed much of the six-acre Building 7, which was to have 246 apartments and 36 stores. Steven J. Guttman, Federal Realty's chairman and CEO, said Zurich Insurance adjusters were at the scene and assessing the loss, which would include property and structural damage and the loss of revenue from leases and rental income. ``This is a large loss, and it's complicated,'' Guttman said. Guttman also said the opening date for the complex is up in the air. ``The fire was less than 72 hours ago. We have no timeline,'' he said. With crews still clearing rubble from the building to make it safe enough for inspectors to begin poking around, officials have so far relied on fuzzy images and interviews with a few onlookers to pinpoint the origin of the fire. People working in nearby high-rises told investigators they thought they saw the first flames from the Chili's site, close to a tall chimney stack that stands out against the leveled site. That point of origin makes sense, San Jose fire Capt. Mark Mooney said, because -- with the strong southward wind -- that section couldn't have gotten so charred if the fire hadn't started there. Searching for more evidence, officials also have looked at home videos made by spectators, but Mooney said none has provided any useful evidence. Reactions to the reward from workers at the site were mixed. Some called the amount a joke. Many contractors make that in a few weeks' time. Others said it could flush out more leads. ``It sounds like it's Federal Realty's attempt to have someone else foot the bill,'' said Richard Martin, foreman for HL Heggstad. Martin said his company laid off about 30 of its 40 employees and is holding on to paychecks until workers sign a statement explaining where they were and what they were doing when the fire started. ``I'd be scared to death to come forward,'' said Pat Pearson, a window installer for the project. ``At the same time, you don't want to get caught holding out.'' The law does not obligate people to report a crime or accident, according to a Santa Clara County prosecutor. However, it can be a crime to knowingly give false information about, conceal or help conceal a crime. ``As part of the community, we all feel a moral obligation to help with this serious investigation, but whether it is a legal obligation is another issue,'' said Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu. Fire investigators were expected to do another 40 interviews Wednesday and wrap up their interviews today. Today they will also be able to step onto the concrete slab over the retail level to take their first look at where the fire may have begun. While the investigation continued at Santana Row, city officials toured the fire-ravaged Moorpark apartment and condominium complexes a half-mile away that were set ablaze by flying embers, leaving more than 130 people homeless. Councilman Ken Yeager, who represents the area and led the entourage, said he wanted to understand the situation before a 7 p.m. community meeting today in the Monroe Middle School cafeteria. ``You really see how devastating it is,'' Yeager said. ``It's very poignant seeing all the kids' toys. These were families with hopes and dreams. I feel more responsibility to the people who are suffering to make sure the city provides all the resources it can.'' Stephen Haase, director of planning, building and code enforcement, said no violations of building standards have been found at either Santana Row or the apartments and condominiums. The apartments will have to meet updated codes when they are rebuilt. But Haase said the city will expedite the permit process and that the ruined dwellings could be reoccupied as fast as their owners can rebuild them, perhaps in as few as four months. ``It will be a priority,'' Haase said. Although some burned-out tenants have complained that firefighters took too long to respond to Moorpark, a representative of the apartment owners and a neighboring resident both praised the firefighters during the walk-through. ``The firefighters not only made sure the fire was out and saved other buildings, they covered belongings and probably saved a majority of the tenants' property,'' said Alan Virchow, a representative of the Moorpark Garden owners. Lisa Russell, who lives in a neighboring complex that was untouched by the fire, stopped by to thank firefighters for their efforts. ``They were out here and they were perfect,'' she said. The fire department is compiling a report that will detail its response to the fires, including when each of the 45 trucks arrived at Santana Row and in the Moorpark area. Results are expected next week, but officials may share some information with Moorpark residents tonight. As part of the Santana Row cleanup, the last of the 17 vehicles in the parking levels were towed. Some of them escaped without a scratch, others were damaged by heat and water. Those in the basement sat in four feet of water. Before towing those vehicles, city crews pumped 1.2 million gallons of water into the sewer system, according to a supervisor with the city's environmental services department. Officials suspected the water was polluted from the firefight and vehicle fluids, but test samples were not back. City crews also tested the creeks where millions of gallons of water drained, but said that while they saw patches of black ash, fish and insects were still thriving.

 

TACOMA: Atlas Foundry fire blamed on late-night welding work 
Sean Robinson; The News Tribune 
Fire investigators tentatively blamed late-night welding for a two-alarm fire that caused $850,000 in damage to a maintenance shop at Tacoma's Atlas Foundry Sunday morning. No injuries were reported. Firefighters responded to the blaze at 5:10 a.m. at the foundry at 3021 S. Wilkeson St. After the fire was contained, investigators learned that workers were welding late Saturday. "It looks as though to the investigator that welding is suspected in the cause of this fire," said Tacoma Fire Department spokesman Gary Schiesz. There were no signs the fire was set intentionally, he added. Schiesz said damages were estimated at $250,000 to the maintenance shed and $600,000 to its contents, which included a forklift and other industrial equipment.

 

Fire forces many to flee apartments
By Kenneth Lim, Staff Writer 
Boca Raton · Many of the residents standing outside Building C of the Casa Del Rio apartment complex only realized that they had to evacuate their homes when fire trucks arrived Monday evening. "I was watching TV, then I saw the trucks outside and when I opened my door the entire hallway was filled with smoke," said Mary Lohbauer, who ran out, leaving her cats in the house. A fire behind a bathroom wall filled the top floor of the three-story building with heavy smoke at about 7:20 p.m., forcing firefighters to evacuate the building. The fire was extinguished about an hour after firefighters arrived, said Boca Raton Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Frank Montilli. Nobody was injured and damage estimates were not yet available Monday night. The occupants of 15 apartments could not return to their homes and turned to the Red Cross for help. As a fan blew smoke out of the hallways, firefighters used a heat sensor to locate the source of the fire, and had to knock down a wall to locate it, Montilli said. Initial inspections showed soldering work on a bathroom pipe on the third floor may have started a fire in the insulation behind the wall, Montilli said. Lohbauer and other residents from the building said they were lucky somebody called the firefighters, who received the 911 call before they were notified by the alarm company. Casa Del Rio's apartment buildings are more than 20 years old and have fire alarms that must be manually switched on, said Mary Lewis, a member of the homeowner's association. The smoke detectors turn on automatically, but they make a beeping that Lewis said was not loud enough. The building is not violating any building fire codes, though. Montilli explained that the latest fire prevention systems can be very expensive and older buildings are often "grandfathered" into existing guidelines. "We'd like every building to have the best fire alarms and sprinklers," Montilli said. "But not every homeowner's association is willing to pay for that." For Suzanne Lohbauer, Mary Lohbauer's daughter and a firefighter in Broward County, that's a price that must be paid. "What if the fire happened in the middle of the night when nobody was awake?" Suzanne Lohbauer asked. About an hour after firefighters arrived, Mary Lohbauer was allowed to enter the building with a firefighter to look for her cats in her third-floor apartment. She came out crying with her hands cupped around her mouth. By 9:30 p.m. she had found only one of her cats. "The place was filled with smoke. If I had more time I could have brought them down with me or let them out into the porch." Kenneth Lim can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 561-243-6624.

 

3 Boiler Workers Burned as Gas Torch Explodes
By Thai Jones, STAFF WRITER
Three workers replacing a boiler and water heater in a Huntington house on Tuesday were seriously burned when an industrial-strength gas torch they were using exploded. Around 4:30 p.m. Gary Wright, 49, of Patchogue was soldering pipes with a MAPP Gas torch in the basement of 23 Woolsey St. when he accidentally dropped it to the ground and the gas canister exploded, Suffolk County police said. Wright suffered severe facial burns and was taken by police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital. Yesterday he remained in the burn unit in satisfactory condition. Two other workers, Celio Livicura, 29, of Patchogue, and Brian Falabella, 26, of Deer Park, were taken by ambulance to Huntington Hospital. Falabella was later transferred to Stony Brook and was in satisfactory condition yesterday, according to Stella Shivers, a hospital spokeswoman. No further information was available about Livicura's condition. The men were employed by Burner King, according to Paul Girolamo, who lives at the house. Girolamo said he hired them to install a new boiler and water heater in the house where he has lived for more than 20 years. A Burner King employee reached by phone at the company's Ronkonkoma office would not comment. Girolamo, 48, a special education teacher at North Shore High School, was outside painting. "I heard a huge explosion and a massive billow of smoke came out of the basement window," he said. Girolamo's wife, Nanette, 48, called 911 on a cell phone while her husband turned the garden hose on the three men. She said the basement was not damaged. MAPP Gas uses an acetylene mixture that burns hotter than propane and is often used by plumbers to "sweat," or join, copper water pipes. Frank Falabella visited his son, Brian, in the hospital on Tuesday night. "His arms were burned and his legs had some burns on them, and a little bit on the lip," Falabella said. "He was a little drowsy. It didn't look like he was in pain." Falabella said some action should be taken. "They should investigate what happened so it doesn't happen to anyone again," he said.

 

Fire damages roof of Menasha paper maker
MENASHA — Firefighters from Menasha and Neenah battled a blaze at Sonoco Products, 69 Washington St., from more than two hours Friday. Capt. Kevin Kloehn of the Menasha Fire Department said the fire was believed to have started around 11 a.m. when sparks from roof replacement work ignited dust from a paper machine in the plant, formerly U.S. Paper. Workers evacuated the building and no one was injured. Firefighters used an aerial ladder to put out hot spots in the roof, where the fire was contained.

 

Fire Scorches Gym Floor at Buena High;
Los Angeles Times, JESSICA BLANCHARD, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Construction work at Buena High School was temporarily halted Thursday morning when a fire broke out in the school's gymnasium. No one was seriously injured in what began as a two-alarm fire in Ventura, though two construction workers were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. Fire officials said no students were present. The blaze, which began about 11:20 a.m., caused an estimated $ 25,000 in damage to the gymnasium's wooden floor. Authorities believe the fire started when hot metal debris from a welding torch ignited combustible construction materials being stored in the gym. One of the construction workers who was treated for smoke inhalation had attempted to extinguish the fire himself, officials said. Firefighters arriving at the scene saw smoke coming from the gymnasium's vents and doors, according to fire officials. Because the gym is a large structure, firefighters upgraded the fire response to two alarms. Five fire engines, one fire truck and four support vehicles were dispatched to the scene. Once inside, fire crews discovered the blaze was concentrated in a small area. They were able to contain the fire in less than 15 minutes, and the second alarm was canceled, said Deputy Fire Marshal Brian Clark, with the Ventura Fire Department. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters began ventilating the gym to clear out the smoke. District Assistant Supt. Joe Richards said construction crews resumed work later in the afternoon. Workers were placing a new roof on the gym and removing solar panels from the existing roof Thursday, he said. The work was part of a $ 9-million renovation and modernization of the school. Richards said the total extent of the damage was not yet known, but that the contractor had assumed responsibility for the fire and would pay for any cleanup and repairs. "We're going to do our best to keep the project on schedule," Richards said.

Blowtorch starts blaze in Batavia; No injuries as apartment fire leaves 29 residents displaced 
By Mike Cetera and Jack Komperda, STAFF WRITERS 
BATAVIA — A maintenance worker making plumbing repairs with a blowtorch inadvertently touched off a fire in a two-story apartment building Wednesday that left more than two dozen people homeless, authorities said. The fire caused extensive damage to the roof and second story of as many as 10 apartment townhomes at Lincoln Court Apartments. Nobody was injured."This scared me. My heart raced," said Gigi Tresnak, a resident in another building in the complex at Route 31 and Union Avenue in Batavia. She called 911 after complex employee Ron Payton yelled for someone to call the fire department about 3:30 p.m. She said she saw him run into the front courtyard, hunched over with a fire extinguisher in hand. "I didn't know how quickly it would spread to the other apartments. So I figured I'd just get out," Tresnak said. "There was nothing that was that important to stay for." Some 100 firefighters from nine area departments battled the blaze for nearly an hour before gaining control. The fire moved quickly between uits, in part because the building was not constructed with fire walls, Batavia Fire Chief Bill Darin said. "It had a very good head start when we got here," he said. Darin did not know the name of the worker who accidentally set the fire while using a blowtorch on copper pipes in a second-floor bathroom. Paper insulation ignited and burned through the plumbing wall, quickly racing into the building's attic. Payton helped others get out of the burning building. "Everybody's accounted for; we went through every apartment," he said as flames reached high above the roof. Zafar Usubov, a Russian immigrant, said his son and wife were in unit 320 where the fire was found. He paced outside frantically as the flames raged on. A friend said the family was worried about losing passports and green cards to the blaze. Twenty-nine people live in the 10-unit building; one unit was vacant, Darin said. It was unclear on Wednesday when residents would be allowed to return to their homes. Much of the significant fire damage was contained to the attic and second floor, though many units suffered water damage throughout. The Fire Department set damage estimates at $750,000 for the building and $100,000 for its contents. While the fire raged on, dozens of onlookers lined the street to watch. Many were neighborhood residents who walked over after smelling smoke; others were people evacuated from nearby buildings in the complex. Gerrold Dentile, who lives in a different building in the complex, woke his wife, grabbed some file folders and walked across the street while flames consumed the townhouse rooftops. "I gotta learn how to diversify," Dentile joked as he flipped through manila documents that contained his military records and other personal documents. "You should have two suitcases packed with things ready to go in case of this." Bethany Ministry Center at the former McWayne School on Wilson Street later was opened as a disaster services center for both Red Cross and Salvation Army volunteers. The volunteer group was expecting man of the displaced residents to make their way to the center for help. The Salvation Army was stationed outside the gymnasium, providing hotdogs, potato chips, cake and drinks to the volunteers and residents most of the evening outside of its mobile canteen. Red Cross volunteer Rod Simon said the group took surveys of what the residents needed and will be providing help for the next couple of days. "We're making sure they have places to stay, food and clothing," Simon said. One of the families at the disaster center was just two apartments down from where the fire was discovered. Linda Ruiz and her boyfriend, Matt Anderson, discovered their home was involved in the fire just as they arrived at the scene. They had only been in the apartment for two weeks and had not yet bought renter's insurance. "We haven't had a chance to think about that," Anderson said. "We just watched it all burn." "We just saw flames coming out of the building," Ashley Scott, Ruiz's daughter, added. "But I didn't gasp though because I ha my lucky bracelet on." When 7-year-old Ashley noticed her pink bicycle sitting on the front porch of their complex, she didn't hesitate to walk over to an officer so she could kindly ask him to retrieve the bike. "I think he got it for me because he liked my manners," Ashley said while waiting for her mom outside the center. And when fire officials finally let residents retrieve belongings from their apartments, Ashley's luck continued to pay off. Anderson and Ruiz were able to retrieve the family's pet goldfish from the first floor. When the two went to check on the pet gerbils in Ashley's second-floor room, where most of the damage took place, they also found the two alive and well. "I think they just had their mouths closed," Ashley said. Fire last struck the complex in 1994, though in a different area. Lincoln Court is made up of several free-standing sets of apartments. Darin said Wednesday's fire was the largest in Batavia in five years.

Two fires Sunday at Toledo mill
By Leslie O'Donnell, Of the News-Times
Two apparently unrelated fires broke out in equipment at the Georgia-Pacific pulp and paper mill in Toledo on Sunday. A fire in the Number 2 paper machine was reported at 6:51 a.m. but had been extinguished by the mill's Plant Emergency Organization team prior to arrival of Toledo Fire Department equipment. A response by Newport Fire Department was canceled. Tom Picciano, communications manager for Toledo pulp and paper operations, said the cause of the fire was not known. He said the fire was smoldering, and resulted in a brief down time for the machine, but no damage. The fire was brought under control at 7 a.m. A fire broke out in the lower "rater" on the Number 1 paper machine at 9:36 p.m. That machinery lowers paper from the machine floor to the shipping floor via a type of unmanned elevator. Picciano said workers were performing maintenance on the rater when sparks from a welder dropped onto hydraulic oil and started a fire underneath it. Again, members of the Plant Emergency Organization extinguished the fire prior to the arrival of the Toledo Fire Department. A Newport fire response was again canceled. Picciano said this fire caused no damage or down time. Calling Toledo Fire whenever a fire occurs at the mill is standard procedure, he added. Noting that the fires were unrelated, he said, "it's an anomaly to have two fires in one day in two separate areas." Meanwhile, all three paper machines are operating at the Toledo mill. "We're pleased with the uptick in business, and hope its a foreteller of the future," Picciano said. "We even have a little backlog on the three machines." The mill shut one of its machines in May 2001. The mill has one machine making corrugating medium, one making linerboard, and one that can be used to make either product. Picciano could not say how long the mill would continue operating all three machines at once, but concluded, "at least for the short term, it feels really good."

Fire investigators called to Topsham 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
TOPSHAM — The State Fire Marshal's Office will be contacted today to look into possible code violations at Grimmel Industries, where scores of firefighters fought a stubborn blaze all Saturday night and most of Sunday. "We're looking into possible violations," Topsham Fire Chief Robert Stiehler said this morning, "things like the amount of material piled in one space, the way materials are transferred into vehicles, things like that." The fire that sent smoke rising so high into the night sky that it could be seen all the way to Lewiston apparently started by accident a few hours after welders stopped working at the metals recycling center Saturday afternoon, the chief said. A two-story pile of old cars, mattresses and other materials caught fire first, Stiehler said. The pile contained not only metal, but insulation from vehicles — vinyl, upholstery, plastics, wood and other substances. "When we arrived, there were flames shooting out. But because the pile was so high, we had trouble getting water below the pile where the fire was," the chief said. That kind of fire, he said, emits thick black smoke that can contain toxins. "We also had explosions from torches, oxygen tanks and flammable gas stored in a shop by the pile," the chief said. The shop stored heavy equipment and was lost in the fire, as were the contents — a forklift, loader, tools and machinery. Stiehler had no estimate of damages this morning. The Topsham department grounded out one of its trucks while trying to pull water from the nearby Androscoggin River, ripping out a heat shield and two oil lines. "There is a concrete ramp by the river for fire trucks to use for refilling," the chief said. "But the ramp is washed out." Workers from Harry Crooker & Sons Inc. of Topsham came to the scene at 3 a.m. Sunday and repaired the truck. But there were other problems. The fire pump located at the site was out of commission Saturday and Sunday after breaking down Friday afternoon, Stiehler said. Scores of units from as far away as Falmouth and Boothbay responded to the fire with pumpers. "It was quite impressive to see the caravan of tankers coming from Falmouth, Gardiner, Boothbay, Turner and all places in-between," Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said Sunday. Grimmel is located at the former Pejepscot Paper Co. mill about one-half mile off Route 196 in Topsham, near the Lisbon Falls line. "It was a two-to-three-story pile of scrap metal," McCausland said. "The place brings in all kinds of old cars, junk metal. It's trucked in from different places, and to best of my knowledge, it's recycled to other places." McCausland said the old mill, where paper was manufactured in the Pejepscot section of town, was sold at auction several years ago and taken over by Grimmel. "That's the second fire they've had up there in the past four years," McCausland said. Stiehler said the center takes junk cars, mattresses and other metal items, then disassembles them for distribution. The metal scrap goes out of state for other use, he said, while the insulation, vinyl and foam rubber are converted to fuel, again outside Maine. "The cars and other metal are crushed and shredded and the other materials are removed," the chief said. But, he said, there are questions today about fire hazards and other violations at the site. Firefighters were called to the metal center at 7 p.m. Flames were shooting into the air when firefighters arrived. But the incessant smoke was the real problem, the chief said, because of the vast amount of flammable components from junked cars. The smoke had no effect on nearby businesses or residents of Topsham, the chief said. "That kind of fire, and with the weather conditions, the smoke went straight up into the air," he said. Firemen tapped down the fire by 2 p.m. Sunday, then went back around 7 p.m. to take care of a spot that flared up again.

Herrin's bowling alley burns in blaze
By John H. Croessman, Managing Editor
The owners of the Herrin Bowl were enjoying the first day of a cruise near St. Thomas Island as their livelihood went up in flames and smoke Monday night. The Herrin Bowl--built 43 years ago--and the place where current owner Tim LaBotte proposed to his bride 19 years ago, was destroyed in the 7:30 p.m. blaze, seen for miles. The couple has owned the bowling alley for five years and was making a success of it. An Illinois Fire Marshal's Office investigator was at the scene at 10 a.m. this morning trying to determine the exact cause. The fire started on the roof and workers who had been working on the building tried to put out the blaze themselves. The investigation seems to center on two things: Use of a blow torch to make some rooftop connections and air conditioning units. Energy Fire Chief Andy Barclay was with an investigator this morning and could not comment as their work was beginning, but workers who returned to the scene said it appeared that the fire began on the roof of a new game room addition to the popular recreation center. That new addition was still under construction. One of the workers was seen using a blow torch and investigators now theorize that the flame from the torch may have ignited tar and rubber on the roof. This morning, small fires continued to break out among the charred timbers inside the building. The roof system was completely burned and collapsed into the grand old bowling alley itself. The owners had gone on their cruise while the bowling alley was shut down for the remodeling. Firemen from Energy, Herrin, Marion, Carterville, Carbondale, Colp and Murphysboro all responded to the fire. No one was injured although one fireman was taken to Herrin Hospital for heat exhaustion. He was examined and released.

Welder's tanks catch fire in city
JIM KINNEY, The Saratogian August 06, 2002 
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A welder's tanks of acetylene and oxygen caught fire Monday morning at the future site of a Jewish boarding school between Excelsior Avenue and Route 50. Firefighters were able to get the oxygen tank out but let the acetylene tank burn itself out over about half an hour. ''There is no danger of explosion,'' Fire Capt. Robert Williams said as he watched a foot-high flame send a plume of smoke into the air. ''The pressure is down pretty far now. There was a danger when we first got here, though.'' Williams said no one was injured. Firefighters kept Veterans Way closed for 45 minutes. Williams said he didn't know exactly how the fire started, except that the valves on top of the tanks malfunctioned. The tanks were about 30 feet off the ground on a scissors-type hydraulic scaffolding lift.

Fire rages through Indian ship; at least one dead, 11 wounded 
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - At least one crew member of an Indian ship was killed and 11 others suffered severe burn injuries after the vessel caught fire at Colombo's main port Tuesday, said port officials and a hospital director. The ship, M.V. Rajendra Prasad, belonging to India's state-run Food Corporation of India and registered in the western port of Bombay, was docked for repair when it caught fire, said a port official speaking on condition of anonymity. There were a total of 16 crew members on board when the blaze started, but four were missing when a rescue team boarded the vessel. They managed to find 12 men who were all Indians. One of them later died, and rescue workers were searching for the four missing crew members. The wounded were admitted to Colombo National Hospital where three were in serious condition, said Hector Weerasinghe, the hospital director. The fire was caused by sparks from welding machines, the official said. Indian ships regularly stop at Colombo. It was not immediately known what merchandise the ship had carried before it was docked for repair but it is likely that it had carried wheat.

Downtown fire causes falling glass
By BILL TEETER, Star-Telegram Staff Writer 
FORT WORTH - A fire started by a worker's blowtorch at the top of downtown's 40-story Carter Burgess Plaza sent glass falling onto Main Street and created traffic backups Monday evening. No injuries were reported from the fire that burned mainly in a crawl space above the Petroleum Club, which occupies the top two floors, Lt. Kent Worley, a fire department spokesman, said. Smoke and water caused some damage to the club, which is closed on Mondays, he said. No damage estimate was available, he said. "A passer-by called the Fire Department after seeing glass falling and looking up and seeing smoke on the upper floors," Worley said.

Homes Under Construction Burn To The Ground
Several new homes under construction were burned to the ground Tuesday, but firefighters are being credited with preventing the fire from spreading to more homes. The fire happened at a construction site on Harston Way and Don Julio Boulevard in Antelope. The two-alarm fire broke out just after 7 a.m. It quickly destroyed three homes in the framing stages. Several other homes suffered some fire damage. Firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes and were able to knock down the flames. Arson investigators said that it appears the fire was accidental, sparked by a plumber working in one of the houses. The damage is estimated at $900,000.

19 lives lost as fires rage through SA
A clothing shop in central Johannesburg caught fire on Tuesday but the blaze was extinguished shortly afterwards, emergency services spokesman Malcolm Midgley said. He said the shop in Jeppe Street caught fire while workers were welding a security gate. The sparks resulting from the welding apparently caused the blaze. The damage to the shop was minor and nobody was injured. Midgley said this was the third fire caused by welding in three weeks.

UPDATE, Fire chief: Welder's spark caused mill feed blaze 
Van Ben Bosch president says business will continue despite temporary layoffs 
By NATE REENS and CYNTHIA J. DRAKE, Staff writers 
A spark from a welder installing a handrail ignited the flames which ripped through and destroyed the John A. Van Den Bosch feed mill in Zeeland on Monday, Fire Chief Bill Gruppen said. The plant sustained $3.5 million in damages from the fire which started near a bird seed mixing machine, but despite the near total loss of the 509 E. Washington Ave. facility, company President Dave Van Den Bosch said business will continue. Van Den Bosch said the company is temporarily laying off seven of 34 full-time and four of five part-time workers until it can get back on its feet again. "It may be for a week, it may be for a year, it's hard to tell," Van Den Bosch said. "We may be able to bring them back faster than we thought because things are rolling pretty good." Even so, it could take a year to rebuild the mill, he said. "There's no question in the short term we're going to be taking a little bit of a hit," he said of the company's losses. "We're going to try to minimize that." Although the fire leveled the feed mill's on-site warehouse, manufacturing center and a trucking bay, trucks of pet food and supplies were being loaded at the company's second warehouse by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Van Den Bosch has a second warehouse at 640 E. Washington Ave. Van Den Bosch uses the 40,000-square-foot warehouse for receiving products the company doesn't make, like certain brands of pet food and pet accessories, some of which make up the company's largest customer base. Two trucks of those products went out to customers Wednesday, with another four truck shipments planned for today. Five truck shipments per day are typical. "Some regular Tuesday customers only missed a day," Van Den Bosch said. The bird food and other animal feed that Van Den Bosch makes will be produced off-site until the mill can be rebuilt, he said. Gruppen said Wednesday interviews with employees who discovered the fire and with those who helped battle the flames before firefighters arrived allowed him to arrive at the source of the fire. "It's been determined that the fire was accidental and that sparks jumped and ignited the burnable materials which included dust and wood," Gruppen said. "That happens when you're welding around flammable materials." Gruppen said smoke was pouring into the sky and flames were ripping through the feed mill's roof when fire personnel arrived shortly after 3 p.m. Monday. Eight fire departments helped contain the fire, fanning flames by 6 p.m. that night, but Zeeland firefighters continued to battle smoke, lingering fires and hot spots through 9 p.m. Tuesday, Gruppen said. Gruppen said he did not enter the building to try determine the course of the fire spreading. He said demolition crews were tearing the structure down, making it a dangerous scene. "It is in such shambles that I don't think anything can be pieced together exactly," the fire chief said. "With the construction of the building and the dust, it went fast. It was unnoticed for a short while." Gruppen said he couldn't say how long the fire burned before it was discovered by an employee who saw smoke and followed it to the flames.

Workers may face new fire laws; Crew started blaze while cutting rebar, Garfield sheriff says
By Joe Garner, Rocky Mountain News
EL JEBEL - Workmen suspected of causing a blaze that destroyed homes in the Roaring Fork Valley may be the first to face charges under Colorado's tough, new wildfire laws. Seven members of a crew employed by Mendoza Concrete in Carbondale are wanted for questioning in connection with Wedneday's start of a wildfire that forced the evacuation of about 200 homes, Garfield County Sheriff Tom Dalessandri said Thursday."We're trying to locate and interview them," the sheriff said. The company did not return calls for comment. The Panorama Fire, named for the Panorama Estates subdivision, was declared 95 percent contained about 5 p.m. Thursday. Evacuees were allowed to return to their homes, but authorities told them some would be without utilities or 911 emergency telephone services. "We've been really fortunate in fighting this fire," said incident commander Barry Smith. "We're winding everything down." Full containment is expected today, he said. Dalessandri said the new laws, which the legislature passed last moth in a special session during this dangerous summer of fires, might come into play if one or more of the workmen are charged. The laws strengthen both civil and criminal penalties for people found guilty of starting wildfires. People who deliberately start fires could spend up to 16 years in prison and be fined $750,000. A civil lawsuit against anyone responsible for a wildfire could force the person to pay triple damages. Dalessandri said investigators believe workers set the fire while cutting rebar about three miles north of El Jebel. "It falls under the category of arson," he said. "It's deliberate indifference." The concrete company has been "reasonably" cooperative, the sheriff said. "They haven't refused to talk to us, but they haven't been completely forthcoming, either." The wildfire destroyed three homes, including a tepee, said Kim Andree, fire spokeswoman. Two outbuildings, a boat and a trailer also were destroyed and two other homes were damaged, she said. The fire started in Garfield County and burned into adjoining subdivisions in Eagle County. The evacuation order for all homeowners was lifted about 5 p.m. Thursday. "I stayed up all (Wednesday) night, and I flew back this morning. I can't wait to get my dogs out," said Cindy Denton. She had left her pets Jesse and Penny in the care of neighbors while visiting in Ohio. The sheriff said investigators are "trying to expedite this because of community interest in the situation." Nevertheless, locating the workmen and interviewing them may require several days, he said. One or several of the workers could be charged with fourth-degree arson, a felony, he said. District Attorney Mac Myers said he had not been advised when to expect a report from investigators. "If they think someone is culpable, I'm sure they will send us a report soon," Myers said. "I think this fire ban needs to be taken seriously. You just need to look out your front door to see what effect the fire has."

Worthington: Three Killed In Accidents Wednesday 
Two teenage girls were killed and another seriously injured in an automobile accident near the town of Linsmore outside this southwest Minnesota city Wednesday afternoon, while a worker was killed in an accident on the job at about the same time not far away, the Worthington Daily Globe reported. The teens were killed in a rollover accident, and the worker was killed when he was apparently struck by a rim when a tire exploded while he was welding, the newspaper said.

Garage destroyed by fire
Pueblo firefighters work to cool hot spots on a garage at 27th and Arlington streets after a fire Friday afternoon destroyed the garage, several vehicles, a boat and scorched the rear of a nearby home . Assistant Fire Chief John Emory said the fire was started accidently when the resident was working with a cutting torch and caught a car's upholstery on fire. Emory estimated the loss to be about $70,000.

Colo elevator fire contained to one bin
Cecilia Dutton, Staff writer July 18, 2002 
Safety precautions are second nature in agriculture operations, but accidents do happen. Such is the case in a fire at the Farmers Cooperative Exchange elevator in Colo last week. Hot slag from welding work fell into a full corn bin Monday, July 1, during mechanical maintenance work on the top of the concrete elevator. Larry Stayner, Farmers Co-op general manager, said all safety precautions were taken during the maintenance, but some material found its way into the corn. The fire smoldered until noticed the next afternoon, when smoke was noticed at the top of the elevator and coming out through an exit at ground level. Firefighters received the call at 1 p.m., but Chief Mark Farren said it was 5 p.m. before they were able to put water on the corn. Hoses had to be pulled to the 150-foot height. Farren said dousing the corn was not an effective option because the water would not reach the core area, but instead be diverted by impeding corn. The bin was gradually emptied; the 21,000 bushels of corn were taken to a ground storage site on the west side of town. The damaged corn was taken to another location. Stayner estimates 1,000-1,500 bushels had burnt material, but Farren said some may be salvaged for feed corn. The elevator sustained no structural damage. The fire was contained to one of the 20 bins in the elevator. "It turned out a lot better than it could have been," said Farren, pondering the impact if it had not been detected before workers left that afternoon. Colo firefighters and Nevada firefighters stayed on scene until 8 p.m., but Co-op employees worked until early morning hours the next day cleaning up and securing the elevator. Stayner said the co-op was open to accept loads later the same day. The removed grain was restored in the elevator once personnel was assured it was free of smoldering kernels. "We don't want to go through this twice," Stayner said. "We're very thankful we were able to contain it to such a small area this close to harvest," Stayner said. Farmers Coop Exchange owns seven elevators throughout Marshall, Story, Marion and Jasper Counties. Stayner he's hasn't seen an incident like this in his 20-plus years with the Coop.

Welding spark ignites fire
By Gretchen Fields, The Hawk Eye 
MOUNT PLEASANT — Two westside businesses were destroyed Wednesday after sparks from a welding torch ignited a parked truck. Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Stewart Kinney said a Boles Towing and Automotive employee was working on a truck parked in the shop when sparks from a welding torch ignited the interior of the truck. Before the fire could be extinguished, it spread to the ceiling and made its way into the attic. The building at 807 W. Washington St. also houses Schrader Used Cars. U.S. 34 becomes Washington Street inside the Mount Pleasant city limits. The building is owned by Kevin Schrader, who also runs the used car dealership. The building was insured. A Pizza Hut west of the dealership was not damaged by the fire. There are no other buildings adjacent to the business. Firefighters were called at 8:27 a.m. Kinney said the fire began to burn out of control once it worked its way into the building's attic. "The ceiling and attic were constructed with wood trusses, so there was really no stopping it once it got up there," he said. Kinney said firefighters were unable to extinguish the fire from the top of the building. "They'd just put a rubber roof on the building a couple years ago and there were about three layers of rubber roofing that melted and made it impossible to attack from above," he said. "There were also several subceilings that more or less extended throughout the entire building." Kinney said a large quantity of paint stored in the building helped fuel the fire. No injuries were reported, but the building and its contents, including at least two vehicles and two personal watercraft, were declared a total loss. Kay Schrader, Kevin Schra–der's wife, said her husband was able to save all the vehicles parked on the business's lot. "Everything inside was lost, though," she said. "Everything you need to run a business — computers, tools, files — is just gone. Kevin's been in business here for 20 years and that's what hurt him." Kay Schrader believed the assessed value of the building was about $150,000. "I guess now we just wait and see what the insurance will take care of," she said. Nearly all of Mount Pleasant's volunteer firefighting squad worked about four hours to squelch the blaze and ensuing hot spots. Traffic in front of the business was rerouted for 3 1/2 hours. By noon, Mount Pleasant police opened two lanes of traffic, and all four lanes were open by 12:30 p.m.

6 workers hospitalized after sewer blast; Men were conducting routine pipe inspection when gases were ignited 
By Julie Bykowicz, Sun Staff
Two Anne Arundel County public works employees were badly burned and four others were also hospitalized Tuesday afternoon when something triggered an underground sewer explosion in the northern part of the county. The men were working inside the system, near the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. facilities in the wooded area between Solley Road and Fort Smallwood Road, when a flash fire ignited about 1:30 p.m., said Capt. Robert Rose, a spokesman for the county Fire Department. Public works spokeswoman Pam Jordon said power tools may have ignited a normal buildup of gases in an underground "vault" that provides access to pipes. County and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health officials were investigating the accident, Jordon said. Frank Weilman Jr., 43, of Pasadena and Tom Lange, 42, of Glen Burnie sustained second-degree burns to the chest, face and arms, Rose said. They were airlifted to John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where Weilman was listed in critical condition and Lange was in fair condition Tuesday night. Public works employees Steve Dary of Glen Burnie, Larry Kiessling of Severn, Mark Bois of Pasadena and Byron Belcher of the Eastern Shore were also transported to the hospital's burn center by ambulance, Rose said. All four men, whose ages were unavailable, were listed in fair condition Tuesday night. One public works official called the blast "minor" because no one was killed and the sewer system did not appear to be structurally damaged. "I've worked here since 1977, and I've never seen this occur," said Paul Lesher, a regional manager for the county public works department. "But I have heard of it happening in many other places." About a dozen county public works employees were preparing a force main as part of a routine sewage pipeline inspection when something ignited a pocket of gases -- including methane -- normally produced by decomposing waste water, Lesher said. Employees described the incident as a flash fire, Lesher said. Seconds after the blast, one of the men working underground was able to pull himself out, and other employees helped the second man out, he said. Early reports indicated the explosion had occurred at a BGE facility, so numerous BGE employees were at the scene Tuesday. But none of the power lines that run parallel to the sewer lines was damaged, Lesher said. The blast did not affect the county's sewer system, Lesher said, because that line had been closed off for the inspection. The sewage pipes in that area are 36 inches in diameter and about 10 years old, he said.

Painters ignite fire accidentally
Democrat and Chronicle, MAX SCHULTE 
Rochester firefighters work the roof at a fire on Sycamore Street. The fire was accidentally started. Painters using a torch to burn old paint off a Sycamore Street house accidentally ignited the exterior Tuesday, a Rochester fire official said. The result was significant fire and water damage to the home at 59 Sycamore St., but no one was injured, said Rochester Fire Battalion Chief Robert Vallone. The fire started about 4:40 p.m. The painters noticed a smoldering fire and tried to douse it with a garden hose. One of the painters was on scaffolding trying to extinguish the fire when firefighters arrived a short time later. "Don't try to fight the fire yourself," Vallone said. "Call us. Otherwise, it could add to the problem." Firefighters had the fire under control in a few minutes. Two men who were home -- a father and son -- escaped uninjured. They had been renovating the home and recently installed new electrical wiring, Vallone said.

UPDATE, Construction company says it wasn't involved in contract for hangar repair
By Carol Bryant
A Grand Island construction company says it wasn't part of the contract for repair of an airport hangar destroyed in a May 14 fire that caused damages exceeding $10 million. Sentinel Construction, which is a subsidiary of Global Industries of Grand Island, has received claims from insurance companies regarding damages from the blaze. Because of that, Sentinel has filed a lawsuit in Hall County District Court requesting that the construction company not be included as a party in the hangar repair contract to install a new bi-fold door. Sparks from a construction worker's cutting torch caused the three-alarm fire, which destroyed the hangar and two Great Lakes Aviation 19-passenger planes at the Central Nebraska Regional Airport. Great Lakes leased the hangar from the Hall County Airport Authority and used it as a maintenance center. The airport authority and Interstate Structures entered a contract in December 2001 for repair of the hangar. Although Sentinel Construction is mentioned in the contract, only the airport authority and Interstate Structures were involved in the contract, the lawsuit says. Global Industries and Interstate Structures did enter a contract in March 2001 that said Interstate Structures could represent itself as Sentinel Construction. But that relationship was only to apply to cases in which Interstate Structures was selling or constructing steel buildings manufactured by Global Industries or its Sentinel Building Systems division. That wasn't the case in the hangar project, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says that Global Industries and Sentinel Construction had no participation in the project, received no economic benefit from it and had none of its manufactured structures involved in the project.

UPDATE, Refinery owner sued over blast
Federal suits accuse Motiva of negligence in a 2001 explosion in Del. that killed one and injured eight.
By Tom Avril, Inquirer Staff Writer
U.S. and Delaware officials filed federal lawsuits yesterday against refinery owner Motiva Enterprises L.L.C., accusing the company of gross negligence for its role in an explosion last year that killed a Bucks County man, injured eight people, and spilled 1.1 million gallons of sulfuric acid and petroleum products. Officials declined to specify the amount of damages they were seeking, saying that determination was ultimately up to the courts, but the statutory formulas cited in the lawsuit provide for maximum penalties of more than $70 million. The July 17, 2001, incident at the company's Delaware City, Del., refinery has spawned a half-dozen investigations and a Delaware law governing the construction, maintenance and inspection of storage tanks. Jeffrey Davis, 50, a boilermaker and father of five from Fairless Hills, was killed in the explosion and collapse of a 31-foot acid-storage tank. His body was never found;all that remained were pieces of his boots. Davis was among several workers who had been dispatched by a contractor to repair a catwalk encircling the tank. Motiva said the accident was likely sparked by one of the torches the workers were using. Flammable gas that escaped from near the roof of the tank "flashed back" into the tank, causing the explosion, Motiva said. Nearly 100,000 gallons of petroleum products and sulfuric acid, which is used to refine gasoline, spilled into waterways including the Delaware River, according to the complaints. The spill killed at least 2,400 fish and 240 blue crabs, officials said. The lawsuits said Motiva was grossly negligent for failing to inspect and maintain its tanks. The tank that exploded had "a known history of problems including... corrosion, leaks [and] holes...," the federal government's suit said. The two federal complaints were filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmingtonby the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and by the Delaware Department of Justice on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The agencies moved that the two suits be consolidated. An investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration blamed the accident on the company's failure to inspect and maintain the tank that exploded, calling in January for the company to be fined $259,000. Motiva, a joint venture between Shell Oil Co. U.S. and Saudi Refining Inc., both of Houston, said in its own report last month that its inspections and maintenance played no role in the explosion. Company officials declined to discuss specific allegations yesterday, citing the litigation, but said they had been cooperating with the state and federal agencies since the accident. "We have been working with those agencies as late as last week to resolve the issues raised in today's filing," the company said in a statement, adding that it would continue to do so "in an effort to fairly and promptly settle this matter." Lawyers representing the injured workers said their clients were suffering from a host of psychological and physical problems. Davis' widow has filed a federal suit against Motiva, seeking unspecified damages. John Slowinski, a Philadelphia lawyer representing another worker, boilermaker Kenneth Creamer of Levittown, said Creamer was devastated by the accident. Creamer was within 15 to 20 feet of Davis when the accident occurred, the attorney said. "Even now he feels that he somehow could have tried to save Jeff," Slowinski said. The attorney said Creamer was able to help save another coworker, Steven Spera of New Castle, Del., by carrying him from the site.

UPDATE, Motiva fallout lingers a year later; Tragedy spurred a law, but is it too much or not enough?
By JEFF MONTGOMERY, Staff reporter
One year ago, a tank explosion at Motiva Enterprises killed one man, shattered dozens of lives and forced politicians and regulators to confront the problem of unsafe and unregulated storage tanks in Delaware. The July 17 accident triggered a still-growing list of lawsuits, and civil and criminal investigations. The accident that killed boilermaker Jeffrey Davis and spilled more than 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid also accelerated what had been a low-key effort spanning several years to bring state supervision to above-ground tanks holding oil or other hazardous materials. After months of debate and compromise, lawmakers on June 20 passed a bill that supporters said will eventually subject the state's large hazardous chemical tanks to tight regulation. The law has been criticized on both sides. Some environmental groups said too many tanks, such as small oil and chemical tanks, were exempted from most of the regulations. And some industry leaders contend the law was not needed at all, because most companies take care of their tanks as they do not want an accident such as the kind that occurred at Motiva. "This is another example of what happens when you allow industry to write or influence the writing of laws and regulations. They haven't gone far enough," said John Kearney, Delaware director for the Clean Air Council, a national nonprofit group that focuses on pollution and environmental protection issues. Some in the industry said Delaware should have looked closer at existing safety programs. "The major companies aren't flawless, but the regulations that are needed already are in place. It's like selling cigarettes to kids. You don't have to pass a new law to stop it," said Kenneth S. Petro, business development manager for the New Castle office of Chicago Bridge & Iron, the world's largest builder of storage tanks. After the accident at Motiva's refinery near Delaware City, state officials said they lacked authority to question or check the condition of tanks near the refinery's sulfuric acid plant. Sen. David McBride, D-Hawks Nest, prime sponsor of the above-ground tank bill, said he was troubled that the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control could not provide even a basic inventory of tanks in the state, much less information on their condition. The bill will require that many tanks be registered, and will give the state authority to check their condition. The Motiva explosion was not Delaware's first exposure to above-ground tank hazards, or the first attempts at reform: • A neglected tank twice spilled caustic liquid at Motiva just months before the July acid tank explosion. State investigators said the refinery allowed a corroded and leaking valve to go unrepaired for more than a week, then failed to notice when a pump breakdown let spilled chemicals reach Red Lion Creek . • The nearby and now closed Metachem Products plant was forced to remove or empty leaking or dangerous tanks three times in the last three years, all after government intervention. Four other tanks spilled 569,000 gallons of toxic, molten chlorobenzene compounds after a collapse in 1986, leaving pollution that continues to contaminate nearby soil and groundwater. • An underground piping leak at the former Delmarva Power & Light Co. Indian River Power Plant released more than 500,000 gallons of fuel oil into surrounding soils and marsh during the 1990s before it was discovered. The leaking oil polluted more than two acres of soil and groundwater and killed all vegetation along a half-acre of Indian River shoreline. "We did not achieve what we wanted with any of the original drafts" of tank regulations, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said just before signing the law last week. "However, after the fatal accident of July 17 of last year the whole idea of this bill galvanized, and we said we must sit down, we must work it out." Lawmakers included leak-detection and inspection requirements in the new law to prevent incidents like those at Motiva, Metachem and Indian River, said Nicholas Di Pasquale, secretary of Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. "Hopefully, this program will keep companies on the ball," Di Pasquale said. "In difficult economic times, obviously, companies look for ways to cuts costs, and one has to believe that delaying repairs or maintenance is one way to do that." A first step for the state More than 20 states developed tank laws before Delaware acted. The federal government imposed separate controls exclusively for oil tanks in 1990. DNREC has up to two years to write the regulations that will spell out maintenance, inspection and reporting requirements for tank owners. Supporters said Delaware's Jeffrey Davis Above Ground Storage Tank Act has the potential to be among the nation's toughest. Before Minner signed the law, Delaware relied exclusively on federal regulations for direct tank oversight, and those rules covered only large petroleum or oil tanks. The state law extends oversight to smaller oil tanks and tanks holding hazardous chemicals, such as sulfuric acid, toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride and cancer-causing benzene. The law eventually will require the equivalent of seven to eight full-time workers for administration and enforcement. State industry fees collected from tank owners will support the program, and federal and industry standards will guide its rules. In addition to registration and inspection standards, the law requires tank owners to maintain detection systems to prevent hard-to-spot leaks that may last for years. And the law gave DNREC the right to make surprise inspections. Critics, including the Clean Air Council, Common Cause and Delaware Audubon Society, point out that the law's detailed reporting, inspection and leak-detection standards will generally apply only to tanks larger than 12,499 gallons. All three groups pointed out that tanks smaller than 1,100 gallons that hold on-farm chemicals, heating oil or motor oil are exempt from the law but still pose environmental risks. Also exempt from detailed oversight are heating oil, kerosene and diesel fuel tanks of up to 40,000 gallons, the equivalent of a container 20 feet in diameter and 17 feet tall. McBride said the bill is a good first step. "There are other areas that certainly can be addressed," he said, "but I'd like to give it a chance to get started and evaluate where we go from there." Industry will watch In some respects, the law exceeds requirements in Pennsylvania, which enacted a comprehensive tank law in 1989. Pennsylvania acted after a 4 million gallon tank owned by Ashland Petroleum near Pittsburgh split its seams and burst open in 1988. More than 750,000 gallons of oil reached nearby rivers, disrupting drinking water systems serving 2.7 million people in three states. "We found you can't just rely on people to follow industry standards. You have to spell out what you want," said Raymond S. Powers, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection storage tank specialist. "Without our law, we would certainly have had more tank bottoms that were leaking and impacting the environment and groundwater that we wouldn't have known about until it was too late. There's no question." Industry leaders are watching efforts like Delaware's, said Jerry M. Engelhardt, a regulatory and legislative issues consultant with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, a Texas firm that ranks among the nation's largest pipeline operators. "It's a high priority with industry," Englehardt said. "I think people understand that it really is the best economics to do periodic inspections. This is borne out when you look at the possible costs in good will and in public perceptions and actual dollars that a company can incur" for failure. Too much regulation, Englehardt said, can cause as much trouble as too little, forcing companies to spend money on extra reports and, in some cases, requiring added pollution and risks because of needless inspections. Oil and chemical tanks release vapors when they are drained and opened for visual inspections, Englehardt said. Some companies also may have to build tanks to maintain their storage capacity while complying with more frequent inspections. "You want to prioritize and inspect the most vulnerable tanks first," Englehardt said. "If you just say 'one size fits all,' that can inappropriately divert funds from more needy tanks by siphoning them off for tanks that don't need as frequent an inspection." Problems at Motiva As long ago as May 2000, federal regulators reported finding evidence that Motiva was failing to meet even the most-basic safety requirements at its sprawling, 440 million gallon oil tank complex. An Environmental Protection Agency inspection under the 1990 Oil Pollution Control Act found potentially catastrophic deterioration in several federally regulated oil tanks in May 2000. The EPA ordered 18 tanks drained or repaired after inspectors reported that corrosion deterioration posed a "high" risk of catastrophic spills into the Delaware River. One of the tanks rated as an imminent hazard held more than 7 million gallons of oil. DNREC and EPA officials said that Motiva overhauled its refinery-wide tank maintenance budget after the EPA order, postponing work on tanks outside of federal oversight in order to meet the EPA's petroleum tank requirements. One of the tanks chosen for delayed repairs, Tank 393, would eventually be ripped by an explosion and tear off its base, collapsing on its side in flames. Company officials later acknowledged that the tank was leaking, corroded and overdue for inspection. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in January hinted that financial concerns led to the maintenance delay. A $259,000 OSHA penalty order against the company charged Motiva with willfully violating safety standards by putting off an inspection "due to the need for the tank to cover a high inventory of spent sulfuric acid." On July 17, 2001, managers dispatched a five-man boilermaker crew to the refinery's six-tank sulfuric acid storage area to remove and replace steel catwalks. Their permit for "hot work" lacked any warning about the unsafe tank. "I can't imagine a situation where that sort of thing would happen without somebody knowing about it," said Victor Singer, an engineer and chairman of New Castle County's planning commission. Singer argued during debate over the tank bill that Delaware should expand its long-established boiler safety program to cover storage tanks, rather than create a new bureaucracy. The state's Boiler Safety Office sets standards for and regulates tanks and systems under pressure, such as steam boilers. Private industry covers many of the agency's duties under a program that allows state certification of private inspectors. "We don't have a lot of boilers coming apart, so boiler inspectors must be doing something useful," Singer said. Preventing disaster Leonard Friedman, who helped to design the acid complex at Motiva and who now heads Florida-based Acid Engineering International, said Delaware didn't need the law. "They can pass a law and pat themselves on the back and feel good, and some people may be forced to inspect more frequently than they really need," Friedman said. "But the ones that really need to be inspected more frequently, responsible people would have inspected anyway. Nobody wants a catastrophe like what happened at Motiva." Robert L. Ferry, an expert on storage tank and environmental issues who works for a North Carolina consulting firm, cautioned that new state laws may only cloud the picture for industries that for the most part want to operate safely. "There are literally thousands of [regulatory] compliance tasks due each year, a handful of which might be hugely important for protecting life and safety or the environment and the majority of which have little benefit," Ferry said. "At Motiva, it sounds like there were current mechanisms to safeguard against what happened, and they were ignored." Still, state lawmakers and DNREC viewed the refinery as an example of why tank regulation was needed. The administration's original proposal, S.B. 273, was criticized as needlessly broad and burdensome. Industry and farm-lobby groups won support for a more limited substitute they said would focus attention on tanks most likely to pollute. Minner said all sides made concessions to get the final version through the Legislature. "It's our hope that nothing like this ever happens again, that we never have to worry about another dangerous situation like we had at Motiva," Minner said.

Technicians escape fire at NLC

By ChennaiOnline News Service Cuddalore, July 9: Ten technicians, working atop a special mining equipment, ‘Spreader 421’, in Mine 1 of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), had a providential escape after it caught fire yesterday while they were undertaking welding. The technicians jumped to safety from a height of 30 ft onto a sandy bed, NLC works engineer R Kannan said. Kannan said the fire began after some sparks from the welding equipment fell on the cables of Spreader 421. The cable joints, switchboards and operating cabin were completely destroyed, he said. The damage was estimated to be between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore, he said. Later, the chief general manager (Mines) inspected the damaged equipment and ordered an enquiry, Kannan said. (Agencies)

UPDATE, General-alarm fire at Trenton Psychiatric

By TOM BALDWIN & JEAN LEVINE, Staff Writer

A welder's torch sparked a general-alarm blaze that gutted offices and a chapel at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital yesterday as it burned out of control for more than two hours. Authorities said no TPH employees or patients were hurt in the morning blaze. But several of the 100 firemen who responded to the scene collapsed from heat exhaustion. Battalion Chief Graham Smith of the Trenton Fire Division said the blaze broke out in the Haines Building shortly before 8 a.m. In minutes, as the flames shot across the roof of the L-shaped, three-story structure, firemen were calling for more help from Trenton's fire force as well as the volunteer firemen of Ewing, Hamilton and Lawrence. Before it was declared under control at 10:19 am., the blaze would go to three alarms, then general alarm status. Firemen initially charged into the building in the effort to beat down the flames. Fearful of a collapse, however, supervisors pulled firefighters back out to fight strictly from outside with aerial hoses. Officials said it was perhaps the worst fire in the 150-year history of the psychiatric facility, which lies between Stuyvesant Avenue and Sullivan Way and straddles the Trenton-Ewing border. "It was bad, real bad," said 37-year-old Barney Ross, of Trenton, a TPH cook for 11 years who credited firemen with saving much of the structure. "It could have really gotten out of control." The hospital cares for 450 of the state's most mentally ill individuals. No patients at the landmark facility (circa 1848) suffered physical ailments from the blaze. But an undetermined number of employees had to be evacuated across Sullivan Way to wait the fire out on Trenton Country Club's verdant, smoky meadows.  "We do not believe it was an arson," said Deputy Mercer County Prosecutor Randolph Norris, who was at the scene supervising the investigation decked out in a khaki suit, T-shirt and biker boots. "Apparently a welder was up there working on a gutter. He tried putting water on it. But he still smelled more smoke," said Norris. Norris added that the welder then lifted the shingles and saw the fire immediately go "poof" and flash across the old roof. "That was it," Norris said, shrugging. The time -- about 8 a.m. the patients had finished breakfast. The nearby roads were choked with commuters. The day's heat had hit the high 70s. Terri Wilson, who is Gov. Jim McGreevey's deputy commissioner of the Department of Human Services, was on her way to her Trenton office when she got the alert. "There were no residents in there at the time. It does not house residents. I know there is a chapel on the first floor, and store rooms," she said as hulking, tired firemen trudged around her. Fire departments and more than 100 firefighters, some from as far away as East Windsor responded. "We're going to get a statement from the guy," Norris said of the unidentified welder. Investigators will also get a statement from the prosecutor's office. Detective Lloyd Mathis said so many units had responded -- for safekeeping--because neither Ewing nor Trenton is certain where on  the hospital grounds the border lies. "There is some confusion," said Mathis. By 10 a.m., with fire equipment scattered among the tall maples, one truck with its ladder extended skyward played a jet of water down, at a 50-degree angle, onto the roof of the Haines Building, a stone structure of stern, Victorian lines.  "All the people just left the building," said Wilson. "We don't know at this time exactly how many people were evacuated," said DHS spokesman Andy Williams. Ross, the cook, wondered if Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer might now think about closing fire houses, an economy move that is angering firefighters.  "This is a tragedy waiting to happen, thanks, maybe, to our mayor," said Ross, who insisted he had no firefighter relatives. Workers and some patients stayed away from the smoldering roof, gathering in small groups or wandering the leafy grounds. Perhaps the institution's most illustrious patient was Princeton University mathematics scholar John Nash, the troubled instructor about whom the film A Beautiful Mind was made. Another past patient was a Trenton mayor, Frank A. Magowan, who landed there in 1914 after an affair with a mistress turned him into an embezzler. Among other infamous patients at TPH now are mass killer Howard Unruh, a World War II Army marksman whogunned down a dozen people in his Camden neighborhood in 1949; and Jean Zelinsky, the wild woman of Ringoes, who razored off her 78-year-old mother's head and tossed it onto the steps of the State House. One current patient is known by The Trentonian to possess one of McGreevey's office telephone numbers. The man calls the governor's office almost daily, asking for the state's chief executive to come and get him. Said Jeffrey Gore, a battalion chief of the Trenton Fire Department, the blaze burned past noon but had been brought under control by mid-morning. With smoke fogging their manicured fairways, golfers over the country club seemed to ignore the near-tragedy just north of Cadwalader Park, on a knoll above Lower Ferry Road.

Welder's Torch Blamed For Fire At New Jersey Psychiatric Hospital

A welder's torch apparently sparked a multi-alarm fire that gutted a portion of a four-story administration building at the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital complex in New Jersey. The fire, which began around 8 a.m. yesterday in the Haines Building, is believed to be accidental. Sgt. Al Della Fave, a state police spokesman, said the fire apparently began when the unidentified worker ignited some shingles and underlying material while soldering a gutter. The fire quickly engulfed the roof of the four-story building, which contains administrative offices, a chapel and maintenance functions, and the few staffers who were there were quickly evacuated. The facility's 450 patients were never in danger and no employees were injured, said Andy Williams, spokesman for the state Department of Human Services. The hospital serves adult patients with severe mental illnesses who need intensive inpatient care. More than 250 firefighters from Trenton and surrounding communities fought the blaze. Five firefighters were treated for minor injuries, such as heat exhaustion and twisted ankles, while Battalion Chief Mark Rosen was treated for chest pains.

UPDATE, Storage Tank Bill is Signed; Law Named After Man Killed in Last Year's Motiva Accident

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed a bill Monday giving Delaware broad power to regulate above-ground storage tanks, days before the anniversary of a deadly tank accident near Delaware City. Lawmakers named the Jeffrey Davis Aboveground Storage Tank Act in memory of a Fairless Hills, Pa., man killed when a sulfuric acid tank exploded and collapsed in flames on July 17, 2001, at the Motiva Enterprises refinery. Davis' widow and children attended the bill-signing in Delaware City. The law is expected to require registration of tanks at up to 2,500 facilities statewide. Detailed rules for inspection and maintenance of large tanks or those holding hazardous chemicals will follow within two years. "I hope this is the only bill in my term of office that I have to sign because of a tragic accident, but we all know that's why this bill is being signed - to protect others after what happened," Minner said. State and federal investigations into the accident, death, injuries and pollution are continuing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has fined Motiva for safety violations that federal officials said led to the explosion. The bill requires owners to label and keep records on tanks covered by the law and to file inspection reports when tanks are emptied for maintenance, repair or removal from service. It also permits unannounced inspections by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. DNREC Secretary Nicholas A. Di Pasquale said 27 other states already have some form of tank law. Federal spill-prevention laws apply mainly to larger oil tanks. "Clearly, above-ground storage tanks in Delaware and throughout the country have been identified as a problem that needs further regulation," Di Pasquale said. He added that Delaware's law will assure that tank owners meet industry standards for construction and maintenance. Most tanks that hold more than 250 gallons must be registered. Generally, the law exempts propane, home-heating oil, farm tanks less than 1,100 gallons and motor-fuel tanks less than 1,100 gallons that are used for noncommercial purposes. The law requires a construction permit to build a tank with a capacity of 12,499 gallons and up. In addition, owners of those tanks will be required to pay an annual registration fee. "This will cover those tanks that represent the most significant threat to the health and environment of the state of Delaware," Di Pasquale said. Sen. David B. McBride, D-Hawks Nest, the bill's prime sponsor, said Delaware already was considering a tank-regulation law at the time of the Motiva accident.

Old Oakmont Plant Catches Fire

Flames broke out Monday morning at a former steel plant in Oakmont. A salvage crew was dismantling equipment in the empty Edgewater Steel Ltd. building when a cutting torch ignited some oil and debris, according to firefighters. The fire went to three alarms. It was under control by noon. No injuries were reported.

Propane fire levels home in Sheldon area

By Walter Mares, News Editor

A Sheldon-area man was injured when a wall of flame roared through his home, destroying it. The apparent cause was an explosion. Chris Hughes 43, suffered burns on his arms and upper body in the Friday night, June 24, fire that leveled the mobile home just south of Sheldon. Hughes' wife, Carol, and a friend escaped injury. The Hugheses lost everything and escaped only with the clothes they were wearing. Fire fighters from Duncan and Virden responded to the call on Hale Road. The area is hidden in the hillocks and depressions in the desert. The homes there are not visible from Hwy. 75, the closest main thoroughfare. By the time firemen were able to arrive, the home was engulfed by flames and far beyond saving. It became a matter of extinguishing the fire and containing it to keep it from spreading to the surrounding desert. Greenlee County Sheriff's Deputy Buddy Price, who was at the scene, said flames shot 20-25 feet high. Besides battling the inferno, fire fighters had to use extra caution as rounds of ammunition, including shot gun shells, started discharging in the intense heat. Greenlee County Sheriff Richard McCluskey, who lives in the immediate area, said Hughes is an avid hunter, so it was no surprise when the ammunition started going off. McCluskey, who arrived quickly at the scene, said Hughes had been apparently using a propane torch while replacing water lines in the trailer. He said propane was the likely cause of the explosion. His office and fire officials are investigating the exact cause of the fire. Hughes later confirmed he had been replacing old, galvanized plumbing with copper pipes and had been using a soldering tool and propane while working on the lines. Hughes, whose arms were heavily bandaged and face was blistered, told The Copper Era in a June 25 interview at the fire scene he had been working on the pipes and decided to stop for the evening. He said he, Carol and a friend had just watched a movie when Carol commented she smelled propane. He said he checked his equipment and used a solution and water and soap to check for any leaks and found none.  Hughes's gaze was fixed on the ruined remains of his home. "That's what I don't understand. It was instantaneous," he said. He grimaced from the pain in his arms and slowly shook his head.  Hughes said the three had just sat down to play a game of dominoes when a wall of fire erupted from the back of the trailer. "We were just able to get out the front door when it hit." The Hughes's dog, "Booger", had been lying on a bed in rear bedroom and perished in the explosion.

UPDATE, Motiva Report Cites Two Causes for July, 2001 Fatal Tank Blast

Leaking flammable vapor and a failed safety system led to an explosion in an acid tank at a refinery near Delaware City last year, Motiva Enterprises reported Friday. The accident killed one man and injured eight others. The company ruled out structural failure as the cause of the July 17 accident, which eventually spilled more than 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid, according to a two-page summary of the investigation released by Motiva. The report said the vapor probably was leaking near where the roof joined the wall of the tank. A company spokesman said he could not elaborate on whether the vapor was leaking from a weld or whether the tank was corroded through. An earlier report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the roof of the tank had a hole in it because of corrosion. The accident resulted in state and federal safety and pollution investigations. At least one of the investigations is examining possible criminal violations, state officials have confirmed. The Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control have yet to release the results of their investigation into pollution caused by the accident. Also pending are investigations by the Delaware State Police and Office of the State Fire Marshal. One federal agency, the Chemical Safety and Accident Investigation Board, said it plans to hold a public meeting on the Motiva accident this summer as part of its review. In the report released Friday, refinery investigators cited a company-approved welding operation as the most likely trigger for the accident at the company's six-tank sulfuric acid storage complex. "There was a low-pressure type of explosion that was the result of the ignition of flammable vapors" inside one of the tanks, said Spiros Mantzavinos, the Motiva spokesman. "It was lifted into the air. The investigation determined that it didn't collapse due to its own weight or the hydraulic force of the liquid inside." Mantzavinos said the refinery would share its findings with state and federal regulators. He would not comment on findings by other agencies. DNREC Deputy Secretary David Small said state regulators received Motiva's report late Friday and had not yet had a chance to review it thoroughly. Small said a state-supervised refinery overseer hired at Motiva's expense began an on-site assessment last week and would return to the refinery in mid-July. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner demanded company acceptance of the oversight in August, citing chronic safety problems and environmental offenses at the plant. The accident last year killed boilermaker Jeff Davis, 50, of Fairless Hills, Pa. He died when he was caught atop the tank during the explosion. His body was never recovered. Eight workers were injured in the accident, which also spilled acid directly into the Delaware River and destroyed a small tributary of Red Lion Creek. Company officials last year acknowledged that the tank that exploded had a history of leaks and corrosion, including repairs needed along a band of deteriorated steel at its base. Refinery workers had raised safety concerns about the tank three weeks before the accident. "The previous repairs didn't cause or contribute to the accident," Mantzavinos said. Richard A. Zappa, a Wilmington attorney who represents one of the workers injured on July 17, dismissed Motiva's findings as irrelevant. "There were so many things wrong with that tank and so many things wrong with conditions at the tank farm that it was an accident waiting to happen," Zappa said. "By the time this case is over, we'll find out exactly what happened." Zappa represents John Beaver of New Castle, a truck driver who was pulled to safety by co-workers after he was caught in an expanding cloud of acid vapors immediately after the explosion. Motiva's findings were similar in some respects to those released by OSHA earlier this year. OSHA recommended a $259,000 fine against Motiva for violations leading up to the accident. The federal safety agency found that Motiva failed to inspect the deteriorating steel tank, "knowing that it was long overdue," and failed to equip the tank with devices needed to suppress explosive vapors and relieve excessive pressure. Motiva's report found problems with a fire-suppression system used to control flammable vapors in the tank that exploded. But company workers were unaware of the problem on the day of the accident, Mantzavinos said, and the area was tested for vapors before welding began. The tank that exploded had leaks that allowed flammable vapor mixtures to escape, possibly reaching dangerous concentrations in an area where welders were working. The resulting flame then flashed back into Tank 393 and ignited the flammable gas mixture in its vapor space," Motiva's report said. Once the flames reached the inside of the tank, an explosion rocketed the tank off its base, "as would have been expected regardless of the presence of some corrosion at the time," the report said. The EPA in 1997 issued a warning on similar dangers from catastrophic tank failures caused by explosions. "A properly designed and maintained storage tank will break along the shell-to-top seam," the EPA said. "Then the fire would more likely be limited to the damaged tank and the contents would not be spilled." Motiva uses sulfuric acid as part of its refining process. Before the accident destroyed its acid storage complex, the refinery recycled acid on-site. Used acid contains small amounts of hydrocarbons that can concentrate near the top of the tank. Industry experts have said that corrosion also can release explosive hydrogen gas in carbon steel tanks like those used at Motiva.

Work proceeds on Home Depot, Salmon's

By Sentinel Staff

HANFORD -- Work continues on the future site of the Home Depot store near the intersection of 12th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard. Home Depot has obtained its building permits and is doing site preparation, John Stowe, Hanford city planner, said Wednesday. Plans calls for a 96,234-square foot store with a 25,752-square foot garden center, making it one of the largest stores in Hanford. Home Depot officials have told the Hanford City Council previously that they hope to have the store open by January of next year. The store is expected to bring jobs to the city along with sales tax revenue. Work also continues on the rebuilding of Salmon's Furniture Galleries on Seventh Street. The original store burned down one year ago after sparks from a saw set the roof on fire. Plans call for the new 34,000-square foot showroom to open Dec. 1.

UPDATE, Chimney fire deaths - two arrested
Two men have been arrested in connection with the double fatality at the Carnauld Metalbox Food UK plant. Greater Manchester Police say both men were later released on bail. Craig Whelan, 23, and Paul Wakefield, 40, died after fire broke out while they were engaged on the demolition of a 150-metre tall chimney in Bolton.

Car on hoist catches fire, damages business

By Lisa Medendorp, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER

The owner of an Egelston Township business and two employees escaped injury Friday afternoon when a car on a hoist in a service bay burst into flames. "I think we're real fortunate," said Tim Linderman, owner of Exhaust Special-T's, 7162 E. Apple. Fortunate no one was hurt, and fortunate that firefighters got the fire out before it did extensive damage to the building. The 3:49 p.m. blaze destroyed the car, partially gutted one service bay and resulted in smoke damage to a second bay and the office. "Heavy black smoke was coming out of both bays," said Egelston Township Fire Capt. Bob Halston, first to arrive. Halston, who initially was by himself, said he was lucky enough to be able to line up the deck gun on the fire truck with the east bay, where most of the fire was. He said that knocked the fire down, and as other firefighters arrived, "we went in with a 2 1/2-inch line." The blaze was quickly extinguished. Roy Krisatis, 24, a new employee, said he was about to weld a bracket on his wife's car, which was up on the hoist, when the fire broke out. He said he glanced over and saw flames on the post that was holding the exhaust in place for welding. "All of a sudden, the car caught fire," Linderman said. The men emptied a fire extinguisher and got out of the building. Krisatis said his wife, Lisa Ann, had a fuel leak on the car fixed about two months ago. Her 1989 Chevrolet Beretta was at the business having an exhaust system installed. Linderman said he had insurance. No damage estimate was available, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Assisting Egelston Township firefighters at the scene were fire personnel from Muskegon, Fruitport and Moorland townships and the Ravenna Area Fire Department.

Plumbing work blamed for fire

By STEVE RAMOS, Staff Writer

ELKO -- A fire that caused substantial damage to a house at 544 Sage St. early this morning began accidentally, according to Elko Fire Chief Alan Kightlinger. The house, owned by Greg and JoAnne Powell, was in the final stages of renovation, Kightlinger said, and plumbers had been sweating pipe late Wednesday afternoon. "The area was checked at 9:30 that evening," Kightlinger said, "and there was no indication of a problem." The fire department received the call at 1:57 a.m., and 11 career firefighters and 14 volunteer firefighters responded. Kightlinger said the men encountered a full-blown fire when they arrived at the house. "There were 15 to 20 feet flames," he said, "and it was a very difficult fire to chase. We had to keep ripping into the ceiling and sheetrock to get to the fire." Reports indicate that a plumber's torch used during the renovation work Wednesday afternoon accidently ignited the wall between the mechanical closet and the bathroom wall. The fire then crept underneath the space of the shower stall, burning a stud and getting into the attic area. "There is extensive damage to the utility closet, master bath, master bedroom and front outside bedroom," Kightlinger said. "The entire roof and trusses will probably have to be replaced." The chief said he returned to the structure this morning and spoke to the Powells. They told him the house was insured, and they were waiting for the adjusters. The house was not occupied, and there were no injuries.

Small Fire Breaks Out at La Scala

MILAN, Italy (AP) -- A piece of wood caught fire Thursday during renovation work at La Scala, but it was quickly doused and the famed opera house was not damaged, officials said. Firefighters who were posted inside the opera house precisely to guard against any mishaps during the renovation put out the flames within seconds, La Scala spokeswoman Laura Valente said. Backup firefighters were, however, called in as a precaution. The flames were apparently sparked as construction workers cut a wood plank, the ANSA news agency quoted Milan's vice mayor, Riccardo De Corato, as telling journalists at the site. Valente said the wood that caught fire _ about one square yard _ was part of the gear mechanism under the stage and as a result was somewhat oily. In a telephone interview, Valente stressed there was no damage to the theater or its stage, which has been dismantled as part of the 30-month restoration project that got under way earlier this year. Part of the renovation work includes improving fire safety in the theater, which was inaugurated in 1778. While La Scala's doors have been closed to the public since December, performances have continued at the newly built Arcimboldi theater on Milan's outskirts.

Firefighters Battle Exploding Chemical Tanks, Smoke and Heat in West County

WEST COUNTY (KSDK) - More than 125 firefighters struggled to control a warehouse fire in west St. Louis County this morning. The fire happened at the Goad Construction Company in Ellisville. When firefighters arrived, chemical tanks were exploding and thick smoke could be seen three miles away. Due to the extreme heat, the fire chief had to call in extra help. "It's very, very warm. They did take a beating. After they got the fire knocked down then they had to go inside to overhaul, said James Silvernail of the Metro West Fire District. Seven firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion. Some emergency crews are still on the scene, putting out hotspots. The fire started as workers used cutting torches in a blast room. Sparks from the torches ignited some rubber foam. Nine employees inside got out safely. Nearby warehouses did not have to evacuate.

Welding starts fire at UPS; No packages damaged

By Sarah Schulz

Welders working on a conveyer belt line at the UPS distribution center accidentally started the unit on fire Thursday afternoon. Grand Island Fire Capt. Troy Miller said firefighters received the call at 3:35 p.m. Thursday about the fire at 1824 E. Seedling Mile Road. The welders had stopped their work, nothing was on the conveyer belt and it was not running when the fire started, he said. When firefighters arrived they had to use thermal imaging equipment to find the fire because the large building was filled with smoke. Once the fire was located, it was extinguished quickly, he said. Smoke was visible on the left side of the building before and after two of the large overhead doors were opened. There were a few people in the building, which also houses two other businesses, but no one was injured, he said. The other businesses were not damaged, he said. The plastic and nylon belt and some of the rollers on the conveyer belt will have to be replaced, Miller said. He estimated the damage at around $1,000. There were no UPS packages in the building when the fire occurred, he said.

Fire Destroys `Vintage' Barn, Camper, Three Vehicles

By DAN UHLINGER, Courant Staff Writer

KILLINGLY -- A fire accidentally ignited by a cutting torch destroyed a barn, its contents, three vehicles and a camper trailer Friday morning. Some emergency workers initially feared the blaze was the work of an arsonist blamed for setting at least eight fires since Dec. 1 in town and in nearby Pomfret. But Fire Marshal Joseph Roy said Friday that the blaze, reported about 10:30 a.m. at 323 Green Hollow Road, was an accident. No injuries were reported. Roy said the owner of the property, who was not immediately identified, was working on a vehicle with a blowtorch when the fire erupted. Numerous fire departments responded, but not in time to save what Roy described as a "vintage, two-story" wood-frame barn. In addition to the vehicles and camper parked next to the barn, its contents were destroyed, Roy said. The damage was estimated at more than $200,000, he said. State police said they are still trying to identify and arrest the arsonist blamed for setting sheds, garages, barns and a flea market on fire since Dec. 1. The old wood in many of the structures has caused the fires to spread quickly. Witnesses to an arson at a barn in early March said they saw a man in the area, and police were able to develop a composite drawing. The man was described as white, 17 to 19 years old, about 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, with short dark hair and a thin mustache. Anyone with any information is asked to call Troop D in Danielson at 860-779-4900.

UPDATE, Waco federal courthouse fire ruled accidental

By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer

A fire that badly damaged Waco's federal courthouse last year was started accidentally by sparks from a torch used to cut pipes, according to federal investigators' final report. The Oct. 25, 2001 fire in the attic of the courthouse at 800 Franklin Ave. burned away half the roof along the building's south side before firefighters put it out eight hours after it was first noticed. Although flames were limited to the attic, the rest of the building suffered moderate to heavy water damage, Waco fire officials said. At the time of the fire the 65-year-old courthouse was undergoing an extensive refurbishment, and crews were using torches to dismantle parts of the building. In a report released to the Tribune-Herald , investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms said the fire started in the southeast corner of the building's attic, near where crews had been using cutting torches earlier in the day. According to the report, a construction worker told investigators he had put out a small fire earlier that day. He said workers finished in the attic and left around 2 p.m. When he left the attic, the worker told investigators, he did not smell any smoke. Another worker told investigators the crew was "supposed to remove the insulation from the pipes before using the cutting torch," the report said. "However they did not always do this so that they could work at a faster pace. Small fires have started in the past at this site from cutting torch sparks landing on insulation." Dan Dirschert, vice president of Keating Building Corp., the project coordinator, called the report's description of a cause "speculative." "It was ruled an accident and I am going to leave it at that," he said. Waco Fire Marshal Jerry Hawk has said both the October 2001 fire and a second more minor fire in March 2002 were caused by sparks from cutting torches. The ATF report does not address the second fire. The $25 million project, which began in August 2001, was initially expected to be completed this September, said Lisa Wideman, a spokeswoman with the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees federal construction projects. Wideman said the fire pushed the completion date back at least three months. Employees scheduled in the building's new annex are expected to occupy their offices in December. The rest of the building, with the exception of U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr.'s courtroom, should be completed by January, she said. Smith, whose court has temporarily moved to the old TXU Electric and Gas Co. building at 901 Washington Ave., said he is anxious to get back into his court room. Wideman said that could be as late as February or March. Smith said much of the courtroom's furnishings had been put into storage before the fire and was not damaged. In addition to replacing some of the damaged woodwork, crews will install a high-tech network of monitors that will allow jurors to see video images up close. Smith said he will also have control over what the jurors see, so he can look at disputed images first. "I'm going to have to wait, but it'll be worth it," he said.

Laurens County Mill Fire Quickly Contained

A fire in Laurens County sent crews rushing to an old mill mid-morning on Tuesday. Fire officials got the call around 10:30 that flame had broken out at the old Greenwood Mills plant in Joanna. The plant is located southeast of Highway 76 and Interstate 395. Pictures from Sky 4 showed no external damage to the facility. Joanna Fire Department officials blamed the fire on crews removing ductwork from the building. Firefighters said a worker was cutting a piece of metal with a blowtorch when a spark ignited a particle in the dust filter house. Flames caused minimal damage that was confined to a small area of the mill, according to fire officials.

Goshen fire guts house

BLAINE M. SERVEN SR, Register Citizen Staff

GOSHEN -- A residential fire at 157 North Street in Goshen early Monday morning caused an approximate $150,000 in damage to the home of Edward and Theresa Schultz. Luckily, no one was home at the time, and no injuries were reported. Goshen Volunteer Firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes of the call, but the residence was already consumed. Firefighters from Cornwall responded with three trucks, and the Litchfield Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the three-alarm blaze. "I didn't even realize the house was on fire at first. Then, by the time I went to call the fire department, I already heard the sirens coming down the street," said neighbor Kristen Wheeler. "It's amazing how the volunteers, who must work nearby, got here so quickly." She and her three children were home when the fire started at the residence to the south of their home. "The smoke drifted in the other direction, away from our home," said Wheeler. The two homes, close to one another, each now has had a tragic fire loss. "We had a fire here a few years ago. It's devastating and I feel for them," said Wheeler. The two-story brick and wood structure was significantly damaged by fire before firefighters had the time to get the blaze under control. The attached two-car garage did not appear to be damaged, but the rest of the building was lost in the blaze. Broken windows and fire burns through the roof each released the smoke that beset the internal fire. The Schultz's were not home at the time of the fire, said Goshen Fire Marshall, Steven Kelsey.Kelsey said the fire was accidental, and likely caused by a plumber's torch.  "We feel badly for their loss, fortunately no one was injured," said First Selectman and Goshen volunteer fireman, Jim O'Leary. Three Goshen Volunteer Fire Trucks with over 10 firefighters arrived to fight the fire just after arriving to work at their regular jobs.  "The guys did an exceptional job (fighting the fire)," added Kelsey. "It was really an aggressive stop. It could have been much worse."

WORKMEN IGNITE FELT ROOF

12:00 - 13 June 2002

Twenty firefighters fought a blaze at a house in Stafford after a roof caught fire. The fire at Richard and Pat Pepper's home in Greenfield Road, Hillcroft Park, started as workmen felted a flat roof at the side of the house. Fire crews who came from stations at Stone, Eccleshall and Stafford used a 30-metre ladder platform to strip tiles off the roof of the house to ventilate the building before they could tackle the fire. Four firemen wearing breathing apparatus went into the house at around 9.15am yesterday. Station officer Alan Staples, of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said it took firefighters about 20 minutes to get the fire under control. He said: "The workmen were replacing a felt roof using hot equipment. This ignited the pitched roof and spread into the roof of the house." Richard Pepper, aged 73, said his 73-year-old wife, who was alone in the house when the fire started, had telephoned him to tell him to come home. A workman was given first aid treatment by the fire service at the scene for a burnt hand.

Blowtorch blamed in house fire

A fire ignited by a homeowner making repairs with a blowtorch raced through a westside house June 5, leaving the upper story gutted. According to Petaluma Fire Marshal Michael Ginn, a call came in at 1:10 p.m. sending two engine companies rushing to a three-story house on Webster and West streets in Petaluma's historic Oak Hill neighborhood. Ginn said the homeowner was using a torch to reseal a broken water line and accidentally ignited an area inside the house. "Then he heard a whoosh and saw the flames shoot up into the attic," Ginn said. According to Ginn, older homes were built without fire breaks between the joists so there was nothing to stop the flames. Before they could enter the home, firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof and several smaller holes on the side of the house to allow the heat and smoke to escape.  Once inside they used hoses to douse the flames. By 2 p.m. the flames were extinguished and firefighters were just putting out the hot spots. Ginn said the fire demolished the attic area, which included two bedrooms. The rest of the house escaped with water and smoke damage. He estimated damages at approximately $150,000. A firefighter was taken to the hospital because of smoke inhalation. Ginn said last Wednesday's hot weather made work more difficult for firefighters, but did not contribute to the fire.

Fire forces evacuation of Geneva factory

By Marie-Anne Hogarth, STAFF WRITER

GENEVA — Employees at Burgess-Norton Manufacturing Co. evacuated the building Tuesday afternoon after a furnace caught fire.  Within less than two hours, however, everybody at the plant at 737 Peyton St. had returned to work. The fire started at 3:34 p.m. when the furnace, which is used to treat metal parts, was being repaired, said Geneva Deputy Fire Chief Gerald Koster. The furnace was not in operation at the time. Sparks from a welder's torch ignited oil from a pit beneath the furnace, which is about 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, Koster said. The flames, which were confined to the furnace area, created thick black smoke.  That smoke could be seen coming from the east side of the building when crews arrived on the scene.  Steve Kelm, director of human resources at the plant, said that the welding work was done by employees from a different company.  Somewhere between 15 and 20 people were working in the part of the factory where the fire occurred, Kelm said, but all 150 people working in the plant at the time were evacuated.  Nobody was hurt.  Koster said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire although firefighters stayed longer as a precaution. Some 86 firefighters responded from nine departments — Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, North Aurora, Elburn, West Chicago, Winfield, Wheaton and Fermilab. Eleven firefighters fought the fire from inside and eight firefighters worked the roof, which, in the end, was not damaged.  Because firefighters did not initially know that the furnace was not functioning, they did not want to extinguish the flames with water, Koster said. Instead they used dry chemicals and carbon-dioxide extinguishers.  The roof's skylights were broken during the course of extinguishing the fire Koster said, but he did not think damage would be extensive.  Even the furnace might work, Koster said.  "It's a furnace," Koster said. "It can take a lot of heat."  Burgess-Norton Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1903. The company became a member of the AMSTED Industries Inc. family of companies in 1968.  Burgess-Norton is a major supplier of piston pins, an important part of an engine. The company sells to clients including Ford, Daimler/Chrysler, John Deere and Honda. The company is also a big maker of powder metal gears.  The Geneva company employs about 670 people at two Geneva facilities. Burgess-Norton also has plants in DeKalb; Muskegon, Mich.; Claremore, Okla., and Saltillo, Mexico.  The company's biggest markets include internal combustion engines for heavy-duty trucks, agricultural and construction equipment, automotive equipment, lawn and garden equipment and outdoor power equipment.

Ames man suffers burns in explosion

By: Jason Kristufek, Staff Writer

An Ames man is in critical condition at a Des Moines hospital today after suffering burns to his legs and arms in an explosion and fire in the garage of his home. Scott Thacker, 25, of 1325 Nixon Circle, was transported by air ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center Monday evening. He suffered third degree burns, Ames Fire Chief Clint Petersen said. Fire officials said Thacker was soldering a gas tank of an old truck he was refurbishing when sparks ignited fumes inside the tank and it exploded. "He thought the gas tank was empty," Petersen said. "The sparks overheated, and the tank exploded. The explosion was large enough to catch the garage on fire, but it didn't move the structure off its foundation."  Petersen said a retired Ames firefighter controlled the fire with a garden hose until the fire department arrived on scene and finished extinguishing the small blaze.  Darrell Lingelbach, who retired three years ago after a 26-year career with the Ames Fire Department, said Tuesday he heard a loud explosion shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, looked out his window and saw smoke and fire.  He said he ran to where the explosion came from and saw Thacker lay down on the grass. Lingelbach said Thacker was breathing well and wasn't screaming when he got there.  Lingelbach then got his garden hose, turned it on and put most of the fire out before firefighters arrived. The estimated damage to the garage is between $5,000 and $10,000, fire officials said.  "Wouldn't you do that for anybody?" said Lingelbach, who lives at 1330 Nixon Circle. "Most people would do anything to help someone else. I didn't get it all put out, but the heart of the fire was gone before they got there."  Lingelbach said Thacker and his wife, Jami, moved into the north-side home about three years ago. He said he didn't know the family well.  "I know that truck was something he wanted to restore," Lingelbach said. "I hope he is OK. I haven't heard anything this morning about how he is doing."

Welders sparked Saugus blaze

By Amy Raisin and Greg Botonis, Staff Writers

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Sparks from a construction crew's welding operation ignited the San Francisquito Canyon brush fire that has blackened more than 23,000 acres, the area's biggest fire in decades, authorities said Friday. The crew was working Wednesday for the Newhall County Water District atop a massive water tank north of the Saugus intersection of McBean Parkway and San Francisquito Canyon Road. Strong winds carried sparks into parched vegetation. They were doing a welding operation on top of a water tank so they were already up high," said Martin Esparza, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. "It was entirely accidental. They took all the precautions, but the wind was probably a direct factor. "Our investigators went to the site and contacted the people there. There likely won't be any criminal charges, but there may be some cost recovery issues." To the west in Ventura County, Southern California's other huge blaze had burned 19,788 acres in Los Padres National Forest north of Ojai. It was 15-percent contained Friday. The San Francisquito Canyon blaze has destroyed seven homes, more than a dozen outbuildings and has split off in three directions heading toward Green Valley, Lake Hughes and Leona Valley fanned by winds as high as 25 mph. About 2,000 firefighters, helicopters and tankers were fighting it. About 1,200 people were evacuated Thursday night from Green Valley in the Angeles National Forest between Saugus and Palmdale. Sheriff's deputies in patrol cars began driving through the nearby towns of Leona Valley, Lake Elizabeth and Lake Hughes just before 10 a.m. Friday, using loudspeakers to warn people to be prepared to evacuate. Leona Valley residents canceled their annual cherry festival and parade, scheduled for today, because of the fire. In Lake Hughes, Department of Water and Power employee Steve Blucher, his wife and 13-year-old daughter were preparing Friday for their second evacuation in two days. They fled their Green Valley home Thursday to friends' home in Lake Hughes, then were packing up Friday to go stay with relatives in Quartz Hill. They packed family photographs, their dog, cat and two parakeets, plus a rocking horse made for the daughter when she was a baby and their truck, Honda Civic and Blucher's 1966 Plymouth Barracuda. "We just grabbed things you really couldn't replace," Blucher said. "We moved once, so I guess we'll just move again." In Leona Valley, retiree Betty Merthser had packed her Saturn compact with photo albums, a bird cage, boxes of documents and other belongings, including a lacquered table sticking out of the trunk. "I just don't know what to do," said Merthser, who was near tears as she stood on the front lawn of the small house she has lived in for six years. "I'm scared to death. How do I decide what to take when I've got a lifetime of stuff here? "Why can't they just stop it just put it out so we don't have to decide?" she said. Green Valley evacuee Allison Connett arrived Thursday night at a temporary Red Cross shelter set up at Highland High School with her son, Cody, a fifth-grader. She didn't know the condition of her home or her dog and two cats. "I feel nervous, scared. It's scary to watch the news," Connett said. Connett's husband, Mitch, works as a truck driver and is also a volunteer firefighter in Green Valley and was helping Thursday to battle the fire, she said. "He's up there fighting the fire. I talked to him a little bit. He's OK," Connett said. Overnight, firefighters, bulldozers and prison and jail camp crews dug a fire line 3 or 4 miles long between the fire advancing over Jupiter Mountain and Green Valley. Firefighters set "back fires" to try to burn the fuel in front of the advancing flames. Air tankers and helicopters were sent in Friday morning to pinch in the sides of the fire, trying to narrow the head the fire's leading point, of which the San Francisquito Canyon fire had three by Friday. It's too dangerous to attack the head directly, fire officials said. Firefighters were able to stop the advancing flames deep in the canyon at about noon Friday with fire-retardant foam, which was sprayed around homes in Green Valley. "They were able to turn the corner on that, which is good news," Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Peterson said. The fire was still only about 10-percent contained, but that number keeps changing as the fire burns, said Dennis Cross, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "The two good things (Friday) are than temperatures are cooler and humidity is higher. But unfortunately the winds are stronger" than on Thursday, Cross said. Animal control officers picked up more than 70 farm animals in Green Valley, including 48 horses, a mule and four potbellied pigs. Horses and other large animals were being taken to the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. "We are working closely with the Fire Department trying to determine where to go so we can stay ahead of the fire," Animal Control spokeswoman Kaye Michelson said at a Lake Elizabeth staging area, surrounded by a dozen animal control trucks. About a half-dozen firefighters have suffered injuries. The injured included Antelope Valley Battalion Chief James Jeffies, who inhaled smoke and superheated air on the fire line Friday morning. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital. County probation officials evacuated Camps Munz and Mendenhall outside Lake Hughes, trucking 200 teen-age camp inmates, staff, medical records, files and supplies to Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster. The department set up a 24-hour hot line at (661) 940-4122 for worried parents and legal guardians to call. "We'll just wait until the Fire Department tells us it's safe," probation department spokesman Ken Kondo said. -- Staff Writer Karen Maeshiro contributed to this story. Amy Raisin can be reached at (661) 257-5254; Greg Botonis can be reached at (661) 267-7813.

Rooftop blaze on Moravian building

By NICK FALSONE, The Express-Times

BETHLEHEM -- Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion after battling a blaze that broke out on the roof of an academic building under construction at Moravian College, fire officials said. Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the firefighters were called to the academic building at 1130 Monocacy St. Insulation beneath the building's rooftop air conditioning system caught fire while construction crews were welding, officials said. The construction crews tried to extinguish the blaze themselves, but it didn't work, officials said. Workers fled from the roof and called for help, fire officials said. Firefighters arrived and cut through a metal sheet to get to the smoldering insulation, Bethlehem fire Capt. Robert Novatnack said. They doused the insulation with water and were able get the blaze under control quickly, he said. Several firefighters remained at the scene throughout the afternoon to keep an eye on the insulation in case it flared up again, Novatnack said. The fire is an accident, he said. The two firefighters treated for heat exhaustion were sent home for the day after being checked out by emergency medical services at the scene, he said. A welder with the construction crew was also checked out by EMS, he said. Moravian spokesman Mark Flemming said the fire did not affect any classes or the operation of the college. He said the damage to the building appears to be very minimal. He commended the fire department for its quick response and handling of the fire. Construction crews were able to return to work by early afternoon. The $10 million, three-story, academic building is scheduled to open by spring 2003. Flemming said the fire won't cause any delays.

Welders spark grain elevator fire

By Mike Lee, Herald staff writer

A welding operation in the basement of the Cenex Harvest States grain elevator in Kennewick sparked a potentially dangerous fire in the massive structure Thursday night. As darkness enveloped the concrete riverside building, Kennewick Fire Marshal Mark Yaden still didn't have a good idea about how far the fire had spread through the grain. "It's just kind of a stubborn fire," he said at 9 p.m. "It's just difficult to assess because (crews) are going down into a hole that is full of smoke." But, he added, firefighters were keeping it in check and applying foam to hot spots. Foam was expected to penetrate farther into the grain than water. An hour before Yaden arrived, black smoke spewed from at least five spots on the building, including the roof of the main tower and what appeared to be basement vents on the east side. "That's what we saw coming down the bridge -- black smoke just barreling out the top," said Derek Ginter of Kennewick as he stood on the Columbia River levee next to the building at 901 E. Columbia Drive. Yaden said the fire apparently started when two men welding in the basement accidentally sparked an explosion. They were not injured, he said. About 50 firefighters from Kennewick and Benton County District 1 responded, but the situation was complicated by conditions inside. For starters, Yaden said there was the possibility that some chemicals could be in danger of catching fire. He could not be more specific, but police created a wide perimeter around the building and kept back a handful of onlookers from what was initially reported as potentially noxious fumes. Dangerous conditions were expected to remain well into the night, given the amount of flammable material in the silos and the extensive network of conveyor belts where the fire could spread quickly. "You are always concerned about another dust explosion, a much bigger explosion in the actual elevators," Yaden said. "It doesn't take much to give an explosive environment."

UPDATE, Fire Death Probe Ends, DFD Asks For New Equipment

OAK CLIFF, Texas, 9:31 a.m. CDT June 4, 2002 - The Dallas Fire Department is asking for new high-tech safety equipment after the death of a veteran firefighter. Now, a final report in the tragedy is out. Dallas fire-rescue veteran Vincent Davis died when the wall of a burning apartment complex collapsed, crushing him in an instant. Fire administrators said they want thermal imagers for every firefighter to help them see no matter how thick the smoke. The four-month internal investigation also shows Dallas fire and rescue officials are tightening certain procedures including personal alert safety systems that sound an alarm when a firefighter is still for 20 seconds or longer. Dep. Chief Larry Anderson said, "We are not trying to do a cover up, we are not trying to put a spin on it. We are trying to make a statement of exactly what happened." The investigation revealed that the 6 Alarm blaze at a dilapidated Oak Cliff apartment complex was accidentally caused by the careless operation of a cutting or welding torch. Anderson said, "With sheetrock being gone, all the wood structural members of the building were exposed. Basically, what we had was a freestanding lumber yard with a nice air flow in between." Vincent Davis, a 10-year veteran, was instantly killed when a double brick wall collapsed on top of him. Anderson said, "Had the collapse taken place 10 seconds later it would have been a close call. As it was, we lost a firefighter - had it been 5 seconds later we would have lost four firefighters instead of one." Davis was not wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus, which wouldn't have saved his life but would have let rescue crews know sooner where to look. The tragedy was a hard lesson to learn for a department that hadn't lost an on duty firefighter in 15 years. Anderson said, "In the blink of an eye, something unforeseen can happen. It doesn't mean we are more timid in doing our job. We know our job is dangerous, that's the reason the citizens of Dallas keep us on the payroll." No criminal charges will be filed. The contractor renovating the complex has been cited and fined $200,000.

 

 

 

Fires at assisted-living complex, apartments roust residents

As smoke floats from the roof of her home, Clara Mae White is lifted over a fire hose as she is taken from the burning building.

GARY GAYNOR/Tucson Citizen

Tucson firefighters battled two unrelated three-alarm fires at an assisted-living complex and an apartment building that displaced dozens of people yesterday, a fire spokesman said. The first fire was reported at 11:08 a.m. while a plumber was doing maintenance work at La Casa de los Leones, 3150 N. Flowing Wells Road, said Battalion Chief Randy Ogden, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman. The fire started when sparks from a welding torch ignited insulation in a wall while the plumber was working on a pipe, Ogden said. He said the plumber, whose name was not available, tried to put the fire out and called 911. The fire spread to the ceiling and attic of the two-story building, he said. About 60 firefighters had the fire under control at 12:28 p.m. Damage was estimated at $400,000 to the structure and $100,000 to content, he said. Thirty-two elderly residents were displaced, and the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Red Cross was working with the complex's management to help everyone find a place to stay, Ogden said. Two firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion and one for a cut hand, Ogden said. Another firefighter fell through the fire-weakened roof but was not hurt, Ogden said. Residents, some of whom use wheelchairs, were taken to a church next to the complex, and the Red Cross was called in to help with relocation plans. Fire, water and smoke heavily damaged six apartments, Ogden said. It was not clear when residents would be allowed to return. The second fire was reported at 2:49 p.m. on the North Side at an apartment complex near North Stone Avenue and West River Road. It burned 12 apartment units in the three-story building, Ogden said. The same group of firefighters who fought the earlier fire handled the apartment fire. The fire began as maintenance workers were repairing an air-conditioning unit on a roof, but "we still don't know exactly how it started," Ogden said. Twenty-four apartment units were evacuated while 63 firefighters worked to control the fire by 4:19 p.m., said TFD spokesman Capt. Paul McDonough. Apartment units on the first and second floors were heavily damaged. "It was more difficult because it spread into spaces we can't get to easily, so we had to pull ceilings and get into walls," he said. "They thought the fires were out, but when they got on the roof and pulled up the red roof tiles, the wood underneath was still smoldering and started burning." Damage estimates were $300,000 to the structure and $100,000 to content, Ogden said. Dozens of people were displaced and the Red Cross was helping them, he said. McDonough said the firefighters who worked on both fires were relieved for four hours so they could recover after off-duty firefighters were called in. Tucson Citizen staff writer David L. Teibel contributed to this article.

Fire Engulfs Upscale Apartments in Calgary, Canada

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A spectacular fire roared through an upscale neighborhood near the downtown core of Canada's oil-industry center on Thursday destroying buildings on several blocks and injuring more than a dozen people. A plume of black smoke rose high into the otherwise cloudless afternoon sky over Calgary from the fire that witnesses said appeared to have begun at a construction site and was quickly spread by flying cinders to nearby occupied buildings. "I heard a lot of screaming and looked out my back deck and there was quite a big fire that started at the new construction site on the corner. All of a sudden it just went, it just went like crazy," said resident Claudia Odell. Officials did not immediately estimate the cost of the fire, but said as many as 165 apartment units and townhouses were damaged or destroyed in the more than three hours it took firefighters to bring the blaze under control. "The biggest problem is that it spread to three different buildings immediately from the building under construction, so setting up sectors to knock down those fires, and having the appropriate personnel on scene was big," Calgary Fire Department spokesman John Conley. Thirteen people suffered injuries ranging from broken bones to smoke inhalation, but only two had to be hospitalized. Two of the injured were firefighters. No deaths were reported. Officials said it was fortunate that the fire began in mid-afternoon when many residents of the densely populated area known as Erlton were at work. The cause of the fire had not officially been determined, but witnesses said it appeared to have begun where construction workers were using torches to apply waterproofing material. "That is definitely a possibility and that is one of the things that investigators are looking at right now." Conley told reporters. A shelter was set up to house displaced residents. Witnesses told a Reuters reporter at last one man ignored the warnings of police and entered a burning building during the fire, saying he had to rescue his luxury car.

Fire burns tires, belts

Blaze started accidentally; $20,000 or more in damage estimated

Charles Ramsay, Mesabi Daily News

HIBBING -- A fire that started when workers were using torches in their work spread to truck tires and conveyor belts at a Hibbing business and became a grass fire Sunday, before being put out. About six medium truck-sized tires and 40-50 rolls of new and old conveyor belts were destroyed, causing an estimated $20,000-$40,000 in damage before the blaze was put out at Radko Iron And Supply Inc., 11521 Spudville Road at the Highway 169 intersection, Hibbing Fire Capt. Pat Klobuchar said. State Department of Natural Resources officials called out a CL-215 water scooper plan and helicopter, both based at Hibbing, to assist with the grass fire amid windy conditions, which was put out after burning a half-acre nearby, he said. "He made quite a few water drops,'' Klobuchar said of the CL-215 pilot. The call came at 2:36 p.m. Sunday after sparks from workers using cutting torches spread to tires and the belts. Two Hibbing engines and a water tender vehicle responded, along with nine Hibbing firefighters. Chisholm firefighters used two water tender vehicles to relay water to the scene. The last units left the scene by about 7:30 p.m., he said. The exact cause of the blaze remains under investigation. DNR units were called in to the fire as there was little else going on around the state otherwise Sunday, said DNR Wildfire Information Center spokesperson Jean Bergerson in Grand Rapids. Saturday there were 10 fires around the state, and the outlook is not the best for low fire conditions. Conditions in Northeastern Minnesota remain "high to very high,'' she explained, with no forecasts for precipitation in the next few days. "We're expecting conditions to be warmer,'' she said.

Workmen die in chimney fireball

TWO workmen suspended on a cradle inside a 120ft metal chimney died when they were engulfed in a fireball after a massive explosion. The victims - who have not yet been identified - were working at the Carnaud Metalbox Food UK company in Chew Moor Lane, Westhoughton, at 5pm yesterday when a spark is believed to have ignited a chemical which coated the chimney. The men were knocked out of the cradle by the fireball and plunged to the ground. Their bodies were initially left inside the chimney so that investigators can piece together exactly what happened. The men had been contracted to demolish the chimney, which had been replaced by a new one and is now defunct. Michael Hall, who lives just 200 yards away, watched in horror as the fireball engulfed the structure. He said: "I was working in my office at home and looked out of the window to see the flames. "At first we thought it was just a fire and I took some photographs. It was only later in the evening when the local vicar came round and told us that two men had been killed. "It is horrific, appalling and a terrible thing to happen." Another local resident, Dave Hemp, 47, was walking to a friend's house when he noticed the flames as he turned the corner. He said "There didn't seem to be any bang or loud noise of any sort. But people soon saw the flames at the top of the chimney." Lisa Joel, 34, also of Chew Moor Lane, said: "There just seemed to be these huge flames going up the side of the chimney. But I had no idea there was anybody in or near it when it was ablaze." An investigation has been launched by the Health and Safety Executive, which will report on the possible cause later today. Police have not yet released details of the two men because all their next of kin have not been traced, but they are thought to be from Nottingham.

Fire destroys Miller elevator

By: Eric Johnson, of the Plainsman

MILLER - A day after a fire razed the Miller Grain complex, firefighters were still battling smoldering grain Tuesday as high winds posed a threat. While the main blaze had been brought under control, the grain in the elevator was still smoldering Tuesday morning, causing concern with the high wind gusts in the area. Right now we are a little concerned with the high winds," Miller fire chief Ron Hoftiezer said. "It's kind of crazy, winds blowing smoke through town." Miller firefighters were called to the complex, just behind their station, at 3:20 p.m. Monday after sparks from welding sparked grain dust and quickly consumed a majority of the complex, according to Hoftiezer. Ree Heights and Wessington firefighters were called in for support. Lost in the fire were the main elevator, the cleaning system and the main office, as well as most of the grain they had on hand, including millet, milo, sunflower and corn. Damage was extensive, but Miller Grain manager Lloyd Batien was unsure how this will affect Miller Grain's operations. "We're still waiting to hear from our insurance company on how it will affect us in the future," Batien said. Miller Manor, a senior housing facility, was evacuated, with residents moved to the Prairie Good Samaritan Center, and at least three spot fires were discovered throughout town, due to blowing embers. One of the incidents included embers landing on the fire station, as well as some of the vehicles there. The wind is temporarily halting salvage efforts for fear that any action of that kind could rekindle the blaze. DM&E is also checking on possible damage on the rails from the heat. Firefighters remained at Miller Grain, located on the south end of Miller on the west side of Highway 45, throughout the day Tuesday to make sure the blaze didn't flare up again. Hoftiezer did say that firefighters were able to save some of the grain bins from destruction. Considering all that was lost in the fire, Batien considered themselves lucky. "We were very fortunate," he said. "No lives were lost."

One injured in explosion at Master Electric

By Lori Carlson, Staff Writer

One person was taken to the hospital with second-degree burns after an explosion occurred at a Savage industrial business on Wednesday (May 15). A 300-gallon oil barrel exploded at 3:37 p.m. in a maintenance garage at Master Electric Co., 12467 Boone Ave. An employee reportedly was welding metal in the same stall just before the explosion. Joel Borchardt, 40, of Prior Lake suffered second-degree burns and was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He was in stable condition. One other person was standing at the back of the garage at the time but was not injured. Employees were working in an adjoining office building when the explosion occurred, but no one else was injured. The business, in an industrial area south and west of Highway 13, is surrounded by residential property. A resident of a home across the street heard the explosion and saw a ball of fire, said Amy Barnett, communications coordinator for the city. An employee extinguished the fire and no flames were visible when firefighters arrived. Tim O'Laughlin, Scott County's deputy emergency management director, said there was some concern the oil spilled following the explosion could be washed toward nearby Eagle Creek by a light rain. He said crews blocked sewers in the area and were working to contain the oil spill until a private company arrived to clean up the spill under the supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On Thursday, Fire Chief Joel McColl said the oil cleanup crew worked until 1 a.m. and successfully cleaned up the area.

Fire damages Carson City home

by Susie Vasquez, Appeal Staff Writer

A fire in an upstairs bathroom left one man slightly injured and caused about $20,000 in damage to a house at 1513 Evan St. in Carson City. Carson City Batallion Chief Stacey Giomi said a contractor was soldering some copper pipes in one of the upstairs bathrooms with a small hand torch when the paper backing on the insulation caught fire, spreading between the walls and into the attic. The contractor, employed with Finch Construction, burned his hand. Both bathrooms and the attic space were damaged, but firefighters were able to prevent extensive damage to the bedrooms and the rest of house. According to Giomi, the first floor incurred some limited smoke damage. "It was just material stuff," said homeowner Dave Hanson. " The dogs and my family are out safely and that's all I care about." Two engines, two rescue units and a command officer responded to the 9:30 a.m. blaze, which was under control by 9:42 a.m.

Fire breaks out at DOT building

By KEITH EDWARDS Staff Writer, Blethen Maine Newspapers

AUGUSTA - A fire in the basement of the state Department of Transportation building Friday forced construction workers to evacuate. The building is vacant because the approximately 550 state DOT workers who might have been there were relocated to temporary offices in Winthrop while the building is being renovated. Damage was minimal, officials said, because the materials that burned were being torn out and replaced anyway. Officials said the fire was started by construction workers using a blow torch to remove old heating and ventilation ducts from the basement of the building between Capitol and Child streets. Flames from the torch caught insulation and plastic wiring on fire. Construction workers used fire extinguishers to suppress the flames until firefighters arrived to douse the blaze. The flames were out quickly but smoke lingered in the building following the fire, which occurred at about 9:30 a.m. "It was out in minutes, but it's been about an hour and we're still here trying to get the smoke out," Augusta Battalion Chief Roger Audette said. "The fire was in the basement where there are no windows and only a few doors, so it's very difficult to get the smoke out of the building." Audette praised the actions of the construction workers of H.E. Sargent, the contractor renovating the building, and credited their safety plan to helping prevent any injuries or significant damage. "They had a safety plan in effect and followed it," he said of the workers. "They evacuated the building, they isolated the area, and they had people here guiding us exactly where we needed to go." The concrete building was empty of everyone but construction workers because DOT offices have temporarily been relocated to the former Carleton Woolen Mill building on Route 202 in Winthrop. They were moved out to allow for the renovation of the Augusta building to improve air quality. It is getting a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system because the building has been plagued with bad air, which some employees blamed for headaches. The department has a two-year lease to use the former Carleton building while the Augusta building is renovated. The DOT building opened in the early 1970s.

Fire strikes Pioneer plant, minor damage reported

By EMILY GAUMER, Courier staff writer

HEDRICK -- The only visible signs of damage from Friday morning's fire to Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.'s Hedrick facility corn cob discard bin were the burn marks on the top of the roof. And while the damage was minimal and contained to the one building, the incident could have been far worse had the nearly 4.5 feet of grain dust in the bin ignited. "That is the most explosive thing known to man. We cut a hole in the top of the roof, so that the oxygen can breathe," said Hedrick Fire Chief Ron Spurlock. The smell of smoke by employees early Friday first alerted Pioneer officials that something was wrong. "The repair and maintenance employees smelled smoke in the building at about 7:30 a.m. and immediately evacuated and the fire department was immediately called." said Ron Donohue, Pioneer Hi-Bred plant manager. A small amount of discard material caught fire, melting some insulation, but according to plant officials was contained at the bottom of a corn cob discard bin. There were three or four employees working in the building working at the time. Donohue said all employees were safe and accounted for Friday morning. "The building is made of steel and concrete, no wood and there is no equipment housed in the building," he said. The difficulty that fire crews from the Hedrick Volunteer Fire Department faced when arriving at the scene was the inability to reach the top of the building in order to fight the fire. The Ottumwa Fire Department was then called to bring their hook and ladder truck, which had the capability to reach the top of the 65-foot building which is how crews initially entered to battle the blaze. Once at the top of the structure, Hedrick firefighters and the Ottumwa Fire Department Snorkel Unit cut a four by six hole in the top of the building in order to pump water into the building. Firefighters decided against going in through the bottom of the structure due to the risk for explosion. Once the smoldering had subsided, electricians and fire crews restored power to the building, which had initially been cut for the protection of the firefighters, in order to open the hydraulic doors. The open doors released the smoldering material so that fire crews on the ground could extinguish it. Clouds of a red dust blew out from the opening, at one time causing the small fire ball to appear, but was quickly extinguished by the waiting firefighters. Preliminary reports from fire officials state the fire began in the middle of construction and maintenance work, igniting the insulation and walls. "They were precutting torches; working to rebuild a catwalk," Spurlock said. A final cause and damage estimates have yet to be determined and officials hope to know more by next week. "First of all we are going to determine what caused the fire and then we are going to repair as much as possible," Donohue said. Construction on the building began in 1981 and was completed in 1982. The plant which provides seed corn and soybeans to farmers and dealers all across the Midwest, is located on Iowa Highway 149, about 15 miles north of Ottumwa. According to Donohue, operations from the Hedrick facility will not be slowed because of Friday's fire. Besides Hedrick and Ottumwa, firefighters from Ottumwa Rural, Fremont, Richland and Sigourney responded to the scene.

Port Townsend: Pier fire extinguished

2002-05-15
by JENNIFER JACKSON

PORT TOWNSEND -- A fire on the downtown Thomas Oil pier Tuesday is being blamed on an alleged illegal salvaging operation. According to Fire Department officials, unknown individuals were allegedly attempting to steal metal boat cleats from the dilapidated dock when the blaze broke out. ``It was started by somebody using a cutting torch to remove some boat cleats,'' Fire Department Lt. John Franklin said.Firefighters were dispatched to the downtown property -- currently owned by the Northwest Maritime Center -- at 12:11 p.m. when employees of Puget Sound Express, 431 Water St., reported smoke coming from the end of the adjacent pier. Firefighters waited until the department's new fire boat arrived before walking out to the blaze on the pier, which is rotten in places.

Spark from torch likely ignited fire

Heroics of airport official praised; Officials say sparks were hidden

By Harold Reutter and Carol Bryant , The Independent

Central Nebraska Regional Airport Manager Bill Stovall called Larry Hobbs, the airport's operations manager, a hero for his quick actions in responding to the three-alarm fire that destroyed a Great Lakes maintenance hangar Tuesday night. Fire Marshal Chuck Hoffman issued a preliminary report on the cause of the fire early Wednesday evening. "We believe at this point that the cause of the fire was sparks from a cutting torch," Hoffman said. The cutting torch was being used as part of renovation work on the hangar. Stovall said employees of Sentinel Construction in Grand Island had been working at the hangar for approximately 10 days installing a new bi-fold door. "They were in the process of stripping the frame off the face of the building, getting rid of tracking devices and putting on new doors," Stovall said. The projected cost to replace the doors was $101,000. Hoffman said the torch was not in use at the time of the fire because the renovation work was finished for the day. He said construction methods used during the time when the hangar was built allowed some small spaces or voids in parts of the building. "We believe the sparks went into some of the construction voids -- places where you can't see very well," Hoffman said. Specifically, the sparks got into the attic space of the hangar. He said the renovation contractor took precautions, having water available while work was being done. Hoffman said sparks sometimes can get into the building spaces and go out. He said it might have been possible that the sparks were fanned into flame only when winds came up late in the afternoon on Tuesday. Stovall praised Hobbs ' actions after spotting the fire. "He saw some smoke coming from the northeast corner," Stovall said. "It was a little gray stream of smoke. He was a hero because he got everyone out of the building." Stovall said there were three or four people in the building when Hobbs spotted the fire. By the time everybody was evacuated from the building, there was no opportunity to move the two planes in the hangar. Hobbs called the airport's Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter (ARFF) truck, which is commonly called the crash rescue truck, to fight the fire, Stovall said. "It has 1,500 pounds of foam and water." While getting the crash rescue truck to the fire, Hobbs simultaneously called 911 to have the Grand Island Fire Department respond to the scene, Stovall said. He said Hobbs did not try to have the crash rescue truck fight the fire first, then call 911 later. Hobbs called 911 immediately. "We rely on the Grand Island Fire Department," Stovall said. "They did an excellent job." Diana Guerrero, a senior service agent for Federal Express just west of Hangar 115, was at work Tuesday night when the fire was discovered. She said someone from the hangar ran in the office and used the phone. "He said the whole building was engulfed in flames. By the time we looked, some of the flames were coming out of the building," Guerrero said. "Right away, they told us there were two planes inside. They told us everybody was out of the building. You could feel the heat inside our windows."

UPDATE, Fatal Explosion and Fire Lead To Over $71,000 In Proposed Fines For Worcester Company

SPRINGFIELD , Mass. -- The death of a welder in a Worcester , Mass. , explosion and fire has led to $71,250 in proposed fines against his employer for failing to protect workers against the hazards of flammable vapors during cutting and welding operations. TS Truck Service, Inc., a commercial fuel delivery firm located at 22 Eskow Road , has been cited by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged willful and serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act following the Dec. 17 fatality. On that day, an employee who was welding atop a delivery truck's fuel tank died after flammable vapors inside the tank ignited, causing an explosion and fire that engulfed him. OSHA's inspection found that the company allowed the welding to proceed without first ensuring that the tank and its piping had been cleaned thoroughly enough to eliminate any flammable materials or substances which could produce flammable vapors, according to Ronald E. Morin, OSHA area director for central Massachusetts . "This is a critical safety precaution that was not followed even though it was required and the employer was well aware of it," said Morin. "As a result, we are citing this item as willful, the most severe category of OSHA citation, and proposing a $49,000 fine." An additional $22,250 in fines is proposed for seven alleged serious violations, including: failure to have an authorized person inspect the work area for fire hazards before welding; failing to properly cover or locate flammable and combustible materials at least 35 feet from welding operations; not having suitable fire extinguishing equipment present and immediately available for use during welding; failure to suitably train workers; electrical outlets, lighting and fans that were not approved for a hazardous location; no fall protection for an employee working atop a 10-foot, 6-inch high truck tank; and inadequate training for forklift operators. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. A serious violation is one where there is a substantial probability that death or serious harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. TS Truck Service, Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply with them, to request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Springfield , Mass. , area office. The telephone number is 413-785-0123. The information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072. TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) Message Referral Phone: 800-347-8029.

Raging fire destroys 100-foot yacht at Davie marina
sun-sentinel.com, Posted May 7 2002 , 3:32 PM EDT

DAVIE – Firefighters were battling a huge fire aboard a luxury yacht at a riverside marina Tuesday afternoon. The three-alarm fire aboard the 100-foot-long dry-docked boat at Bradford Marine Inc., 3051 State Road 84, was reported around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday. Since then two firefighters have been reported injured, both stunned in a flashover while trying to enter the yacht in the early stages of the blaze, said Davie Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Joe Rivero. Both men were sent to an area hospital for observation. Rivero said firefighters believe welding work on the yacht may have started the fire. A county fire official said the boat still had diesel fuel aboard when it caught fire. The blaze, which firefighters expect to consume the entire vessel, created extremely heavy smoke and flame as it burned along the banks of the New River . The blaze quickly grew from a one alarm to a two alarm blaze, then a three alarm as flames began covering most of the yacht. Thick plumes of smoke shot into the air for almost an hour. Davie Fire Rescue was the lead agency. Called in to help battle the blaze were Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, and units from Broward Fire Rescue, Port Everglades, Hollywood and Cooper City . Several local and network television networks showed firefighters battling the fire. The luxury yacht was reported to be worth more than $4 million. Details of the fire were not immediately available.

Man dies following blaze

By Jeff Tucker

A Westville man collapsed as firefighters battled a blaze at his home Sunday and later died of a heart attack. The 41-year-old man, whose identity was being withheld Sunday night pending notification of the family, collapsed while standing with firefighters and later died at St. Anthony Memorial Health Centers. "He was complaining of having a dizzy spell, and then he collapsed. I was right by his side when he fell down," said Ed Forney, Westville Community Volunteer Fire Department chief. "The homeowner ended up having a heart attack on the scene. They worked on him on the way to the hospital." The victim was transported to St. Anthony Memorial, where he was pronounced dead. Hospital officials declined to confirm the fatality Sunday, but Brian Wood, deputy coroner with the LaPorte County Corner's office, confirmed the victim died at the hospital of cardiac arrhythmia, a form of a heart attack. The results of toxicology tests are pending, Wood said. Forney said the Westville native, whom Forney knew for many years, was alone at his home in the 100 block of Plain Street when authorities responded to a structure-fire call at about 2:27 p.m. Forney said the fire was caused by a propane torch the man was using for an unknown reason. He said the fire caused minor damage to the home and was contained to the attic area. Forney said he knew the man, describing him as a Westville native who graduated from Westville High School with Forney's older brother. The Westville Police Department was first to arrive on the scene. Firefighters from the Cass-Clinton, Coolspring and Noble volunteer fire departments assisted Westville firefighters. The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department and LaPorte County Emergency Medical Service also responded.

Sparks cause fire at depot

By John Martin, Staff Writer

Errant sparks from a welder's arc apparently set off a bonfire of trash and old railroad ties at the Columbus & Greenville Railway depot in Greenwood late Wednesday morning. The flames rose high above the depot property near the intersection of U.S. 82 and the C&G line, sending smoke north toward Greenwood Leflore Hospital. No injuries were reported. The Greenwood Fire Department arrived at the scene around 11:30 a.m. and extinguished the blaze within 30 minutes. Gusty wind carried the sparks to a patch of grass, and the fire spread to the trash pile, said Chief Fire Inspector Terry Ricks. Welding in an unprotected area during high winds is discouraged, he said. "Sometimes when the wind blows up it'll blow sparks, and when they get near something highly combustible it's going to go." The depot yard is scattered with rusty 55-gallon steel drums and railroad ties coated in creosote, a combustible material. "Creosote is really a fuel that they put on cross ties," said Fire Chief Larry Griggs. "Once those ties start burning, it's really hard to put them out."

Welding blast burns man

04/25/02, By KEHN GIBSON

A Poe Valley man welding on a fuel tank that had sat empty for a year was severely burned Wednesday afternoon when fumes in the tank exploded, damaging a nearby shop and starting a small fire. Vernon Bonner, 58, was listed today in critical condition in Portland's Legacy Emmanuel Hospital with second- and third-degree burns over 73 percent of his body, a spokeswoman said. Bonner was flown to the Portland hospital late Wednesday afternoon after being taken first to Merle West Medical Center by ambulance. The accident happened shortly before noon on a farm owned by Dave and Margeanne Oxley at 24550 South Poe Valley Road. Oxley, who was working near Malin when the accident happened, said Bonner had been working for about a year at the farm. He was semi-retired, and a good man, Oxley said Wednesday evening. I told him to set his own schedule, and I'd give him projects to do. We got along great. Oxley said Bonner had been attempting to weld a hook onto the top of the fuel tank so it could be moved easily. The explosion destroyed a welding machine, the fuel tank and a flatbed trailer it had been sitting on, and blew out windows in a nearby shop, Oxley said. In addition, an end of the exploding tank was thrown into the building's eave, damaging it, Oxley said. Although the dollar damages were estimated by Oxley at between $5,000 and $7,000, he said the loss didn't compare to what happened two years ago. In 2000, Oxley said, he lost a barn worth more than $200,000 to a fire that injured no one. Wednesday's explosion hit Oxley a lot harder, he said. I feel terrible because this happened to him, and it didn't have to, Oxley said. There's no such thing as an empty gas tank, and Vernon is experienced enough to know that.

Dueling lawsuits filed over fatal tank explosion

By:Brenda Fullick

Two lawsuits have been filed in connection with the April 7, 2000, explosion that killed Winterset firefighter Jimmy Griffith and Robert Perrin, one of the men who had been disassembling fuel tanks with a blow torch. Both sides say the other side started the litigation battle. On one side, a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of firefighter Clayton Allen against Charles Abell and the estate of Robert Perrin. The suit alleges that Abell and Perrin were negligent because they failed to properly prepare the tanks for salvage. On the other side, the families of Abell and Perrin are suing the Winterset Volunteer Fire Department and the city of Winterset, alleging that the fire department was negligent in failing to warn those present that the tanks at 815 E. North St. were not safe. Legally, the lawsuits had to be filed before the two-year anniversary of the disaster. This year, April 7 fell on a Sunday; both of these 11th-hour suits were filed on Friday, April 5. Winterset lawyer Zane Blessum, lead attorney for the Abell and Perrin families, said Tuesday that their suit against the city was a defensive, just-in-case move. "They were under the impression they were going to get sued, so I made sure they were protected," Blessum said. But Allen said his lawsuit against the Abell and Perrin families was filed to protect the fire department. "I am not going to let [Abell] sit around and sue the fire department when we did what we were trained to do," Allen said. "We did our job." Abell and Perrin should have prepared the tanks by pumping them full of carbon monoxide, which would have averted an explosion, Allen said. Abell should not be allowed to profit financially from the explosion that resulted from his mistake, Allen said. "He's the one that had the cutting torch," Allen said. "He's suing because he doesn't want to work the rest of his life." The Madisonian attempted to contact Abell, but a woman at his Macksburg home said he would not comment. Blessum filed his lawsuit on behalf of Charles and Desiree Abell of Macksburg, Wilma Perrin of Macksburg, and the estate of Robert Perrin (with Wilma Perrin as executor). Named as defendants in the suit are the fire department, former Fire Chief Dale Cleghorn, the city of Winterset, Connie Marker of Osceola, Kent White of Woodburn, and Merrill Hitchcock of Winterset. The Abell/Perrin suit alleges that property owners Marker and White used Hitchcock to hire Robert Perrin and Charles Abell to dismantle two fuel tanks at 814 E. North St. After Perrin and Abell began working that April 7, they sparked a grass fire. The volunteer fire department was called to extinguish the fire. While the firefighters were still on the scene, Abell again began to cut a tank with a blowtorch. Abell and Perrin's suit alleges that Fire Chief Cleghorn told Abell to resume cutting. At that point, the tank exploded. (Allen maintains that, actually, Cleghorn ordered the men to stop cutting and put the blowtorch away. "I was right there. I heard the conversation," Allen said.) The suit argues that the city, the fire department and the fire chief were negligent because the firefighters did not identify the contents of the tanks and did not warn people that cutting had resumed. The suit says that Abell has past and future medical expenses, as well as a loss of past and future earnings. It maintains that Desiree Abell suffered from the loss of Charles' companionship because of his injuries. And the suit lists the death of Perrin as an expense to his estate. It states that the estate suffered the loss of his medical expenses, funeral expenses, past and future wages, as well as Perrin's pain and suffering, and his "past and future enjoyment of life." Other attorneys working with Blessum are Arnold Kenyon III of Creston and Donald Beattie of Pleasant Hill. A llen, his wife Laurie, and his oldest child, Logan, are listed as plaintiffs in a suit handled by attorney Patrick Hopkins of West Des Moines. The suit seeks damages from Charles Abell and Wilma Perrin, as executor of Robert Perrin's estate. Also listed as defendants in the Allen lawsuit are a string of people and businesses that have owned the property and fuel tanks through the years. They are: Hunter Enterprises (formerly Hunter Oil). Oil & Gas (with officers James Bussanmas and Sharon and Frank Hawk of Norwalk). That company was dissolved in December 1994. J.F.V. Corp. (with officers Sharon and Frank Hawk), which was dissolved in August 1998. Marker. White. The suit contends that each of the former owners failed to properly drain the fuel tanks, vent them, warn the public of the danger, or warn the buyers in writing of the potential risks. The suit claims that J.F.V. Corp. abandoned the property and storage tanks in 1996, allowing them to be sold at a tax sale. The suit claims that White bought the property and tanks in September of 1999, placing the real estate in Marker's name. Perrin and Abell were later hired to take apart the old fuel tanks. Allen's suit accuses Perrin and Abell of failing to identify the tank contents, failing to empty the tanks, and failing to warn people in the area that the tanks were not safe. The fire department had every reason to assume that Abell and Perrin had taken the proper precautions because this was their professional business, Allen said. According to Allen, he was incapacitated for seven months and still has limited motion in his arm because of the explosion. However, Allen said he never would have filed his lawsuit if the Abell and Perrin families hadn't filed theirs.

Brooklyn Explosion Injures 3

Martin Mbugua

Two construction workers and a third man were injured yesterday when a natural gas explosion tore through a house in East New York, Brooklyn, and set it ablaze, officials said. The 3:30 p.m. blast was caused by workers using a welding flame in the basement of a two-story frame house on Hemlock St. that was under renovation, officials said. "They believed the gas was shut off, but the gas was still on," said James Spollen, a Fire Department spokesman. "They created a source of ignition and there was an explosion and heavy damage to the building. This is an accidental situation." The two workers suffered first- and second-degree burns and were taken to Weill Hospital Cornell Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition last night, police said. The third man sustained minor burns and was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. It was not immediately clear if he lived in the house. None of the victims' names was released. Sharon Haywood, 27, who lives on the same block, said she was reading a book when she heard an explosion. "It sounded like a house was crashing into ours but my daughter came running in and said it was thunder," Haywood said. "I went outside. I saw what happened. There was a fire."

Welder's torch sets business ablaze

By Paul Leakan, BCT staff writer

Tabernacle firm sustains damage

TABERNACLE - A welder's torch sparked a fire that ravaged a trailer and ripped through a trailer repair business here yesterday morning, fire officials said. The blaze broke out at the Weldone Trailer Repair building on Route 206 at about 7:15 a.m. , according to Burlington County Fire Marshal Bob Rose. At that time, workers were repairing a cargo box trailer in a garage at the building when a welder's torch accidentally ignited some foam insulation in the roof of the trailer, Rose said. Workers attempted to put out the fire and pulled the trailer out of the building to keep the flames from spreading, Rose said. The blaze, however, spread to the roof of the steel-frame building as the burning insulation in the trailer gave off a large amount of heat and thick, black smoke, Rose said. Emergency medical technicians treated the owner of Weldone and an employee for smoke inhalation at the scene, Rose said. Fire crews from the Medford Farms Volunteer Fire Co. in Tabernacle, the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Co. in Shamong, the Vincent Volunteer Fire Co. in Southampton , the Hampton Lakes Volunteer Fire Co. in Southampton and the Ewansville Volunteer Fire Co. from Eastampton responded to the blaze. Firefighters gained control of the fire in about 20 minutes, Rose said. "They made a good aggressive attack on it and were able to knock it down pretty quick," he said. About half of the steel-frame building suffered damage, primarily in the roof, Rose said. The trailer suffered extensive damage but may be salvaged for parts, he said. While one portion of the building is not usable, the fire should not result in the closing pf Weldone's entire operation, Rose said. Wednesday, April 24, 2002

Welding spark suspected in fire

By LES TRACEY, Bulletin Staff Writer

A three-day investigation could turn up no official cause for the fire at the Pine Products plant, but the Henry County fire marshal said Tuesday a spark that fell into sawdust probably started the blaze. "We have ruled it (the cause) officially as undetermined," said Fire Marshal Rodney Howell. "There's not enough facts there to rule beyond a reasonable doubt about the cause. But we believe the cause was an errant spark from a welding operation that found its way into some sawdust." Welders were working at the plant on Carver Road until noon Saturday, and the fire was reported at about 2 a.m. Sunday, Howell said. That time span is not unusual, he added. "The spark will fall into sawdust and burn a small hole," he said. "Then the sawdust on top will fall down into the hole and encapsulate it, so heat can't escape. The heat continues to build until it hits a pocket of air. The process can go on for several hours." Although no official cause will be recorded, the fire was an accident, Howell said. Ron Wood, president of Pine Products, said the insurance adjuster also visited the plant Tuesday and agreed with Howell's determination. Since the investigation was complete, the employees started cleaning up the site about noon , he said. "We should be cleaned up in a couple or three days and start back," he said. "Still, we'll be out for four to six weeks, at least." The fire affected the production building, which is where the lumber is finished and packaged for shipping, Wood said. While operations are down, the plant still will produce lumber, but it will be held until the finishing operation can be rebuilt, he said. "We'll still be manufacturing, but we'll just hold onto it," he said. "We'll probably have about twice our normal inventory during this time. Then we'll have to work overtime to get it finished." Pine Products was founded in 1992 when it bought the former Doyle Lumber Co., and Wood said this will be the longest time period the plant has had to cease operations. "We've been running steady for almost 10 years," he said. When operations continue after the rebuilding, he said everyone will be more careful about sparks. "I think we did everything we could have," he said. "Every safety procedure was followed, that I know of. Certainly everyone will be more careful. But this was just one of things that happens. It was an accident."

Explosion Rocks Street In Berkeley , California

Three construction workers were taken to the hospital after an explosion at a five-unit house in Berkeley , California yesterday. Assistant Fire Chief David Orth said it appears the accident happened when sparks from drilling hit diesel fuel that had been sprayed on wood forms during foundation work. The three construction workers were taken to Alta Bates Summit hospital. Two were treated and released and the third was under observation for first and second degree burns, said a hospital spokeswoman. A fourth man was also injured in the blast but was not taken to the hospital. The explosion did not damage the structure of the building.

Welder's spark ignites minor fire at CP Kelco

By HERMAN BROWN / 4-18-02

A welder's spark touched off a fire Wednesday morning at the CP Kelco plant on West 20th Street in Okmulgee . The fire shut down production and led to the evacuation of a majority of the plant's 210 employees. Luckily, the fire proved to be minor, according to Steve Zapoticzny, CP Kelco's director of Environmental, Safety & Health. "No one was injured," Zapoticzny said. "We evacuated all of our employees as a precaution. Everyone is accounted for." An OFD employee said the call came in at 9:55 a.m. Wednesday. Three fire trucks were dispatched to the plant. They arrived a short time later and attacked the blaze, which started on the first floor. Zapoticzny explained how the fire started: "We had an outside welding contractor here. As he was welding, one of the sparks contacted some of our product inside one of our walls. This happened in our finishing area, where we are drying our product. So it's only our product (damaged). Some of that was contacted by the welding spark. But the chemicals, as far as we use, are nowhere near there." The wall inside the building began to burn. That's when CP Kelco immediately called the Okmulgee Fire Department and evacuated their employees. "They (employees) were all brought out, to a safe location," the spokesman said. "There is a muster point right out in the parking lot." CP Kelco's production equipment was not damaged by the fire. The only 'loss' was minor fire damage to the wall area where the fire burned. "The fire never got out of control," explained Zapoticzny. "It's just in one of the walls in there, so now the fire department is going in through the roof because the wall goes all the way up to the roof. They are making sure that the cavity between the walls, that we get everything out." "The fire is controlled," he said at about 11 a.m. . "They are trying to make sure the smoldering is totally contained and we don't have a problem later today." The workers were expected to remain there until the OFD finished snuffing the fire. "Until we get this totally taken care of, we are playing on the safe side," Zapoticzny said. "Once the fire department gives us the OK, then we'll let our employees go back on production." The following information is on the CP Kelco website, detailing the Okmulgee operation: CP Kelco, located in Okmulgee , Oklahoma , is the largest bio-fermentation production plant in the world. It is nestled on a 95 acre site in the 1200 block of West 20th Street . The plant was commissioned in January of 1977 and now employs approximately 200 people. The principle product of the Okmulgee plant is xanthan gum. It is capable of making other biopolymers as well. The process for "growing" xanthan gum requires special technology in fermenting highly viscous broths. Products produced in Okmulgee are shipped around the world and serve the food, pharmaceutical, industrial and oilfield markets. The CP Kelco plant in Okmulgee is one of Okmulgee county's largest employers. Its annual payroll is in excess of $10 million per year, which has a tremendous impact on Okmulgee . In addition to its payroll, the plant spends approximately $18 million per year in Oklahoma .

Crews fight Hippodrome blaze

Apr 18 2002

Firefighters fought for seven hours last night to put out a blaze buried under the stage area of the partly demolished Hippodrome building in Coventry. A fire crew from Radford Road was travelling along Coventry ring road at 12.20am when they saw a large plume of black smoke rising from the roof of the building - also home to the old Gala bingo hall - on Hales Street. Firefighters discovered part of the 1936 Art Deco building’s roof had collapsed over the former stage area inside and the blaze - fuelled by tar and timber from the roof - was buried deep inside the building. Station officer Kevin Rogers said: “It’s very hazardous in there with bits of roof and scaffolding falling down and because of this we withdrew and tied off the jets inside to fight the fire.  Since the purpose of the tar roof is to keep water out it’s a bit of a devil to put out the fire and the collapsed roof above the stage area has been acting like a big chimney.” It is believed the fire could have been started by hot cutting machines.A civic square and millennium clock are due to replace the hall as part of the Phoenix Initiative which aims to transform the city between Holy Trinity Church in Broadgate and the Museum of British Road Transport in Hales Street.

UPDATE, Holiday complex fire probe blames workmen
A FIRE which caused millions of pounds worth of damage to a holiday park was caused by workmen, it was claimed today. The blaze at the Center Parcs complex in Elveden, Suffolk, on April 4, started on a roof above a catering area, said Suffolk Fire Service.A spokesman said that contractors working on the roof tried to contain the blaze but were unable to prevent it spreading.The spokesman said: "The investigation by Suffolk Fire Service has revealed that the fire was caused by contractors working on a roofed area. "The investigation report reveals that the fire began on the flat roof above a catering area. "It broke through the wall of Huckleberry's restaurant and was too well developed for the firefighting efforts of the Center Parcs fire response team."Contractors working on the roof and a Center Parcs fire response team attempted to contain the fire but were unable to prevent it spreading until much of the flat-roofed area was alight.'' Hundreds of firefighters, including crews from neighbouring counties, were called to fight the blaze.Malcolm Alcock, Suffolk 's chief fire officer, praised the efforts made by Center Parcs' staff after the blaze broke out. He said: ``It is clear that the efficient actions of their staff to alert the fire brigade quickly and initiate their emergency fire procedures ensured that everyone was successfully evacuated and nobody was hurt. "I cannot praise the fire crews enough. "This was a demanding fire which tested everybody to their limits. "It is a tribute to their endurance and professionalism that so much of the structure was saved and that the fire did not spread through the surrounding woodland.''

Two men escape explosion at garage
ROBERT F. MOORE, Staff Writer, Charolotte Observer

Two men working in or near a garage in northern Charlotte escaped injury Monday after several rapid explosions sent black smoke dozens of feet into the air. Smoke could be seen from nearby Interstate 85 beginning about 3:30 p.m. Closer to the scene, witnesses said people screamed and ran for cover after the accidental fire. "It sounded like firecrackers going off," said James Moretz, who was working in a nearby office. Emergency workers raced to the scene, fearing someone might have been trapped in the building near Graham Street . In addition to 30 or so firefighters, Medic sent six crews and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police sent several officers to Atlantic Technical Services, at 2452 Allen Road South . Firefighters were met by smoke and debris propelled from the building. Minutes later, after firefighters ducked and retreated, the roof and at least one wall collapsed. No one was inside the company's tractor trailer maintenance garage when firefighters arrived. No one was injured. Firefighters doused the blaze and potential hot spots for at least two hours. They packed up their equipment just before 6 p.m. Fire officials said the blaze caused about $300,000 in damage. One of the workers was welding on part of a tractor trailer. Sparks ignited nearby wood, officials said. The fire spread to several containers of flammable liquid, including acetaline, propane and oxygen.

S.A. Int'l Airport Fire Injures 3

Three people were injured and 60 passengers were evacuated Monday morning after fire broke at San Antonio International Airport . The victims were treated for smoke inhalation and the evacuations were carried out as a precaution, Lara Uselding, an airport spokeswoman said. The blaze, which broke out at 11 a.m. near gate three in terminal one, was contained quickly by airport firefighters and the San Antonio Fire Department. "It didn't look like it was too bad," Uselding said. The fire was blamed on a spark from a welder's torch in a concession area that's being remodeled and expanded. In addition to the evacuations, a Southwest Airlines jet was ordered to leave the gate and passengers were not allowed to go past the security checkpoint. A number of flights were delayed, Uselding said. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

UPDATE, Survivor of Motiva fire first to sue company

Motiva Enterprises is facing its first lawsuit from a survivor of the refinery fire that killed Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills and injured eight others, including Kenneth Creamer of Levittown . DELAWARE CITY, Del. (AP) - Motiva Enterprises is facing its first lawsuit from a survivor of the refinery fire that killed Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills and injured eight others, including Kenneth Creamer of Levittown. In the suit, John Beaver of New Castle alleges Motiva allowed "negligent, reckless, willful and wanton" safety failures before a sulfuric acid tank collapsed and caught fire on July 17. The accident still is under investigation. Motiva spokesman Spiros Mantzavinos told The (Wilmington) News Journal that the company had not yet seen the lawsuit filed last week in Superior Court and could not comment. When the accident happened, Beaver was caught in a cloud of acid as he struggled to drive his truck away from a nearby pile of refining wastes. Co-workers dragged him from the fire after his truck stalled. The lawsuit says Beaver was exposed to the acids and suffered permanent respiratory and brain damage, uncontrolled sweating and swelling, depression and other injuries. He is seeking an unspecified amount of money for damages, in addition to punitive damages. His attorney declined to comment. The lawsuit accuses Motiva of ignoring warnings that the tank was unsafe and said the company had a history of corrosion and leaks. The tank accident spilled nearly 660,000 gallons of concentrated sulfuric acid. Acid pollution also tainted the Delaware River and nearby air and soils. After the accident, Motiva officials confirmed that workers reported the tank farm complex unsafe in June. They recommended immediate repairs to the tank that collapsed, but the work was never started. Evidence of problems and neglected maintenance date to the early 1990s. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the refinery $259,000 in January for serious and willful safety violations. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigations Board is considering a public inquiry early this summer.

Fire lays waste to Genesee home

Josh Krueger, Staff writer,

Town of Genesee - A two-story wood-frame home was nearly lost Monday night to a house fire. Several area fire departments, including Wales-Genesee, responded to S30 W30206 Highway DE at about 6:20 p.m. Monday. According to Wales-Genesee Fire Chief Greg Jezak, fire departments from the towns of Delafield and Waukesha, as well as the village of Dousman, North Prairie and Big Bend-Vernon, fought the fire for more than an hour. There were no injuries to the home's residents or any firefighters, although the residents were transported to a hospital for precautionary measures. "When we arrived on the scene, there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the south and east sides of the house," Jezak said Tuesday. Jezak added that a smoke detector alerted the family to the fire and allowed them to escape unharmed. "The smoke detector was a major contributing factor to the life and safety of those people," he said. Although the official report has not been completed, Jezak said that the preliminary investigation revealed one likely cause. A plumbing contractor was working inside the home, using a blowtorch. Jezak said that the torch is believed to have started the fire. It was 12:30 Tuesday morning before all fire personnel left the scene, but, according to Jezak, it was the combined effort of all six departments that allowed the fire to be controlled as well as it was. "The several departments were excellent together," Jezak said. "Without their help, we couldn't have extinguished the blaze." Despite that effort, much of the house was lost. Jezak described the home as having three sections, two of which, the two-story garage and one-story middle section, fell victim to Monday's fire. The firefighters were, however, able to save one of the two-story sections. The official Sheriff's Department report should be released sometime this week.

Welding torch ignites Ideal fire

By Gretchen Cleland, The Hawk Eye

Flying sparks from a welding torch are being blamed for a fire at Ideal Ready Mix Concrete Monday evening. Burlington firefighters were called to the business at 2880 Mount Pleasant St. about 6 p.m. Monday on a report of a fire. Fire Marshal Mike Hartman said an employee was using a welding torch to heat a pipe over a conveyor belt when the fire started. "There was an open wall where he was working and some sparks got down in the wall and got going pretty good," Hartman said. It took firefighters about three–and–a–half hours to bring the blaze under control. Once the fire was squelched, a firefighter stayed on the scene overnight to keep watch and make sure nothing rekindled. No one was injured in the fire. Though the building was not a total loss, damages are estimated at $250,000.

Up from the ashes; Work resumes on SSU's historic Hill Hall.
Savannah Morning News
Two years ago, the hum of saws and tap of hammers coming from the oldest and grandest structure on campus generated energy and excitement at Savannah State University. By May 2000, workers were half way through the second phase of the Hill Hall renovation at Savannah State and university officials were preparing to raise the $1.6 million needed to complete the third and final phase. The three-story building was constructed between 1900 and 1901 by students and faculty during the administration of the first college president, Richard R. Wright, a former slave. It had been well used and worn over the years. And although the structure had been closed since 1996, when it became too weak for further use, it continued to symbolize the institution's endurance and determination and had deep significance to all who call Savannah State their alma mater. Then came the fire. In the evening hours of May 8, 2000, high temperatures from welding work that was done earlier that day ignited a fire within the walls. By nightfall, the roof was gone and the long-awaited restoration that had come so far was now in worse shape than ever. "It was very frustrating," University President Carlton Brown said. More than $1 million had already gone into the beloved building and the fire put an end to the fund-raising plans for the final phase of construction. "Until we knew what the cost of clean up, restoration and repair (of fire damage) would be we couldn't launch another fund-raiser because we would be dealing with arbitrary numbers," Brown said. But the tapping and humming from the heart of the historic campus is back. Crews have started repair work that will restore the building to where it was before the fire. The $2 million to $3 million abatement project will take 18-20 months to complete. The cost is being covered by the insurance of the construction company that was responsible for the accidental fire. Once that work is complete, the university will have to get a new estimate on the cost to complete the third and final phase of construction. "The last cost estimate ($1.6 million) was in 1998-'99," Brown said. If the costs have increased and university fund-raisers have to step up their efforts, Brown said they would have to rely on university supporters and historic preservationists to dig a little deeper. So far, the Hill Hall project has received widespread community support, according to Brown. "The grassroots support we have received so far has been overwhelming," Brown said. "It's been from nickels and dimes up to thousands of dollars. This time we expect similar responses."

Man hurt in tank explosion

By Victoria Hoe

A worker was critically ill in hospital today after an explosion at a haulage firm near Lichfield . Two colleagues who tried to help him are also in hospital after suffering serious burns. The 45-year-old man from Tamworth was carrying out welding work on the fuel tank of a lorry at South Staffs Freight Terminal in Shenstone when the explosion happened yesterday at about 4.25pm . The man caught the full impact of the blast and fire in a yard at the back of the business in Lynn Lane . The explosion is thought to have been caused when heat from the welding work ignited a build-up of fumes in the diesel tank.The man suffered burns to his head, face, torso, arms and legs. He was airlifted to the burns unit at Selly Oak Hospital by Staffordshire Air Ambulance. His two colleagues who are thought to have tried to remove his burning clothes, also suffered burns and were taken to Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital . One is from Lichfield and the other from Sutton Coldfield and both are believed to be aged in their late 20s or early 30s. The fire was out by the time Lichfield firefighters arrived at the scene. Lichfield station officer Dave Lee said: "The man was carrying out welding work on the diesel tank of the lorry when there was an explosion. "He was working close to the explosion and would have been in the thick of the flames. "Another man came to help but received burns to his hands and a third man received burns to his fingers." The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. A spokesman for South Staffordshire Freight said everyone was very worried about the three men involved in the accident.

Two burned in Tokyo basement fire

Two construction workers were seriously burned at a building under construction in Tokyo when a fire broke out in the basement, while some 280 other workers in the building were evacuated to safety, police said Sunday. The two workers, one of them comatose after receiving burns all over and the other suffering throat burns after inhaling smoke, were using gas burners to melt 200 kilograms of asphalt material from where the fire started at about 5:15 p.m., Saturday. All other workers were evacuated from the eight-story building in Tokyo 's Shinagawa-ku and were uninjured. The fire destroyed walls and ceilings but was subdued one hour later. The building is located in a development zone some 300 meters from Aomono Yokocho Station on the Keihin Kyuko railway. (Mainichi Shimbun, April 7, 2002)

FIRE OFFICIAL: SCHOOL FIRE SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPORTED
by MARTY SHEVELOVE

A small fire that broke out in the roof at Starline Elementary School Thursday afternoon should have been reported to the fire department even though school officials believed it was immediately extinguished. “We need to be called on any fire in town,” Battalion Chief Doug Cleveringa said Friday. “There is always the possibility that the fire could have started up again. I’ll report it to the inspectors and they will check it out.” Starline principal Ken Danley said there was no need to call the fire department.  “Our guys took care of it. It was in an isolated spot. Construction workers were doing sealing work. A torch caught a pad on fire in a duct and it was put out immediately,” Danley said. “Our maintenance people got up there and then kept a watch on it in the evening.”  Danley said a fifth grade classroom was emptied due to smoke that came through a vent after the fire was put out. The smoke was cleared and students returned to the classroom on Friday.  Danley also said work on the $240,000 roof replacement project was coming to an end.  “The project is just about done although I’m reluctant to set a date because little things could come up,” he said. “The roofer has said there are just five days of work left. The air conditioning guys have to finish up what they are doing before the roofers can finish. There was a slight delay in the air conditioning work because the company lost some people. But they are getting caught up.”  The smell of tar, which sickened several students and staff members in early February, returned earlier this week when a tar pot was moved to the school’s parking lot. “It was unpleasant for awhile but it has all been taken care of,” Danley said.

Fire damages salvage yard, Official looks into environmental danger

By Jaime Powell Caller-Times, March 29, 2002

GREGORY - Smoke and flames inundated a recycling yard on U.S. Highway 181, threatening railroad cars filled with poisonous chemicals on the tracks behind the yard before firefighters from five area departments got control of the blaze. Firefighters were at the scene just after 11 a.m. and brought water from hydrants in Gregory to fight the blaze. With the assistance of Taft, Ingleside, Aransas Pass and Corpus Christi firefighters, Portland had the fire under control within 2 1/2 hours, authorities said. Portland Fire Chief Jim Nelson said that at one point there were at least 40 junked vehicles on fire. "They were stacked six or seven high and pretty tight. It spread quickly," Nelson said. "It was already pretty well involved when we got there." Vance Dawson IV, owner of the automobile salvage yard, said that he had been using a torch in the yard Thursday morning. "I cut some stuff with a torch and then about two hours lapsed between then and when we first saw the smoke," Dawson said. "We called 911." Nobody was injured in the blaze and estimates of damage were not immediately available. Ernest Alvarado, who lives adjacent to the yard, said he noticed a little bit of black smoke at first and suddenly there were huge flames and smoke shooting into the sky. "It got huge," Alvarado said. "The wind was going the other way but we could smell chemicals that I think were probably the burning cars. I was concerned for my family's safety so we left for a while." Nelson said the primary concern of everyone involved was to keep the fire from spreading to several railroad cars behind the yard's fence. "There was chlorine in the cars on the railroad tracks," he said. "We were working hard to keep it from spreading to them." The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission sent an investigator to the scene of the fire to check on the possibility of environmental hazards. Susan Clewis, a team leader for the commission, said Thursday afternoon that her office's primary responsibility was to make sure there were no immediate environmental dangers caused by the blaze but that an investigative team had to wait until the site cooled. "At this time we do not know what action, if any, will be taken, but we will be going back to take another look," she said. Jaime Powell can be reached at 886-3716 or by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Town counts cost of blaze

By Sarah Bullock and Christy Tuer

Residents and traders are counting the cost of a blaze which ripped through two of Shrewsbury 's oldest town centre buildings leaving a trail of destruction and thousands of pounds worth of damage. An investigation has been launched by fire chiefs into claim that Friday afternoon's blaze in Fish Street could have been started by workmen using a blow torch. Meanwhile firefighters have been praised for saving the heart of the county town's medieval centre. Conservation chiefs said it was only the prompt actions of the fire service which prevented more historic buildings from being damaged. As residents and traders mopped up assistant division officer Martin Timmis said the cause of fire was still unknown, but it had been determined that it was not arson. "We are still investigating at this time but it appears it was started by accident," he said. "My investigation has revealed that there were some workmen working in the area in which the fire started up to an hour before the fire manifested itself." The blaze broke out in the roof space of the timber framed Evanjali shoe shop, before spreading to the 700 year old home of Liz and Trevor Saxton and the adjacent Bear Steps, home of Shrewsbury Civic Society. Liz Saxton said she had been aware that workmen were in the vicinity. "I was at home in the morning and I heard some workmen on one of the buildings. I heard they were using a blow torch and could smell burning," she said. English Heritage regional director Mary King said: "We are waiting to find out how the fire started and if, as has been suggested, it was caused by workmen we will want to know why that was the case." A spokesman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said that fire investigators had been at the scene to ensure the buildings were safe. He said that they had made sure there were no hotspots remaining and had now handed over responsibility to the borough council. He added that parts of Fish Street were still cordoned off while the damage was being assessed and the clean-up operation began.

Maintenance Workers Injured in Soldering Blast

Swanzey , NH , United States

A natural gas leak caused an explosion that injured several maintenance workers at Monadnock Regional High School in Swanzey, authorities said Friday. The injured workers were in a pit in a maintenance area repairing a blocked water pipe Thursday night, said Superintendent Curtis Cardine. When they tried to light a plumber's torch, there was a blast. Investigators from the Swanzey Fire Department and state fire marshal's office found a leak in a fitting in an underground propone line outside the school. The leak allowed gas to seep into the basement, authorities said, but the workers couldn't smell gas because it was scrubbed of its odor as it traveled underground.  Three maintenance workers were injured when a water pipe apparently exploded at Monadnock Regional High School on Thursday ( 3/21/2002 ).  According to WMUR-TV, the workers were trying to fix a water pressure problem and were using a torch to solder a pipe when the explosion occurred.  The workers suffered serious burns to their faces and hands, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening.  The state fire marshal's office is investigating.

UPDATE, Man killed in boat explosion identified
22-year-old injured in KI boatyard named also

By: BRIAN HAAS, Staff Writer

KENT ISLAND - A 33-year-old Pasadena man was killed in a boat explosion Saturday that injured another man and damaged several boats at Brick House Yacht Yard.  The State Fire Marshal said Dennis Wayne Silfies was killed Saturday when he and 22-year-old Richard Cristen Leamen, of Queen Anne, tried to switch a 36-foot Trojan sport fishing boat from regular gasoline to diesel fuel. Marshals said the two flushed out the gas tanks and filled them with water. Silfies, described by United Communities Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Carter as an "excellent mechanic," then began welding on the fuel tank. Marshals said while Silfies was welding, the boat exploded. Seventy firefighters from Kent Island , Grasonville, Queenstown and Annapolis fought the blaze for 45 minutes. Marshals said the fire spread to five nearby boats before firefighters could control the fire. Silfies was killed in the explosion and Leamen was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for injuries. Marshals said he was treated and released Sunday. Fire marshals have ruled the explosion accidental. Marshals estimated $350,000 worth of damage at the marina.

UPDATE, Worker: Safety rules ignored - Monadnock High blast injured 3

3-28-02, By GREG COFFEY for SentinelSource

SWANZEY CENTER -- A failure to follow safety protocols may have led to last week's explosion at Monadnock Regional Junior-Senior High School, a school-district maintenance worker claims. The explosion injured three maintenance workers, all of whom are still out of work, recovering from their injuries. The workers were fixing a pipe on a water tank in a concrete pit in the southwestern part of the building. The blast was caused when one of the workers lit a torch, which ignited propane gas that had seeped into the pit. The gas had leaked from a cracked pipe that ran through the ground near the pit. The blast occurred shortly after an evening concert last Thursday at the school. No one else was injured. School was closed Friday and reopened Monday. The explosion was preceded by a series of safety violations that should have been addressed by school district officials, said Art Cable, a Monadnock Regional School District maintenance worker. "When it looks good, (school district officials) are safety-conscious. When it suits their needs, they're not," Cable said. Too many men were in the 6-by-6-foot pit at the time of the blast, and no one was standing above the entrance to help get them out in case of an accident, Cable said. Further, Cable said, maintenance workers were warned at a training seminar last year that a gas meter should always be used to detect gas in confined spaces before work is started. Michael Pratt, one of the injured workers, said the school district shares a gas meter with the Swanzey Fire Department. "In most cases, there's no need (to check for gas) because we don't go into a lot of confined spaces," Pratt said. "It just happened to be a real freak thing." The seminar also stressed the need for safety equipment in confined spaces, such as an A-frame, Cable said. An A-frame is a contraption that sits above the opening of a confined space, and has a set of pulleys attached. A rope is attached to the worker who enters the space. If that worker is injured, he can quickly be raised from the space using the pulleys, Cable said. The explosion is being investigated by the N.H. Department of Labor, said Cynthia A. Flynn, administrator for the department's inspection division. The department routinely investigates any accident involving public workers, Flynn said. The department has completed its investigation, but has not completed its report. The report will first go to school district officials, and then will be made public, most likely early next week, Flynn said. Until then, Flynn would not comment on the investigation. School district officials met Wednesday to further discuss the incident, said Barry N. Fowler, the school district's director of building and grounds. Fowler would not comment Cable's allegations, but said the district has "very specific training and guidelines." Superintendent Curtis J. Cardine could not be reached for comment by press time.

High school evacuated after fire on roof

Published March 20, 2002

PALOS HILLS -- A worker welding near the roof of the performing arts center under construction at Stagg High School in Palos Hills sparked a fire Tuesday afternoon that forced an evacuation, fire officials said. "A worker welding a ladder to a scuttle hatch that allows access to the roof started roofing material on fire," said North Palos Fire Protection District Chief Richard McKeon. There were no injuries reported, he said. <javascript:ASClick('http://www.cars.com')>The fire, which broke out at about 12:50 p.m., was under control within 10 minutes, McKeon said, adding that about a 12-square-foot area of the roof was damaged. A damage estimate has not yet been made, he said. School District 230 spokesman Jim Sibley said the school's 2,200 students were evacuated within four minutes of the alarm being sounded at the school, 11100 Roberts Rd. Classes resumed just before 2 p.m., Sibley said. Stagg and District 230's other two high schools, Andrew in Tinley Park and Sandburg in Palos Township, are expected to complete by the end of the summer a $143 million renovation that is adding classrooms, science labs, libraries, food courts, fitness centers, performing arts centers and gymnasiums.

FedEx truck explodes

WARREN - An explosion heard for miles up Market Street led police and firefighters to the scene of a Federal Express truck engulfed in flames in the industrial park behind Country Inn Restaurant on Sunday evening. Raymond O'Connell of Rehoboth, owner of the white 1993 mail truck, had changed the oil and done engine work earlier in the day. Warren Police Detective Sgt. Roy Borges said some oil spilled onto a cushion Mr. O'Connell used to sit on beneath his truck. He also said Mr. O'Connell had been using a blow-torch to work on the engine, later determined to be the cause of the accident. Sparks shot off from the blow-torch and smoldered in the oil-soaked cushion for hours after Mr. O'Connell left the industrial park. Sgt. Borges said oil containers left in the rear of the truck added to the intensity of the fire. About 6:30 p.m., police received two phone calls claiming there had been an explosion that sounded as if a bomb had gone off. The Warren fire and police departments, R.I. Department of Environmental Management and Rhode Island fire marshals arrived on the scene. Firefighters extinguished the fire, which was ruled accidental. "It was completely accidental," Sgt. Borges said. "An [unfortunate] series of accidents." On Monday, the charred and mangled remains of the truck were still resting in the large lot in front of the Fed Ex building. "There's nothing left of the truck," Sgt. Borges said. "There aren't doors, the cab is gone. It's gone."

Fire destroys buildings, hay at Taylor farm

by Willa Clark

Glenn Taylor created a little more heat than he intended while welding at his farm south of Humeston on Thursday. According to his wife, Norma, Glenn was welding south of his garage, when the garage caught fire, presumably from a spark. He turned and saw the inside of the garage in flames. Strong south winds kept the fire away from the house which is just a few yards away, but played havoc with blowing sparks, leaving a trail of burned patches far out into the field. Humeston fire chief Gerald Roe moved from one hot spot to another, giving directions to his men and communicating with the sheriff's office by radio. Firemen who were containing the sparks from the ruins of the garage were moved to put out the fire at the base of another small building. Relief crews from Allerton stepped up to take the hose from hot and tired Humeston fighters. Men dug through smoldering bales, while others doused the sparks they found. Tanker trucks from the various departments waited in line to dump their cargo into the portable water tanks, to supply the hoses snaking across the yard and down the hill. A grass-fire-fighting pickup headed into the pasture, where the grass had been ignited by blowing sparks. In spite of the firemen's efforts, an old-style barn filled with salvaged lumber was destroyed, along with Taylor's entire crop of large round bales of hay, and the tools in his garage. Fire departments from Allerton, Corydon, Derby and Lineville assisted the Humeston firemen.

Recyclable debris flares to life in pit north of city

BY JOHN REYNOLDS, AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

A trash fire north of Lubbock that initially broke out early Wednesday morning rekindled Sunday, sending dark, black smoke high into the afternoon sky. While the menacing smoke prompted calls to 911 and drew curious onlookers, the flames never threatened nearby properties. The fire was contained to a pit on the premises of C&D Waste in the 7700 block of North Avenue P. The pit was filled with recyclable debris from houses torn down for the North Overton renewal program, New Deal Fire Chief Randy Teeter said. Employees tried to put out the fire Sunday by dumping dirt on it, but fire units from New Deal and Shallowater eventually responded to help contain the blaze. However, because the main part of the fire was deep underneath the pile of debris, it "may go on for a month," Teeter said. A welder apparently caused the initial fire that began about 2 a.m. Wednesday, he said. The fire was put out, but flared up again the next night. New Deal fire units responded to both incidents, and Shallowater also responded Wednesday, firefighters at the scene said. In all, fire personnel have spent 13 hours at the site and put 35,000 gallons of water on the fire, Teeter said. While the fire was under control for a few days, the blaze eventually hit a pocket of asphalt and roofing materials, causing the fire to intensify and throw up the black smoke. C&D Waste was storing lumber, shingles, asphalt, concrete, Sheetrock and other construction supplies in the pit. "Basically, everything that's in a house," Teeter said. Eventually, the company had planned to run the pile of debris through a mechanical separator to recycle the material, he said. While Teeter has spent much of the past five days at the fire, he praised the company's owners. "They've been putting every piece of equipment and every man possible" out to help put out the fire, he said. "They've done everything we've asked of them." jreynolds@lubbo>

Charlotte Firefighters Called Out Saturday Night
Charlotte, Vermont -- March 16

One man was treated for apparent smoke inhalation after a fire in Charlotte Saturday evening. Fire Chief Chris Davis credits the workers themselves who grabbed a fire extinguisher as soon as it broke out right around sunset. Firefighters had the flames out shortly after they arrived at the LaBerge farm on Lime Kiln road. The fire started in a shed -- apparently from welding that was under way at the time. Sparks from the welding probably started it. Shelburne and Hinesburg fire departments helped at the scene. There were no injuries among the firefighters, and a "good stop," according to Davis. Firefighters used an infrared camera to detect any hot spots inside the shed, and put out any smoldering spots as they found them.

Fire at Perry salvage yard

A raging fire consumed almost 60 cars on Tuesday afternoon at Billy's Sales and Salvage on the west end of town. Billy Devilbiss was using a welding torch on a car which caught on fire. It spread and quickly ran out of control. The Perry Fire Department was called in around 2:30 p.m. Bouton, Dawson and Minburn responded to the scene soon after. Firemen worked on the blaze for three hours. Little damage was estimated as the vehicles which burned up were junk cars ready to be crushed.

Workers dismantling, burning structure fail to extinguish their fire

BY KRISTA LEWIN, Staff Writer

BOURBON - A ball of flames could be seen as far away as Humboldt as an old grain elevator located on the Bourbon Road in rural Douglas County burned to the ground Thursday afternoon. Arthur firefighters responded to the scene at about 4:40 p.m. and called for back-up as a wall of flames began to engulf the estimated 80-foot wooden structure. Black smoke billowing from the blaze could be seen from Mattoon. Amish, Mennonite and other area residents by the dozens gathered in the field and areas near the structure to watch firefighters battle the hot fire, which was fed by large gusts of wind. "This is the biggest thing to happen in Bourbon since the tornado a few years ago," said Rickey Ferguson, Chesterville resident. Ferguson said he saw the flames from his farm, which is located about five miles south of Bourbon. He said he decided to drive over to Bourbon and see what was happening. Irvin Kauffman of Tuscola was driving through Bourbon at about 4:20 p.m. when he said he saw a small fire at the structure. There were a couple of workers who were trying to dismantle the structure with a cutting torch, and they had welding masks on and didn't appear to know the structure was on fire, he said. "I called the fire department, and I sent somebody in there to tell the guys the structure was on fire," Kauffman said. "Some fire units arrived about five minutes later, but within about 15 minutes the whole entire structure was on fire." The workers were able to escape without injury, and no firefighters were hurt fighting the fire, said Kenny Miller, assistant fire chief, Arthur. The workers had been trying to dismantle the old structure with a cutting torch, he said. They had started a fire earlier to try to burn the pieces in a burning pit, he said. They had put water on the fire and thought the fire was out, but it must not have been, he said. Fire units from Arthur, Arcola, Atwood, Hindsboro, Humboldt and Cooks Mills were on the scene to assist in battling the blaze. Since Bourbon does not have city water or hydrants, the most essential pieces of equipment were tanker trucks, which continually hauled in water. Tanker trucks parked near a small pond located on the Bourbon Road near Route 133 and filled their tanks with water. The pond contains a dry hydrant and was one of several constructed in the Arthur area in the event that water needed to be hauled into areas that don't have hydrants, Miller said. The old grain elevator is located about 15 feet away from the Union Pacific railroad. Douglas County 911 called Union Pacific and asked them to stop the trains from coming through. Firefighters stood on the tracks and sprayed water onto the ties and the rails to keep the tracks from being damaged by the flames, which were blowing to the north onto the tracks. A representative from Union Pacific was at the scene and was preparing to inspect the tracks for damage, Miller said. They might have to repair the tracks before any trains can come through, he said. Homeowners living nearby were lucky that the flames were blowing to the north and not the south, or the fire might have caused problems for them, Miller said. Kauffman, who owns property near the old grain elevator, said he was glad that no one was hurt, but he was also glad it was the end of the old structure. He and several residents said that it had become an eyesore and it was a hazard because every summer, sections of the structure would blow off. The structure was open and there were large holes in the ground, Kauffman said. Kids could have wandered in it and gotten hurt, Kauffman said. - Contact Krista Lewin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Explosion rips hole through Bedford garage

March 14, 2002

BEDFORD, Ohio -- An explosion ripped a hole through a man's Bedford garage Wednesday night. It happened at a house on Magnolia Avenue. Police say Philip Wiles was welding in his garage and accidentally sparked old gun powder that blew a hole through the garage. Some of the debris hit a neighbor's house who watched it happen. "I was standing at the kitchen sink when a big blast went off and some of the stuff hit my home, reminding me of a gas explosion or something like that," Richard Patton says. Police charged Wiles, a military item collector, with a misdemeanor for improperly storing the gun powder. Wiles will be in court later this month.

Fire at power plant
By The Examiner staff

A welding spark ignited a fire in an air cooling room at the Independence Power and Light plant on Truman Road Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said. The fire occurred in a free-standing building several hundred feet from the main generating plant. The building housed a series of vents and filters used to cool air. A Power and Light worker was using the welding torch to make repairs in the building. A spark ignited some corrugated cardboard used in the filters about 10:54 a.m. The fire was contained within 15 minutes of the call.

Roofer's torch gets the blame in big fire

By Danielle Delfin, BCT staff writer , 2|NEW|, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MAPLE SHADE - A roofer's torch ignited the destructive blaze that ripped through an apartment complex off Route 73 here Monday, county fire officials said. The Burlington County Fire Marshal's Office announced yesterday that it had completed its investigation at the Village of Stoney Run Apartments and determined that the fire started on the roof. Investigators said contractors using two propane-fired torches were working on the roof Monday and that combustible materials at the roofline were ignited while the workers were applying a new rubber membrane to the roof above unit 39-F. Assistant County Fire Marshal Michael J. Reed said the fire was accidental. The roofers, who were interviewed at the scene by police and fire investigators, work for Goralski Roofing in Cinnaminson . The company could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon. In addition to interviews, fire officials examined the charred remains of the 30-unit apartment complex. Reed said investigators examined a natural-gas clothes dryer that shared a common shaftway to the roof area and found the appliance to be turned off. They also ruled out an electrical fire as the cause, determining that all damage to the wiring was a result of the fire, not the ignition source. The three-alarm fire, which drew about 125 fire, police and rescue personnel to the wooded complex, displaced 28 families. Up to 24 units were completely destroyed and another six to eight were heavily damaged by water and smoke. Some residents have since moved into vacant units at the complex, while other tenants have moved to other area apartment complexes. Residents have been returning to the fire scene since Tuesday night, trying to salvage any belongings that they could, said complex manager Pat Gotta. "Some have been very lucky and were able to reclaim some of their things, others were a total loss," she said. "Some things that weren't a total loss have various degrees of smoke and water damage." Fire officials said the building likely will have to be demolished. Gotta said engineers will have to examine the building to determine what will be done with the structure. Friday, March 15, 2002

Area firefighters battle three blazes

By:Michael Bush, March 14, 2002

According to reports, sparks from a cutting torch being used at the Sooner International Raceway started a grass fire that eventually burned 20 acres and an automobile. Although the fire came up to three of the homes at a nearby housing edition, none were damaged. It took firefighters from the Altus , Martha, Blair and Friendship units approximatley 45 minutes to contain the blaze. No injuries were reported. Pat Brignola was at a funeral yesterday afternoon when she received word that there was a fire near her home north of Altus . She rushed home knowing that her husband David was there asleep and may not know about the fire that was being contained across the field south of their front door. Area firefighters had the blaze well under control as the Brignolas watched them work from their neighbor Clem Farley's yard, "I could see the smoke from across town," said Farley who also rushed home like many other residents in the area. According to reports, sparks from a cutting torch being used at the Sooner International Raceway started a grass fire that eventually burned 20 acres and an automobile. Although the fire came up to three of the homes at a nearby housing edition, none were damaged. It took firefighters from the Altus , Martha, Blair and Friendship units approximatley 45 minutes to contain the blaze. No injuries were reported. In seperate news, An unoccupied house at 805 South Park Lane sustained a substantial amount of damage from a fire that broke out last night. The house sustained $10,000 in damages to the structure and $7,000 to the contents. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Firemen arrived at the scene at approximately 8:30 p.m. and remained for about two hours. Alfred Ragsdill is listed as the owner. A fire also broke out at 700 Ell. Damage was estimated at $2,000 to some property. The structure was not damaged. The fire ignited when someone was playing with a torch, according to fire department records. Firemen arrived at 2:20 p.m. and remained for about 40 minutes. Jessie Newman is the owner of the property. There were no injuries reported in either fire.

Fire started by plumber's torch destroys home

Story By Staff Reports, Posted on Wednesday, March 13 @ 04:59:58 EST (220 reads)

EVANS - A fire started by a plumber's torch in the basement of an Evans home Tuesday afternoon destroyed the $130,000 house, according to fire reports. The fire, at the home of Tammy DeVoughn, 1614 38th St., apparently started when someone working on the plumbing in the basement accidentally ignited dried flowers that were hanging from the basement rafters, according to Evans Fire Chief Doug Melby. Pets were in the house when the fire started, but they were safely removed. One Evans firefighter, Ice Herring, received minor injuries when some ceiling material collapsed, Melby said. He was treated at North Colorado Medical Center and released. The fire spread quickly through the three-bedroom, split-level home and was fully involved when the Evans firefighters arrived. Firefighters were able to stop the spread of the fire within a few minutes, but much of the house already was charred and smoke damaged.

Pekin firefighters battle auto shop blaze

Situation aggravated by low water pressure, wind, power outages

March 10, 2002, By SARAH OKESON of the Journal Star

PEKIN - As Fire Chief John Janssen surveyed the burning remains of a Pekin automotive shop Saturday afternoon, he was only thankful the fire didn't spread. With wind gusts of up to 46 mph in nearby Peoria and water mains that didn't deliver enough water to fight the fire at Jim's Automotive, 313 N. Second St., Pekin's firefighters were hampered before the first firetruck came on the scene. "With all the things that we were up against, I think it went extremely well," Janssen said. "It could have been a mini-Chicago fire with all the houses right up close." Police said the fire caused a power outage to about half of downtown Pekin. Residents in a two-square-block area nearby were evacuated. Investigators won't be able to get to the automotive shop to try to determine the cause of the fire until today, when the walls are bulldozed in to make it safe enough for them to examine the building. As far as firefighters and police know, everyone got out of the three apartments above the automotive shop. No firefighters were injured. Janssen said workers in the body shop, owned by James C. Cooper of Pekin, had been welding before going to lunch. A passer-by reported the fire at 12:27 p.m. "There were flames shooting out the windows and through the roof," said Deputy Police Chief Chuck Bassett. "When I arrived, the building was virtually engulfed, and the whole area was covered with dense black smoke." The roof collapsed, and periodic explosions could be heard from within the building. A 55-gallon drum blew up, flew through the air and landed in the middle of Caroline Street. Firefighters sprayed water on nearby houses to try to prevent the fire from spreading. "Fireballs were shooting out," said neighbor Danya Ratledge. "This is an old house, at least 100 years old. It wouldn't take much for it to go up in flames." Not enough water Janssen said the water main was delivering about 500 gallons a minute, about a third of what the water mains in the newer part of the city can deliver. The fire department sometimes calls Illinois-American to ask the company to boost the water pressure to fight fires, but Janssen said a company employee told the fire department it couldn't Saturday. Fire Capt. Jim Blessman said the fire department has three aerial ladders but could use only two because it didn't have enough water. The city of Pekin wants to buy the Pekin waterworks from Illinois-American and has a non-binding referendum on the March 19 ballot. Randy West, Illinois American's operations superintendent for the Pekin district, said the power outage knocked out the power to the company's pumps. "There were no pumps that were running to boost the pressure, and they couldn't run because the power was knocked out," West said. City Manager Dick Hierstein said the power outage wouldn't have happened if the water company had responded promptly to the fire department's call. "Once again we have a problem with water pressure," Hierstein said. "When the fire department called Illinois-American they were put on hold for an extended period of time. What's it going to take for people to realize the company needs to go?" West questioned why the fire department called the company's 800 number instead of calling him. He said the city manager and the fire department have his home number and his cellphone number. "No one has called me," West said. "I wasn't even aware of a power outage." Neal Johnson, the spokesman for Central Illinois Light Co., said flames from the fire burned a 69,000-kilovolt feeder line about 1 p.m. The fire caused three substations to go off-line and left 3,085 Pekin customers without power. In November 1990, an upholstery business in Pekin burned to the ground as firefighters couldn't get enough water from a 4-inch main, but West said Illinois-American has been upgrading Pekin's water mains. "Every year there's water main replacement going on," West said. "This year we are replacing 4,000 feet of main in Pekin." 'Not a good plan' As firefighters knocked on nearby houses, they told people to go to the nearby Union Mission. But when Dee and Robert Smith arrived at the mission, they found the door locked. They went to the library, but it had closed down because of the power outage. They ended up going to a restaurant and then returned to their dark unheated house hours before the fire department told people they could return home. "It was not a good plan," Dee Smith said. "The firefighters should have had the facts before they told people where to go." Some people didn't leave at all. Elizabeth Englebrecht, 75, sat in her son's truck watching firefighters struggle to contain the fire about a block away. "I don't want to leave my house at all," she said. As evening fell, firefighters were manning the smoldering ruins of the automotive shop. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency arrived to oversee the cleanup of the oil-fouled water from the fire, and the cars bearing sightseers had drifted away long ago.

Blowtorch causes garage fire in Grand Island
Police arrest man after torch is used on stolen newspaper racks

By Sarah Schulz, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A man was arrested on Thursday after a garage caught fire as a blowtorch was being used to open stolen newspaper racks. Grand Island fire Capt. Bryan Stutzman said firefighters and Grand Island police officers responded to the blaze at 308 E. 11th around 10:12 a.m. Thursday. He said the fire started when cardboard and clothing stored in the garage caught fire as a torch was being used to open newspaper racks belonging to The Independent. The fire spread to the roof of the garage but did not damage the attached residence, Stutzman said. An estimated $5,000 in damage was done to the garage, he said. Amy Divine, 29, who rents the house, was at home when the fire broke out. Stutzman said her face was singed when she opened the door from the house to the garage. She was transported to St. Francis Medical Center and she was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Omaha about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. She was admitted to the burn unit, but a nursing supervisor there would not release her condition. Stutzman said Divine was the only person at the residence when they arrived. Police Capt. Pete Kortum said James Divine, 36, Amy's husband, also lives at the residence but left before authorities arrived. Officers recovered four newspaper racks and the money box from a fifth rack, he said. No money was found in the racks or the garage. One of the racks had been heavily damaged with a blowtorch, and the other three had been cut open with an angle grinder, he said. The racks are valued at $500 each, Kortum said. Fred Furley, Independent district circulation manager, said three of the racks were stolen in January, and the fourth had Thursday's paper in it. He said theft of the racks is sporadic and that the racks are heavy and difficult to open without a key. "It's a lot of work for a few dollars," he said. Money from the racks is collected on a regular basis, usually once a week, he said. The amount of money in a rack depends on its location. Some of the racks may only have three or four papers inside, while racks in more popular areas may contain around 25 papers. James Divine was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property just before 1 p.m. Thursday when he returned to the home, Kortum said. Officers believe he was using the torch to open the newspaper racks and started the fire in the process, Kortum said. Divine is being held in the Hall County Jail and may go to court at 11 a.m. today. He had not been charged on Thursday. "We don't have reason to believe that anyone else operated the torch," Kortum said, "and as near as we can determine, he was the only one in the garage."

Fire damages Waco's federal courthouse for second time since October

By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer

Fire damaged Waco's federal courthouse for the second time in four months Saturday morning, and fire officials said workers in the building's renovation could be to blame. Waco firefighters responding to a 4:30 a.m. fire call at the building at 800 Franklin Ave. arrived to find part of the third floor in flames, said Assistant Fire Chief David Walsleben. Firefighters were able to douse the flames by about 6 p.m., he said. Damage was limited to a 20-foot by 20-foot section of the third floor ceiling on the building's south side, he said. Walsleben said a construction cutting torch was found beneath the burned area. "It looked like they had been using it that night and it might have caused something to smolder for a while," he said. "Then (the ceiling) caught fire later in the night when the wind picked up." The 65-year-old building is undergoing a renovation that began in August 2001. The courthouse's occupants relocated to a building at the corner of North Ninth Street and Washington Avenue to allow for the construction, which will include a 3,000 foot addition. Federal officials have estimated the entire project, including the temporary move, will cost $23 million. The courthouse suffered more extensive damage in a fire on Oct. 25, 2001. Several ladder trucks were used through the night to fight that blaze, which started in the southeast corner of the attic. The fire spread the length of the attic, causing extensive fire damage to the roof and water and smoke damage to the floors below. nvestigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ruled the fire accidental. The ATF recently denied a request by the Tribune-Herald for information on the October fire's cause, saying the investigation is ongoing. The project was initially expected to take 15 to 18 months, but that was extended by six months after the first fire. It is unclear if this latest fire will delay the project. Officials with MW Builders, Inc., the subcontractor overseeing the renovation project, referred all questions to the project's contractor, Keating Building Corp. Calls to that company's office in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. went unanswered Saturday. Mike Anderson can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 757-5755.

UPDATE, Chemical Flash Fire Injures Three At Office Supply Factory

Doylestown Township, PA, United States

Authorities said the blast at J. Penner Corp. on Weldon Drive in Doylestown Township occurred when a chemical was exposed to an open flame. John Friel, assistant fire marshal for Doylestown Township, said the explosion happened on an assembly line in the Penner plant when an adhesive primer known as Sika Aktivator was exposed to flame. The substance is used in the installation of automotive windshields and is packaged in glass vials at Penner, Friel said. The liquid is removed from 55-gallon drums by pumping nitrogen into the drums. It is then sealed in the glass vials with an open flame, which molds and fuses the glass. Friel said too much nitrogen was pumped into the drum, which forced too much of the substance into a glass vial. The excess activator was then ignited when it came into contact with the flame.''We think there was an excess of nitrogen that contaminated the process,'' said Friel. ''It's just an unfortunate accident.'' Friel said there was no estimate on the damage to the plant, but it was confined to the area of the explosion.

Second fire at federal courthouse ruled accident

By RICHARD L. SMITH Tribune-Herald staff writer

The second fire to damage Waco's federal courthouse in four months was ruled an accident, said Waco Fire Marshal Jerry Hawk. A portion of the third floor of the building at 800 Franklin Ave. was found in flames by Waco firefighters who responded to the call at 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Firefighters put out the blaze in the structure, which is undergoing renovation, by about 6 a.m., fire officials said. The portion of the third-floor ceiling that was burned had been previously damaged by a major fire there on Oct. 25. Hawk said Monday that both this latest fire and the one in October were caused by cutting torches that were used by workers. "It was a cutting torch operation just like last time," said Hawk. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ruled the October fire of the federal building an accident. However, the ATF recently denied a request by the Tribune-Herald for information on the fire's cause, saying the investigation was ongoing. Hawk said the report on his department's investigation of the fire will be sent to the ATF. He said it will be up to the bureau to decide if it wants to investigate this blaze also. The fire marshal estimated the damage from the Saturday blaze at about $200. "The area was already fire-damaged so it didn't do much more damage," Hawk said. Renovation of the building, built in the mid-1930s, began in August 2001. Keating Building Corp. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is the contractor for the $20 million-plus project. Dennis Martin, president of the corporation, did not return telephone calls for this story. The courthouse's occupants relocated to the corner of North Ninth Street and Washington Avenue for the renovation. The project was initially expected to take between 15 and 18 months. Officials of the U.S. General Services Administration, which oversees federal construction projects, said after the October fire that they expected the renovation's completion to be pushed back six months. GSA spokeswoman Lisa Wideman said Monday that she is unsure of the exact completion schedule. However, she said that the delay probably would not be as lengthy as first thought. Wideman also said a fire watch will be put on the renovation project to help prevent future blazes from sources of ignition such as cutting torches. The October fire started in the southeast corner of the building's attic. The blaze spread the length of the attic. It caused extensive fire damage to the roof. There also was water and smoke damage to the floors below. Richard L. Smith can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 757-5745.

Fire engulfs semi-tractor

HOT WHEELS: Holland firefighter Brendt Sheridan and an employee of K & R Truck Sales, 4392 M-40, work to extinguish flames ignited Tuesday afternoon while employees were repairing the semi-tractor. Firefighters say a welding project started the flames. Damage to the truck is estimated at $28,000.

Welder killed in accident at Mississippi shipyard

GULFPORT (AP) - A welder at a Gulf Coast shipyard has died after being pinned between two heavy sections of a steel ship. Jeffery Byrd, 36, of Gautier, who was working Tuesday at Northrop Grumman Avondale Industries in Gulfport when the accident occurred, died of cardiac arrest, said Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove. Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is the parent company of both the New Orleans-based Avondale shipyard and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. The Gulfport shipyard makes steel ship sections that are put together in the company's New Orleans yard, a spokesman said. Byrd was working between a section that weighs 175 tons and a piece that weighs 60 tons when the accident occurred at 9:35 a.m. The larger section shifted and pinned him against the smaller one, Hargrove said. Co-workers used hydraulic jacks and wooden blocks to push the sections apart, said Hargrove. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. Byrd had been working at the Gulfport shipyard since March. He worked at Ingalls from 1989 to 1996, a spokesman said. Byrd is believed to be the first person to die at Avondale in Gulfport since 1996, when a Bay St. Louis man was electrocuted. OSHA fined the Gulfport shipyard for two safety violations that year.

6 lose home after roof catches fire
Roofer’s propane torch causes accidental fire; lack of phone delays call for help.
By Eric Eckert, News-Leader
A Springfield couple and their three children and a friend are looking for a new place to live after fire ravaged the home they had lived in for only two weeks. "We just moved in here and this happens," said Melissa Peterson, who lived in the north Springfield home with her friends, Donovan and Shelly Stallings and the Stallings’ three children. Peterson was the only person in the house in the 2100 block of Kellett Avenue when the fire broke out about 10 a.m. The fire started while a contractor was using a propane torch to heat up material used to patch holes in the roof, said state fire marshal Dan Dougherty, who ruled the fire an accident. "He was using proper procedure to apply the material," Dougherty said. "Right alongside where he was working, there was some old wood on the roof. His torch accidentally caught that on fire." Peterson was watching television when she smelled smoke. "I thought it was the heater, then (the contractor) came in and said the roof was on fire," she said. Contractor James Blevins said he tried to extinguish the flames while he was on the roof. "I was heating the material on that old roof, and it started flaming," Blevins said. "I tried to dig up the roof and I put snow on it, but it wouldn’t go out." Blevins said he told Peterson to call 911, but there was no phone in the home. After knocking on a few doors, he finally located a neighbor who made the call. Peterson said she had time to grab the family’s pet cats before evacuating the home. As smoke billowed from the house and flames peeked out of the roof, firefighters rushed in to battle the flames. Dougherty said the fire spread quickly through several hidden spaces in the roof and ceiling. "That’s why it took a little longer to get it under control," the fire marshal said, adding that firefighters extinguished the blaze about an hour after they arrived. Peterson said the family had lived in the house for only two weeks. Landlord Jamie Scritchfield, who has owned the home for 2Ï years, said he has another house the family can live in until they find another place. "He’s really helped us out a lot," Peterson said. "He’s been a blessing." Dougherty said the roof was badly damaged and there was extensive water damage throughout the house. The fire marshal said the home did have working smoke detectors. No one was injured.

O.C. Man Killed in Explosion at Home
Accident: Welding torch may have sparked the 3:30 a.m. blast, which damaged 12 neighboring Costa Mesa townhouses.

By MAI TRAN and TINA BORGATTA, TIMES STAFF WRITERS

A 65-year-old man who may have been working with a welding torch was killed Thursday in an early-morning explosion that damaged homes, melted car tires and rained debris throughout a Costa Mesa neighborhood. Residents in the Monticello Townhomes complex said the 3:30 a.m. blast rocked the neighborhood--blowing out windows, ripping doors from hinges and crumpling metal garage doors. "It blew up like a bomb went off," said Mark Galoustian, who has lived in the neighborhood for two years. "Our bedroom shook. We looked out the window, and the whole place was a fireball." Fire officials said the explosion, which was followed by a series of smaller blasts, was heard by firefighters at a station four miles away. The man killed in the explosion has not been identified but was described as a quiet retiree who kept to himself. Neighbors said he had lived in the complex for several years. Neighbor John Leighton said the man rushed from his garage after the blast, his clothing on fire. Leighton said he sprayed him with a fire extinguisher, but the man then turned and ran back inside his burning garage. "I don't know why he did that," said Leighton, a 15-year resident of the tract. "He didn't say anything." The man's body was later found just inside his garage, fire officials said. Twenty residents were evacuated to a Red Cross shelter set up at nearby Vanguard University of Southern California. Gas service was interrupted for several hours in the morning while crews searched for leaks, and some residents were without water for much of the day, said Barbara Marcosa, a spokeswoman for the Costa Mesa Fire Department. In all, a dozen other townhomes--each worth about $250,000--were damaged. Fire officials have not determined a cause for the explosion but said it came from the man's home. His garage, they said, was stocked with welding materials, tanks and chemicals. A bomb squad was brought in later in the day to inspect to canisters and tanks in the burned-out garage. The intensity of the fire forced firefighters to battle it from the street. It took 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze. By then, little more than a skeleton of the townhouse remained. Fire crews later brought in wooden beams to prop up the walls. The blast set off a frantic effort in the neighborhood to alert residents to the fire ignited by the explosion. Residents ran from house to house in the darkness, banging on doors and yelling for their neighbors to evacuate. "When the first blast occurred, we thought it was an earthquake," said Nancy Fay, who lives down the street and ran outside with a phone, dialing 911 as she screamed for neighbors to get out of their homes. "Then the second popping noise hit, and we thought it was a bomb. And when the third one struck, we thought we were going to war," she said. Chris Minear said he and his wife, Carol, grabbed garden hoses, hoping to keep the fire from spreading. But they were pushed back as the man's house was swallowed by flames. "There wasn't too much you could do," he said. Larry Dawson said that the blast woke him and that when he looked out his broken bedroom window, he saw a man in flames stumbling from a garage. Dawson said he grabbed a blanket to help smother the flames and ran outside. But when he got there, the man was gone. Dawson said that he ran toward the burning house but that the heat drove him back. Neighbors said the man killed in the blast was quiet and reserved yet friendly. One neighbor, who knew him only as "Sonny," said he helped her with a plumbing problem. Others said he would offer wood and other supplies to kids building skateboard ramps. Mostly, though, he woke early and worked on bicycles in his garage, often using welding equipment, neighbors said. "He was real quiet, and he didn't get into a lot of conversations," said Julia Cross, who serves on the homeowners association board. "He just kind of stayed to himself and liked to putter around in his garage." Sam Manfrey, who has lived in the complex about four years, said he'd wave to the man or say hello, but he never learned his name. A spokeswoman for the complex's property management company, Chrissy Gruninger, said the man rented the townhouse from a Newport Beach couple. The management company said there are no rules barring the use or storage of welding torches in the complex.

UPDATE, Jersey City Truck Depot Fire Ignited By Welders Torch

Jersey City , NJ , United States , 2/25/2002- 8:00 PM

A fire that destroyed 26 tractor-trailers and a trucking company terminal began accidentally when welders' torches ignited flammable material, fire officials said Tuesday. The Monday ( 2/25/2002 ) afternoon blaze at the Jaydee Trucking terminal burned for as long as 15 minutes while employees tried to put it out themselves before finally calling the fire department, Deputy Fire Director Jose Cruz said. Welders were doing work on a lift in one of the cargo bays when a small fire broke out. They tried to put it out using several hand-held fire extinguishers, which were found empty near where the fire started, Cruz said. By the time the blaze was brought under control at about 8 p.m. , 26 trucks and the entire 200-by-50-foot building were destroyed, Cruz said. No one was injured. Flames shooting through the roof formed smoke clouds that witnesses reported seeing 20 miles away. The smoke forced the closing of part of the Pulaski Skyway after a three-car collision. Route 440 was temporarily shut down and Routes 1&9 were closed for several blocks.

Soldering iron sparks fire; 24 homeless
By Mark Abramson, STAFF WRITER

SAN LORENZO -- He may have fixed the pipes, but a plumber's soldering handiwork sparked a two-alarm fire in an apartment complex Tuesday morning that displaced two dozen tenants. The plumber didn't notice that the sparks flying from the pipe he was soldering ignited a wall, said Jim Purchio, an Alameda County Fire Department assistant chief. No one was injured in the fire, which erupted in the Washington Apartments, on the 15700 block of Washington Avenue , at 10:30 a.m. , Purchio said. Four apartments were destroyed. Grant Elementary School , next to the apartments, was unaffected. The fire department responded with six fire engines, two ladder trucks and 30 to 35 firefighters. "This was a pretty good fire, so they needed everybody," Purchio said. "They got a good knockdown," he added about the firefighters quenching the flames. The fire was confined to the upstairs of the four apartments. Part of the roof burned off and other sections were riddled with holes that were punched by firefighters for ventilation and to keep the inferno from spreading to other apartments. The attics for all four apartments were charred. The second floors of the units were a sticky mess of wrecked walls and water. Tenant Dan Bobis said he saw flames billowing out of the roof. He lives adjacent to the burned apartments. "I was in my bedroom, and I saw the smoke," he said. "The whole roof was on fire." Bobis said he saw his neighbors fleeing from those apartments as he grabbed some belongings and evacuated to the other side of the complex, near Grant Avenue . The American Red Cross will take care of the displaced tenants if they are unable to find temporary housing on their own, said Monte Churchill, a family service supervisor for that organization. Churchill added that the Red Cross will provide them with any needed food and clothing. Mark Abramson covers police and public safety. To reach him, call (510) 293-2469

Fire at auto body shop shuts down part of Route 6

Traffic is routed away from the stretch of highway near the intersection of Route 136 to allow firefighters to battle to intense blaze.
BY C. EUGENE EMERY JR., Journal Staff Writer

SWANSEA -- A fire that started with a spark in an auto body shop closed a portion of Route 6 for five hours during rush hour yesterday morning, but firefighters were able to save most of the building. There were no injuries from the fire at Complete Collision Center Inc. at 2153 GAR Highway, just east of Route 136, which began just before 5:30 a.m. Fire Chief Peter Burke said the blaze has been ruled an accident. He said the owner, John DeSilveira, was working on a truck body with a cutting torch when a spark jumped to some flammable material and began to smolder. The owner was called away from that job, and the blaze, unnoticed, took hold. The fire went up the wall and got above the ceiling in an area where there are two roofs, "so the sprinkler system never got to it," Burke said. "It was a very labor intensive fire, because you had to get those ceilings down and the roof off," the chief said. "Every firefighter God put on earth was here," said one neighbor. Burke said Swansea had four engine trucks, one ladder truck and a special hazard unit at the scene. In addition, firefighters from Seekonk, Warren and Somerset assisted in fighting the blaze, and units from Barrington , Bristol , Rehoboth and Dighton were shifted to provide coverage for the rest of the town. Traffic was routed around that portion of Route 6 until 10:30 a.m. , police said. Firefighters were at the scene until about 4:30 p.m. yesterday. The junction of the L-shaped building, where there was a second floor, sustained the most damage. "It was pretty much gutted," Burke said. "It was a really dangerous fire." He said his firefighters "did an unbelievable job containing it to where it was and saving the two wings." Complete Collision had just moved into the facility last July and was trying to sell its previous home, a smaller building just a few hundred feet up the road. By midday yesterday, workers were moving their equipment to the old location to set up shop there. Gene Emery can be contacted by phone at (508) 674-8401 or by e-mail at gemery(at)projo.com.

Trucking terminal burns, forcing closure of highway

The Associated Press, 2/25/02 5:24 PM

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Fire engulfed a warehouse at a large trucking terminal Monday afternoon, burning more than a dozen tractor-trailers and spewing smoke that forced the closure of a highway, officials said. Several hundred people were working at the Jaydee Trucking terminal when it was reported at 3:50 p.m., fire department Deputy Director Jose Cruz said. They all were safely evacuated, Cruz said. "It appears from what we're gathering that they might have tried to fight the fire themselves" before calling the fire department, Cruz said. Flames shot through the roof of the 200-foot-long warehouse and formed smoke clouds that witnesses reported seeing 20 miles away. About 16 trucks were fully involved with the fire, Cruz said. The smoke forced the closure of part of the Pulaski Skyway near Jersey City after a three-car collision, authorities said.

Fire officials raise concerns about Borgata safety

February 21, 2002, By BRIDGET MURPHY Staff Writer

ATLANTIC CITY - After firefighters put out a small roof fire at the Borgata casino construction site Tuesday, officials expressed concerns about fire safety at the Marina District structure. The flare-up was caused by a welder who accidentally lit roof insulation, according to Fire Battalion Chief Dan Tamburilla, who supervised firefighters' response. Officials found later that some of the welding contractors who are working at the site don't have the required fire-safety permits for that work, Fire Official James Foley said. Borgata CEO Bob Boughner said Wednesday that he was on-scene during Tuesday's roof fire and that if fire officials see any deficiencies at the site, they will be corrected. Foley said he's looking into fire code requirements about water availability at structures that are under construction and will also arrange a meeting with Borgata officials to discuss concerns. A welding flare-up recently caused a three-alarm fire at Virginia and Atlantic avenues and led to the city fining two contractors thousands of dollars because they did not have a safety permit. At about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, a passer-by called the Fire Department after seeing smoke coming from the construction area, but no one at the site seemed to have knowledge of a fire when firefighters arrived, Tamburilla said. The fire was then seen on a fourth-level roof on the Brigantine side of a parking complex. Firefighters went up on a temporary elevator, or hoist way, and used extinguishers to douse the flames. "It's a huge complex and what we have to fight fire is, I think, two hydrants on site," the battalion chief said. High-rise buildings are vulnerable to fire when they're being erected because fire suppression systems aren't in place, according to fire officials. "They need to give us more access to water sources," Tamburilla said. "If that fire got away, to be hypothetical, I'm thinking (it would be) 20 minutes to get water on it." The battalion chief said that firefighters had gone to the construction site on Monday to become familiar with Borgata, which helped them locate and put out Tuesday's fire. The $1 billion, 2,010-room casino is scheduled to open next year.

UPDATE, A.C. rules CRDA not to blame in Jan. fire

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258, E-Mail <mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

ATLANTIC CITY - The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has been absolved of blame and will pay no fines for a three-alarm fire started by contractors working on one of its improvement projects, officials said Tuesday. Earlier this month, the city's Fire Department cited the CRDA for not obtaining a fire-safety permit and sought fines of at least $41,500 from the state agency and two contractors involved in the Jan. 25 blaze on Atlantic Avenue. But further investigation revealed that the authority had no responsibility for obtaining the permit and ensuring the safety of the construction activities of the contractors, officials said. Fire Official James M. Foley sent a letter to the CRDA last week formally releasing the authority from the case. He is now focusing on the two contractors, MB Markland Contracting Co. of Atlantic City and South Jersey Overhead Door Co. Inc. of Vineland. "It falls between those two," Foley said of Markland and South Jersey Overhead Door. "Clearly, the CRDA provided the documentation that it was Markland's responsibility to obtain the permit." CRDA Executive Director James B. Kennedy praised Foley for investigating even further. Foley originally held the CRDA responsible, along with the contractors. "He called it as he saw it," Kennedy said of Foley. "He had the courage to review the documents and reverse his decision." Kennedy publicly released a copy of Foley's letter, dated Feb. 15, during the CRDA's board meeting Tuesday. He said the letter completely absolves the authority of responsibility for the fire and any fines. "It is evident that CRDA is the financial backer and not responsible for obtaining city permits and insuring the safety of the welding and cutting operations. Please consider this letter your release from this matter," Foley wrote. Kennedy said Markland was the CRDA's contractor and South Jersey Overhead Door was serving as subcontractor when the fire broke out during welding operations at the Crown Liquors store on Atlantic Avenue. The contractors were working on a fagade-improvement project financed by the CRDA. "They didn't follow the safety requirements and, hence, that's why the building burned down," Foley said in an interview Tuesday. The fire destroyed Crown Liquors and badly damaged a five-story apartment building on the corner of Virginia and Atlantic avenues. City officials and the apartment owner are discussing whether to demolish the entire building or perhaps tear down the top three floors and save the bottom two. Police continue to guard the surrounding area to prevent people from getting too close to the damaged building. Police protection is costing $1,250 a day. Foley said the city intends to add those costs to the $41,500 in fines it has already assessed against the contractors.

UPDATE, Welding accident stokes fires of friendship

CRITICALLY BURNED in an Abernathy explosion, pastor finds care of friends a balm to body and spirit.

JOHN REYNOLDS, AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Sometimes it can take a trial for a man to find out who his friends are. John Valdivia, 39, of Dumas faced that trial when a welding accident left him severely burned Wednesday. Since then, the traveling pastor and evangelist has received calls and visits from friends from Amarillo to Lubbock, his sister, Lidia Valdivia, said Friday. Along with John Valdivia's strong faith in God, Lidia Valdivia credits the positive thoughts of those concerned about her brother for bringing him back from the edge. "We can feel the power of prayer all the way down I-27," she said. While Valdivia remained hospitalized over the weekend, the speed of his recovery has taken his doctors by surprise, his sister sad. By Friday he was breathing on his own, and by the weekend he was already trying to minister to fellow burn victims at University Medical Center, she said. On Wednesday, though, such a happy ending seemed unlikely. Valdivia and a friend, Stoney Marshall, had gone to the house of Mike Perez in Abernathy to restore Perez's classic car, Lidia Valdivia said. Valdivia was under the car when he started the welder to attach a muffler clamp, Lidia Valdivia said. Stray fumes started an explosion that sent a ball of flame about 20 feet and lifted the car off the ground, according to Marshall. Valdivia was burned severely, suffering second and third degree burns through his welding mask from the bottom of his neck to the top of his head, Lidia Valdivia said. Marshall, who also was burned badly by the fireball, quickly put Valdivia in his car and began the trip to Lubbock to get treatment for his friend, he said. A half-mile north of New Deal, Valdivia began to go into shock, so Marshall used Valdivia's cell phone to call an ambulance, he said. AeroCare eventually responded and flew Valdivia to UMC for treatment, Marshall said. Marshall continued driving to UMC, oblivious to the injuries he had suffered. When he got to the hospital, a doctor "said I was red as a lobster," Marshall said. However, he would not agree to receive treatment for his injuries until he saw Valdivia, who Marshall describes not just as a friend, but a brother. Marshall was admitted for injuries to his eyes and vocal cords. He was released Saturday. Marshall said Saturday he never thought twice about his safety when trying to save his friend. "I would do it again," he said. "He would've done the same for me." While Valdivia has made it through the most critical stages, he still faces some arduous trials on the road to recovery. The hearing in his right ear was affected by the explosion, and he may have to undergo plastic surgery on the right side of the face, Lidia Valdivia said. He was fortunate to have been wearing his welding helmet, she said. "The owner of the house (Perez) said, 'You should look at the helmet,"' she said. "It's scary to think what would have happened to him without it." Through it all, Valdivia "hasn't complained," his sister said. "He's pretty special." But then again, so are his friends. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Worker's torch starts fire at plant

By Larry Hobbs, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, Sunday, February 17, 2002

WEST PALM BEACH -- Thick smoke and the pungent odor of burning rubber filled the air above the West Palm Beach water treatment plant Saturday afternoon after a worker's torch set fire to a storage tank, West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue Capt. Cletus Pirtle said. Firefighters received the call at 5:30 p.m. and had the fire out by 6:10 p.m., Pirtle said. The fire started while a crew was dismantling an old, unused 80,000-gallon storage tank, which once held ferric sulfate, said West Palm Beach water utilities chief operator Ken Blakeney. The chemical is used in the purification of drinking water, he said. Ferric sulfate is now held in new storage tanks, and the one that caught fire was one of two that an outside contractor is dismantling and hauling away to sell for scrap, he said. The tank's interior has a rubber liner, about 1/16th of an inch, to seal in its contents, Blakeney said. The tank had been cut in half down the side when a cutting torch torched the rubber lining, Blakeney said. Pirtle said the fire was no threat to the rest of the water plant, although firefighters were concerned at first that it might spread to a pair of fluoride storage tanks about 20 feet north of the burning tank, he said. Otherwise, they may have guarded the fire and let it burn rather than risk exposing firefighters to the dangers of possible hazardous materials, he said. "With this, we could have sat there and let it burn out and it wouldn't have done anything other than some smoke pollution," Pirtle said.

Worker injured after fumes ignite

2002-02-16

A man was injured Friday morning in a fire at an Oklahoma City chemical plant. Fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said Eddie Rogers, 44, suffered first- and second-degree burns on his legs and part of his forehead in a fire at Chem Service Inc., 4702 SW 20. "He was treated at the scene by Oklahoma City Fire Department paramedics and then taken to Southwest Medical Center, where he was treated and released," Stanaland said. "He should recover just fine. It's very fortunate that he was the only worker at the plant injured." Stanaland said a worker was welding an empty methanol tank about 11:30 a.m., when lingering fumes in the tank ignited. Firefighters contained the fire in less than 10 minutes. Stanaland said several propane tanks and barrels filled with chemicals were damaged and might have exploded if the fire had continued. "It's fortunate we got it put out that quickly because of all the chemicals stored in that building," Stanaland said. "We were very fortunate with that many chemicals that we didn't have more explosions." Stanaland estimated the fire did $4,000 in damage to the building.

UPDATE, Welding burn victim improving

Friday, February 15, 2002, Last modified at 1:28 a.m. on Friday, February 15, 2002, The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

The victim of a Wednesday afternoon welding accident near Abernathy remained hospitalized Thursday at University Medical Center, but his condition has improved. John Valdivia was upgraded to serious condition Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Valdivia was seriously burned while welding. He was being transported to the hospital by private vehicle, but his condition worsened during the trip. Lubbock EMS was called to meet the vehicle on Interstate 27, a half-mile north of New Deal, a Lubbock Sheriff's Office spokes man said Wednesday. Rescue personnel eventually called AeroCare to take Valdivia to UMC.

Five injured in Baldwin power plant fire, explosion

By The Du Quoin Evening Call

Workers using explosives to blast unburned coal ash from the walls of fuel storage areas at the Baldwin power station apparently caused a flash fire that sent five to area hospitals. Contractors were cleaning unburned coal ash deposits at the plant at about 8:30 a.m. when the fire erupted, according to Greg Ade, director of maintenance programs for Dynergy Generation, which operates the plant. He said coal ash hardens as it builds up inside the hopper and explosives are used to break up the deposits before they are taken out. The combination of explosives, ash and oxygen caused the 20-foot wide wall of flames. Four contractors who worked for Graycor Construction Service of Homewood, Ill and a fifth Swansea contractor were injured during the fire. In house firefighters extinguished the flames. The furnace connected to the hopper was shut down. Two remaining furnaces remain fully operational.

Welding accident burns area man

Thursday, February 14, 2002, The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

A man who was seriously burned in a welding accident in Abernathy Wednesday afternoon was in critical condition Wednesday evening at University Medical Center. The man initially was being brought to Lubbock by private vehicle, however his condition worsened considerably at about 3 p.m. Lubbock EMS was called to the private vehicle, which was about a half-mile north of New Deal, the LCSO's spokesman said. Eventually, AeroCare was called to finish transporting the victim to the hospital.

Firefighters battle blaze at salvage yard

Burning cars, grass concern fire department, but quick action results in minimal damage

by Jeremy Waltner

The call came in as a grass fire, but when members of the Freeman Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the Huber Motors farm four miles west of Freeman last Wednesday, Feb. 6, it was the cars ablaze that alarmed Freeman Fire Chief Blaine Saarie. Owned by Huber Motors of Freeman, more than 100 cars used for scrap metal dot the intersection of 280th St. and 435th Ave. west of Freeman. Last Wednesday, when Hubers' employee DeWayne Graber was using a torch to cut metal off one of the vehicles, a spark ignited the grass below. Saarie said the dry conditions and strong north wind caused the flames to spread quickly, and several cars caught on fire. Unable to put the blaze out himself, Graber went to Norman Hofer's farm nearby to call 911. Saarie said when the fire department arrived on the scene at 3:40 p.m., seven cars were on fire, as well as areas of the grass on the 100 acre lot. Saarie says his first reaction was a question: "Was there gas in the cars?" Nobody on the scene knew for sure, he says, but Graber told him it was a possibility. "Obviously, our main concern at that point was putting out the fire by the vehicles," Saarie said. That, he said, and a barn not more than 50 yards from the fire that - had the flames continued to spread - would have been at severe risk. So while the pumper and tanker trucks weaved in and out of the rows of old cars - many had long been rusted out - and extinguished the flames, the department's grass truck circled the perimeter of the acreage to extinguish the grass fire. Saarie said firefighters also concentrated on the immediate surrounding area to knock down potential hot spots. "Once we got the grass truck on the edge of the fire and the pumpers on the cars, everything went very smoothly," Saarie said. An hour after they arrived, firefighters were heading back to Freeman. Saarie says it's tough to estimate how much damage was caused by the fire. "It's tough to determine salvage loss," he said, but notes it's likely that valuable parts from some of the old vehicles were unable to be saved. Nobody was injured in the blaze.

Welder Burned In Fire at Elevator Plant

Middleton, TN, United States, 2/12/2002- 5:00 PM

An explosion and fire Tuesday (2/12/2002) at an elevator plant injured a welder, authorities said. The unidentified worker suffered first- and second-degree burns over about 9 percent of his body. Thyssen Krupp Elevator Plant Company vice president Jerry Watkins said the 5 p.m. CST explosion apparently occurred when the welder working in a lacquer booth got too close to a ventilation pipe that brings fresh air into the area. No structural damage was reported. The fire was contained to a small area of the building. The plant, which has 830 employees, is expected to be in full operation Wednesday. It is one of the largest elevator manufacturing facilities in North America.

Worker burned when blow torch ignites fuel tank

CHEWSVILLE - An Elwood's Auto Exchange employee singed his hair, eyebrows and eyelids and burned his belly when his shirt caught fire Saturday after he ignited a fuel tank with a blow torch, a fire official said. The employee, whose name was unavailable, refused medical treatment, Smithsburg Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Ronnie Jeter said. The man was working on a junker when the torch ignited gasoline in the tank and a flame shot out, Jeter said. Four junkers and a company vehicle were damaged in the 11:50 a.m. fire at the salvage yard off Md. 64, according to Jeter and company employees. Jeter said firefighters were lucky because the flames were about 20 feet from oxygen and propane tanks. The propane tank was venting gas, as is normal, so firefighters tried to keep the fire from getting too close to the tank, he said. Since the fire was behind the main building and about 2,000 feet from a hydrant on Md. 64, three tanker trucks responded to supply water, Jeter said. Approximately 30 to 35 firefighters responded and the fire was out within 30 minutes, he said. Jeter described the fire as "stubborn" because it included burning tires and oil. Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co. Inc. and Smithsburg Emergency Medical Services Inc. also responded, Jeter said. - Julie E. Greene

Several boats are destroyed in $2.5M. Somers Point fire

February 11, 2002, By MARK TYLER Staff Writer, (609) 272-7238, E-Mail <mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

SOMERS POINT - An accidental fire at the Harbor Cove Marina destroyed three dry-docked boats Sunday, including an award-winning sailboat. Among the boats destroyed in the $2.5 million fire was the Sweetie, a 34-foot sailboat whose crew was a first-place winner in last year's Heart Cup Regatta charity race to benefit cardiac services at Shore Memorial Hospital. Skipper Mike Perry, who owns both the Sweetie and the Harbor Cove Marine Services marina, was working on the weatherproof seal on the Forget Me Knot, a 48-foot powerboat docked between his own sailboat and the Integrity, a 45-foot powerboat, when the fire started. The fire, first reported at 10:33 a.m., quickly spread to the adjacent vessels. "The whole thing was gone in 10 minutes," Perry said. "I was very fond of that boat. We had big plans. We were going to go on to the world championships." Somers Point Fire Chief Frank Denan said Perry was preparing to go on vacation when he checked all of the boats and noticed that a piece of shrink-wrap was missing from one of the corners of the Forget Me Knot. Perry used his propane-powered shrink-wrap gun to reseal the boat, apparently causing the fire, Denan said. "He saw what he thought was some smoke and there were flames in the bottom of the hull. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put the fire out," Denan said. "He might have held the gun on the corner for too long.." Perry should have called the Fire Department first, Denan said. The blaze quickly grew to two alarms, summoning 40 firefighters, four pumpers, an aerial tower and a rescue truck. A stream of thick black smoke streamed 50 feet into the air. Flames followed the smoke trail upward 30-40 feet, making the fire visible from as far away as Margate. The boats contained onboard fuel, but that was not a factor in the blaze, fire officials said. The Harbor Cove Marina is behind the Bubba Mack Shack restaurant on Bay Avenue. "We've spent a lot of hours on that boat," said Len Dagit, a crewman on the Sweetie. "It breaks your heart. In another month we would have been gearing up for this year's season." Meanwhile, some nearby homeowners were voluntarily evacuating. "We're glad the boats are over there," said Loretta Priest, who lives at 11 Kapella Ave. Her children saw the flames from the window and called her at work. "At one point those boats were right behind our window," Priest said. Jim Murray, who lives nearby on Launch Avenue, came into the area to investigate when he saw the smoke. "We thought it was a house on fire," Murray said. David Rain, 42, of Ocean City, who owns the Integrity, came to the scene from the Atlantic City Boat Show after receiving a call from the U.S. Coast Guard. The boat's electronic emergency system alerted the Coast Guard to a problem and officials there called Rain. "There are 140 hours on that boat," Rain said. "It's been in the water for one year." Firefighters worked for more than 90 minutes to extinguish the stubborn blaze that subsided and then rose several times in part because the boats were made of Fiberglas. "Fiberglas is extremely flammable," Perry said. "It just doesn't want to go out," said Atlantic County Fire Marshall Harold "Whitey" Swartz, who came to the scene when the second alarm was called. The Bargaintown and Scullville volunteer fire departments in Egg Harbor Township covered calls in other parts of the city with a pumper and ladder truck respectively. Firefighters finally were able to extinguish the blaze by using a high-expansion, all-purpose foam to smother the fire. But that could only be done after flames were small enough for firefighters to get close to the boat. "Foam stops the combustion," Denan said. "Accidents happen and that's what it's going to be determined." There were no injuries. The $2.5 million damage estimate was for the three boats that were completely destroyed and others that suffered heat damage and also may be totaled.

Blaze Damages Walcott Home

By: Phil Roberts, February 06, 2002

A Jan. 30 house fire in Walcott caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to a ranch-style home and its attached garage. Firefighters were notified at 5:11 p.m. of a fire at a house owned by Geraldine Reese at 354 N. Grove St. A neighbor across the street called in the report. Chief Tim Iossi of the Walcott Fire Department drove directly to the scene and said that flames were visible on his arrival. He immediately called for mutual aid from firefighters in Blue Grass and Durant. They provided pumpers, ventilating fans and extra manpower to supplement Walcott Fire Department's efforts. Blue Grass and Durant firefighters remained on the scene until after the fire was knocked down and brought under control. According to a WFD incident report, the cause of the fire is under investigation. But a man who lives at the house said he had been welding in the garage before leaving to plow driveways in the neighborhood. It was snowing at the time of the fire. The first fire unit arrived at the scene three minutes after being dispatched despite the snowstorm and slippery streets. Walcott firefighters were on the scene two hours and 52 minutes. A two-car attached garage and its contents were destroyed in the fire. There was also damage in the attic area of the house and some smoke and water damage, firefighters said. No injuries were reported.

Fire at popular Ward restaurant; Dave and Buster's is evacuated after a welder sparks a blaze in an upstairs arcade

By Nelson Daranciang

Dave and Buster's management waited for the fire department to clear smoke and water from the new entertainment complex to determine the damage from a fire this morning. A Kaiser High School junior class outing to Dave and Buster's was 20 minutes old when the students evacuated the Kakaako arcade because of a fire in the game room on the third-level of the building. "I was playing one of those car arcade games and I could smell the smoke. It was happening by me but I didn't know what it was. Then some people came and told me, 'There's a fire, so you have to get out and leave," said Sheena Henriques, a Kaiser High School junior. The fire was caused by some sparks from a welding torch, said Capt. Kenison Tejada, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman. "According to what one of the welders told me, he was welding, and the sparks, the wash fell onto some stuffed animals. The stuffed animals started to smolder." Tejada said the welder used four or five extinguishers to try to put out the fire and then the sprinklers turned on. No injuries were immediately reported. "We hope that we'll be reopened this afternoon or this evening," said Jackie Smythe, company spokeswoman. She said the fire was contained to one area, but they had some concern over water damage. Fire investigators had yet to make a damage estimate. The Kaiser High School students arrived at Dave and Buster's in the Ward Entertainment Center at 1044 Auahi St. about 8:45 a.m. The first of two fire alarms sounded at 9:09 a.m. Firefighters were on the scene in four minutes and had the fire under control by 9:37 a.m., Tejada said. By then the students were back on the bus headed back to school. Just over 100 students went on the all-day outing that was to include lunch followed by a movie, said Anthony Gayer, Kaiser High School Vice Principal. The class leaders are working with Dave and Buster's to reschedule to a future date, he said.

UPDATE, CRDA to face fines following fire that displaced 25 in Atlantic City

By BRIDGET MURPHY Staff Writer, (609) 272-7257, E-Mail <mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

ATLANTIC CITY - The Casino Reinvest-ment Development Authority likely will be fined in connection with Friday's blaze at Virginia and Atlantic avenues that caused at least $1 million in damages and displaced 25 people, a fire official said. A welder's torch sparked the blaze at Crown's Liquor Store, and the contractor, who was doing storefront facade work there as part of a CRDA-sponsored improvement project, did not have a fire-safety permit that is required for welding work, Fire Official James Foley said late Monday afternoon. Flames spread through the walls and floor joints of the liquor store - owned by Robbie Sless and located at 1004 Atlantic Ave. and in part of 1006 Atlantic Ave. - ravaging those buildings and a connected apartment building at 2 S. Virginia Ave. Firefighters battled flames for more than nine hours before the three-alarm fire could be brought under control. Two shifts of firefighters were recalled and ambulances from throughout Atlantic County, and a few from Camden County, converged on the scene, along with city police officers. "More than likely we will cite them and try to recover costs that impacted the city," Foley said of the CRDA on Monday. The city will try to recoup the costs of overtime paid to police and firefighters and the money contributed toward relocation costs for the families who were left homeless by the fire, he said. Foley said the contractor for the project, MB Markland Contracting Company, and the subcontracting company that was doing the work, South Jersey Overhead Door Co. Inc., also will be cited. The only reason the safety violation citations haven't been issued yet is because officials haven't yet determined exactly how much the incident cost the city, Foley said. A fire-safety permit is required before welding work can be done, and is designed to ensure that workers have fire-extinguishing equipment on hand and watch for stray flames for an hour after work is completed, according to the official. A bulldozer was at the scene Monday morning and has been there since the night of the fire. City demolition chief Jim Herzog said that evening that the three buildings likely will have to be demolished. The front of the liquor store had buckled early that afternoon and collapsed later that evening. But the fate of the apartment building is uncertain. On Monday, city officials and a private engineer hired by building owner Tony Trombetta wrangled over the fate of the century-old, five-story building, which has an adult store featuring peep shows on its bottom floor. "I'm fighting to keep it," Trombetta said Monday, standing near the building he's owned for 30 years as a few of his ex-tenants returned to try to retrieve more personal belongings. Firefighters went back into the damaged structure Saturday and brought clothes and some mementos that could be saved out to the residents. Trombetta's engineer is expected to file a report concerning the structure's integrity with the city Solicitor's Office this week and then officials will review it along with city employees' findings. The city is treating the building like a collapse hazard, although public safety officials did open modified traffic lanes on Atlantic Avenue Monday afternoon. Areas of Virginia Avenue and Gordon's Alley remain closed. The CRDA office itself is closed. A line of yellow police tape was tied to the office's front door Monday. Located next to a store called Person to Person Gifts and Monogram, which is owned by Ray Coursey, the office is just two doors from where the liquor store stood. Firefighters hooked a hose into the CRDA's sprinkler system Friday as a precaution to save the office if flames spread there. CRDA Executive Director James Kennedy said Monday that some computers were damaged by smoke and employees will be working at alternative sites this week. Some are in a neighboring architect's office; others will work from home or at authority construction sites. Kennedy said Monday afternoon that Markland is a CRDA contractor, but the authority did not hire South Jersey Overhead Door. (Staff writer Donald Wittkowski contributed to this report.)

Man Seriously Burned In Construction Accident In Colorado

January 29, 2002

A 33-year-old construction worker was set ablaze when empty barrels of solvent he was cutting open with a torch exploded in Louisville, Colorado. Witnesses said the blasts yesterday blew one barrel 80 feet in the air, engulfing Noe Aguirre in flames. His co-workers smothered him under a tarp and doused him with fire extinguishers. Aquirre was flown to University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, where a spokeswoman said he suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns over 50% of his body and fractures of his left leg. He was listed in serious condition. His father, 66-year-old Rodrigo Aguirre, was treated for minor burns and released. Both men work for All-Phase Concrete Construction Inc. of Denver. The accident occurred in an industrial park. Lt. Dan Turley of the Louisville Fire Department said Aguirre was apparently using the torch to cut the bottom off a barrel containing a toluene-based solvent the company uses to help break concrete forms away from the concrete once the material sets. The torch ignited the remaining solvent and vapors inside, Turley said. The explosion set off a second blast in the other barrel.

Man hurt in Te Awamutu explosion

28.01.2002

A man suffered burns when a steel drum he was cutting exploded at a speedway near Te Awamutu, south of Hamilton, yesterday morning. Te Awamutu police sergeant Lex Soepnel said Ngaruawahia man Murray Prowse, 37, was making rubbish bins by cutting the tops off empty drums with a gas torch at Kihikihi Speedway. A drum exploded at 11.10 pm. Mr Prowse was flown to Waikato Hospital with moderate injuries, including burns. The explosion knocked another man to the ground but he was unhurt. An Occupational Safety and Health inspector is investigating. The speedway hosted the National Street Stock competitions at the weekend. - NZPA

A.C. fire leaves 25 homeless

January 26, 2002, By BRIDGET MURPHY Staff Writer, (609) 272-7257

None hurt in blaze that causes $1M. in damage to apartments, businesses. ATLANTIC CITY - Fire destroyed three buildings Friday and severely damaged at least one other, despite the efforts of more than 70 firefighters, who battled smoke and flames for six hours, and then changed shifts with no end to the operation in sight. The fire consumed a five-story apartment building at 2 S. Virginia Ave., at the corner of Atlantic Avenue, and two connected three-story buildings at 1004 and 1006 Atlantic Ave., which house a liquor store and what appeared to be at least one apartment. Officials estimated the fire did $1 million worth of damage. A building at 1008 Atlantic Ave., which has a gift store and at least one occupied apartment, was seriously damaged. There were no serious injuries, but 25 people, including a few families with young children, lost everything in their apartments. Two businesses, an adult store on the ground floor of the apartment building, and the liquor store, were completely destroyed. Officials believe the fire may have been started by workers who were welding a storefront fagade on two connected Atlantic Avenue buildings. Many residents of the apartment building at 2 S. Virginia Ave. ran outside without shoes, some in shorts or pajamas. One mother wrapped a towel over her little girl's shoulders to keep her warm as another neighbor sat crying on a bench near the burning buildings. Authorities got a call for help at about 11:15 a.m., from someone reporting smoke in the apartment building. Two engine companies and one ladder company responded, under the command of Battalion Chief Dan Tamburilla. The firefighters searched through the building amid the thick smoke, but could not locate the fire. We were searching for the seat of it," Tamburilla said later. As Deputy Chief Fred Sacco arrived at the scene, welders who were working on the storefront fagade in the front of 1004 and 1006 Atlantic Ave. waved him over because they saw smoke coming from the area. Firefighters had already committed to action in the apartment building, but then realized the fire had begun in a different building, likely over the liquor store, and two more fire companies were called to the scene. "Now we get the call that the fire was on Atlantic Avenue," Tamburilla said. "That was quite a curveball." The firefighters attacked the fire offensively, going inside the buildings and to the apartment building roof. A ladder company cut a hole in the roofs of 1004 and 1006 Atlantic Ave., trying to vent the flames and keep the fire in those buildings, but firefighters then found that the liquor store had two roofs. The one they cut through was actually a false roof, so the heat wasn't coming out. They also tried to vent the fire by opening a door on the roof of the apartment building. "The idea was to vent that building as much as we could but it was in vain," Tamburilla said. "It just took off. Ultimately it got too dangerous. We pulled the guys out and had to start backing apparatus up." There was a danger that one of the storefronts would collapse, and apparatus was moved farther from the sidewalk as the aluminum-sided wall buckled. Fire officials called a second alarm at 11:41 a.m., followed by a third alarm at 12:01 p.m. That brought all but two of the city's fire apparatuses to the scene, and city firefighters from two shifts, between 30 and 40 men, came back to work. Absecon, Pleasantville and Ventnor firefighters filled in at the city's firehouses, and ambulances from all over Atlantic County, including as far away as Dorothy, came to the scene. Hours later, at about 3 p.m., the Community Haven high-rise on Pacific Avenue, which is filled with senior citizen residents, had to be evacuated because of smoke. Then ambulances began arriving from as far away as Camden County, and at least four jitneys and two large city buses were used to transport a few hundred senior citizens to Resorts Atlantic City. One senior citizen had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighter John Brenner III was treated at Atlantic City Medical Center, City Division, for smoke inhalation and released. He later made his way back to the scene. By 12:30 p.m., fire had spread to the apartment building's elevator shaft and heavy fire made collapse a threat. That's when officials decided to pull firefighters back and start pumping water on the building from the outside in a "surround and drown" strategy. At most times during the afternoon, at least six hoses were trained on the buildings, as smoke that went from black to brown to white blew onto Virginia Avenue so thick that the lights from Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, just a block away, couldn't be seen. Chunks of ash caught in the wind and fluttered down to the street, as the hose streams sent a screen cascading to the sidewalk below as flames burst from a fourth-story apartment window. Firefighters perched on ladders several stories above the ground, directing hose streams into the buildings as other firefighters trained hoses on the buildings from the street level. By about 4 p.m., firefighters began concentrating on protecting the buildings behind 2 South Virginia Avenue. Located just buildings away on Gordon's Alley, firefighters hooked a hose into the sprinkler system of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority office to protect the building. The air handling system at the Taj Mahal was shut down to stop smoke from being sucked inside, Battalion Chief Dennis Brooks said. One of the city's new fire engines was involved in a minor crash with a sport utility vehicle when relocating near the scene and sustained some damage. By 5 p.m., firefighters prepared for a shift change as the flames continued to burn out of control. Fire officials called the apartment building, which is owned by Tony Trombetta, and 1004 and 1006 Atlantic Avenue total losses, and estimated damages at $1 million. "The guys did a hell of a job, doing what they could do," Deputy Chief Sacco said shortly before 6 p.m. "It's still burning in the back. The top floor has collapsed," he said of the apartment building. The Red Cross responded to the scene and placed residents at a city motel near the Boardwalk. "I lost everything. We all did. It's so sad," said Terry Gay, the apartment building superintendent who rescued his dog from the building before the flames took hold. "We saw smoke in the kitchen," said Judith Guzman, a Caesars Atlantic City security guard who hugged her 11-month daughter Andrea to her breast on the sidewalk. "I saw it coming out from behind the stove. I ran out. One of my neighbors said there was a fire." Resident Ramon Lobo was sleeping in his second-floor apartment with his wife, Madey Ramus, and their 3-year-old son, Fabricio when smoke seeped in. "I got up and started calling floor to floor," Lobo said. "I told my fourth floor neighbor to look around." Residents said the owners of the liquor store were vacationing in the Caribbean for the week. Dozens of bystanders gathered to watch firefighters work, including a few City Council members. Emergency Management Chief Bob Levy and Police Chief Arthur Snellbaker also came to the scene, which was cordoned off by numerous police officers, who also helped coordinate the Community Haven evacuation, an effort which was reportedly diverted about 20 firefighters from the fire scene. Acting Fire Chief John Bereheiko made the rounds among the battalion chiefs and other deputy chiefs at the scene in the late afternoon, as firefighters began to dig in for a long night. City demolition chief Jim Herzog said the three buildings likely would have to be demolished. Some fire officials compared the devastation to a fire at the Manhattan Apartment building in the late 1970s, which had been located about a block away before it burned down. Before Friday, the city's last major fire was in August, when three town homes in the 300 block of Atlantic Avenue were destroyed by an electrical fire. They await demolition.

Burning down the house; Part of Mile High ignites during demolition process

Posted: Saturday January 26, 2002 8:28 PM

DENVER (AP) -- A fire destroyed seats, ceilings and carpeting in the west stands of Mile High Stadium on Saturday, days after wrecking crews began demolishing it to make way for a parking lot. The fire burned a 100-by-100-foot section of the second deck, including enclosed seats in the club level. There were no reports of injuries. The Denver Broncos vacated the stadium after the 2000 season to play in their new home, Invesco Field at Mile High. Demolition began last week, and on Friday the landmark scoreboard over the south stands was toppled. Fire officials had not determined the cause of the fire Saturday night. Joseph Hernandez, a bystander, said a welder told him he accidentally started the fire. He did not know the welder's name. Demolition crews were working in the area where the blaze occurred, said Matt Sugar, spokesman for the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, which oversees the new stadium. Hernandez said an emergency dispatcher didn't believe him when he first reported the fire. "I called the police to tell them about it and the dispatcher thought I was joking," Hernandez said. "I said, 'No, Mile High Stadium's on fire!'" Forty-four firefighters responded, extinguishing the blaze within 30 minutes. Fire Lt. Mike Engelbert said the club level, where some furniture and carpeting had not been removed, was heavily damaged. The stadium's sprinkler system had already been turned off because of the demolition. The fire never threatened Invesco Field, which stands just a few yards away. Mile High, revered by Broncos fans, gained a reputation as one of the noisiest and most intimidating stadiums for visiting teams. Some people watching the fire said it was the stadium's way of giving crowds one more blast of excitement. "It's only a physical structure, but it still has the last word," said 82-year-old Ivan Rosenberg. "It's always been a place of great activity. You think it's done and it says, 'Hey, watch this.'"

Water plant blaze causes little damage

By WILL MORRIS\Staff Writer

A fire broke out Friday at the CPWS water purification plant sending a plume of thick black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles. The afternoon fire started when workers renovating a water filtration basin accidentally cut into a bolt with an electric pipe saw, sending a shower of sparks onto plastic filters nearby. We cut a bolt with a saw... in five seconds (the basin) was engulfed in flames," said Martin Silva, 38, a contract construction worker at the plant. The workers in the basin tried to put out the fire with buckets of water, but said it only made it worse, so they abandoned the basin and fought the fire from a catwalk surrounding it, Silva said. Workers set up two hoselines and brought the fire under control, but were unable to put it out because of the noxious fumes produced by the burning plastic. Firefighters dispatched to the fire told the workers to evacuate, and using ventilators were able to put the fire out. A pilot for Raider Aviation in Mt. Pleasant said he received a call from a pilot who said he could see the smoke from Bowling Green, Ky. The plant, located on Nashville Highway, is undergoing renovations to increase the plant's water processing capacity from 15 to 20 million gallons per day. The plant processes water taken from the Duck River. The filtration basins, known as sedimentation basins, use chemicals, plastic tubing and gravity to filter out particulate matter found in the river water. The plant is being renovated under contract by Burgin Construction from Birmingham, Ala. The damage done to the plant was minor and won't effect the plant's ability to purify water. No one was hurt in the blaze. "It doesn't affect water quality or safety," said Jim Clark, general manager of Columbia Power and Water. Clark also said the fire won't affect the renovations. "It's more of a nuisance than a problem," he said.

Grass fire grew quickly due to wind, dryness

BY JILL CONNER Lincoln Journal Star

Although Saturday's skies were partly cloudy, a dark cloud hung for a time over residents in northwest Lancaster County. A cloud of black smoke, visible from Lincoln, was from a grass fire near Northwest 12th Street and Rock Creek Road. The fire started around 1:30 p.m. when Steven Baird was working on his tractor northeast of the intersection, he said. Baird said he was cutting a bolt with an acetylene torch, but its flame lit the grass and gusty wind spread the blaze quickly. "I wasn't prepared to fight the fire," Baird said. "It wouldn't have been a big deal except for the wind." Baird drove over to neighbor Cal Knudson's home, where Knudson called 911, Knudson said. The two then drove back to the corner to await firefighters as the blaze spread over more than 100 acres. Del King of the Raymond Volunteer Fire Department said his department first responded to the 911 call, but called other fire departments when they realized the extent of the fire. About 20 trucks carrying 45 firefighters from Raymond, Valparaiso, Ceresco, Malcolm and Waverly fire departments responded to the fire, he said. At about 2 p.m., Susie Harris said she looked out her bedroom window to see a "wall of fire" inching its way toward her home at 20200 N.W. 12th St., about a half mile from where the fire started. "We started throwing everything we could into our cars," she said. But firefighters were able to stop the fire about 100 feet from her home. "We were very lucky," Harris said - and said she was actually grateful the fire destroyed some trees behind her home she's been wanting to uproot for years. At about 4 p.m., the blaze was subdued, but firefighters continued to work until about 7 p.m., King said. The National Weather Service said conditions across most of Nebraska are perfect for grass fires. Lincoln area firefighters responded to nine other grass fires from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. Winds of 10 to 20 mph and the dry conditions enabled the fires to move quickly when started, authorities said. W. Steven Schneider from the State Fire Marshal's office said the northern Lancaster County fire moved about 20 mph because of the winds. "This is not the time of year to burn anything," Schneider said. The amount of damage was yet to be determined, he said. Although damage to Baird's equipment was about $10,000, the fire was on Conservation Reserve Program land, King said, which means the land is farmland taken out of production to prevent erosion. "The biggest loss is grass and wildlife habitat," he said.

Workers Injured, Homes Damaged in Gas Explosion

Greenville, OH, United States, 1/24/2002

A gasoline storage tank exploded Thursday (1/24/2002), causing minor injuries to two workers and damage to three homes. The explosion happened at Monte Clark Petroleum, a bulk-fuel facility that is no longer in business. Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wolf said two workers were preparing to move a 24,000-gallon horizontal gasoline storage tank when their cutting tool generated sparks and ignited vapors in the tank. Wolf said the explosion damaged three nearby homes, blowing out windows in two and damaging the side of the third house. The workers were taken to Wayne Hospital, where they were treated and released.

Junkyard fire fills area with smoke

2002-01-21, Journal Staff

KENT -- A worker using a cutting torch accidentally ignited a pile of old cars at Japanese Auto Wrecking yesterday afternoon, fire officials said. ``It was a real tough fire to extinguish, because of the cars being piled two to three high,'' said Lt. Pat Pawlak, spokesman for Kent Fire & Life Safety. No one was injured and damage from the blaze had no dollar value, because the vehicles were junk cars, Pawlak said. However, smoke plumes floated north and the fire filled the area with a sharp, burned-rubber smell for several hours. Pawlak said three engines and one aid car responded at 1:20 p.m. to the business at 7777 S. 262nd St. About a dozen cars were involved in the fire. As the flames on each car were extinguished, a forklift operator removed the vehicles from the pile and firefighters doused hot spots, he said. Firefighters had the blaze contained within about a half hour, Pawlak said. A King County Fire Marshal's investigator examined the fire scene and interviewed workers, and determined the fire was accidentally started by a cutting torch.

Fire at Dunkin' Donuts

SARAH W. WALKER, Register Citizen Staff January 19, 2002

LITCHFIELD - As the roof of Dunkin' Donuts in Litchfield burned late Friday morning, Litchfield and Bantam fire departments scrambled to control the accidental blaze, while the Morris Fire Department stood by at Litchfield's fire station to respond to other calls."After an investigation by the Litchfield Fire Marshal Thomas O'Hare, it was found that workmen for the Berkshire Roofing Company who were repairing a leak, had accidentally started the roof on fire when the flame of a torch that they were using was swept by winds into a gap in the older building," O'Hare said in a press release. The two-alarm blaze, which started at 11:30 a.m., was controlled in about 45 minutes. The fire damaged the roof of Dunkin' Donuts, but did not cause any damage to nearby Senor Pancho's Mexican Restaurant or a new construction on the premises, according to O'Hare. It is unknown what, if any damage occurred inside the building. Exterior damage to Dunkin' Donuts was estimated at $5,000. Workmen began repairs to the burnt building on Friday, O'Hare said, after receiving approval from the Litchfield Building Official. Dunkin' Donuts in Litchfield is expected to reopen in a couple of days, though a specific date was not released.

Fire damages center's roof

From Times staff reports

An early morning Saturday fire at United Independent School District's Student Activity Complex Educational Support Center caused an estimated $10,000 damage. The complex is under construction on Highway 359. Laredo Fire Chief Alfredo Equigua said the blaze on the roof was ignited by a welder's spark. "The material that ignited was on the roof, which was tar paper and foam insulation. The fire covered a large portion, about 25 by 25 (feet). The structure itself did not sustain any damage," Equigua said. "The blaze was caused by some welding work. It spread and was fueled by the wind that made it bigger," he said. The chief said no injuries were reported and investigators ruled the damage at about $10,000. The firefighters used the construction company's own lift equipment and the fire department's aerial truck to attack and put out the fire on the roof. Equigua said it took the three units about five minutes to control and extinguish the fire.

Another local business heavily damaged by fire

ELANE JONES, The Daily Mountain Eagle, Published January 16, 2002 9:37 PM CST

Artec Tractor and Equipment Company became the third local business in less than a week to suffer heavy damage due to a fire. Saragossa Fire and Rescue responded to the structure fire that gutted one of the company's three buildings around 8:17 Wednesday morning. The business is located on Alabama Highway 5, about seven miles north of Jasper.Owner Arnold Trimm said he believed the fire started when sparks from a blow torch being used to do repair work on a bulldozer ignited material along a wall. "Three of us were inside the building and I was working on the dozer with the torch when it happened,"Trimm said. "One of the guys said 'fire,' but I didn't pay much attention. I thought he was talking about the torch. "It wasn't until he yelled 'big fire' that I turned around and saw the whole wall behind me was blazing. We ran out of the building yelling for someone in the office to call the fire department." Trimm said by the time the fire department arrived the building was fully involved because of all the flammable materials inside that are used to repair heavy equipment. "I think one reason the fire spread so quickly was because the air hose to the torch burned into," Trimm said. "The air from the hose just fed the fire and blew it up the wall. That caused the fire to spread through the building a lot faster than it normally would have.

"We're just thankful nobody was hurt. We can always replace a building, you can't replace a life. We'll just have to get everything situated, cleaned up and build it back, that's all we can do." Trimm said the business was insured, but he wasn't sure if it was enough to cover the damages caused by the fire. A Monday evening fire that caused major damage to the showroom of Jasper Industrial Supply Company is still under investigation by Jasper Fire and Police Department officials and the Alabama State Fire Marshal's office, according to Jasper Fire Chief John Dutton. A Sunday afternoon fire that gutted the warehouse section of McCutcheon-Love Furniture Company was caused by a massive electrical shortage, firefighters said.

UPDATE, Firm accused in fire paid fine in May

By COLLEEN KRANTZ and TAMMARA MEESTER, Register Staff Writer, 01/16/2002

Iowa City, Ia. - An asbestos-removal company accused of accidentally starting the Old Capitol fire paid $3,000 last May to settle an unrelated complaint about asbestos handling. The state sued Enviro Safe Air Inc., alleging that small amounts of dried-out asbestos were found at Sioux City's airport and federal building, according to state documents. To keep fibers out of the air, regulations require asbestos-containing material to be kept wet until sealed in containers. The Nov. 20 fire destroyed the Old Capitol's gold dome and cupola. Damage and expenses are expected to exceed $5 million. At the time of the fire, the University of Iowa building's exterior and dome were being restored. Workers from Enviro Safe, a South Dakota company, accidentally started the fire using a propane torch and heat gun to soften a paint-like coating containing asbestos, investigators said. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Enviro Safe had been cited at least three times since January 1999 for safety violations, although none was for improper use of a torch. One of those resulted in the company paying $600, according to John Haan, Department of Labor asbestos coordinator. Haan said he saw nothing to sug- gest the company should not get its asbestos-removal license. The state Department of Natural Resources has issued several citations to Enviro Safe in recent years, including the one resulting in the $3,000 settlement. Steve Parrott, director of university relations, said the university does not check with the department on the records of construction crews it hires. Enviro Safe attorney G. Daniel Gildemeister of Sioux City couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. He has said Enviro Safe followed regulations while removing asbestos from the Old Capitol. Since 2000, Enviro Safe has notified state and federal regulators at least 128 times that it was handling asbestos removal in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and South Dakota, according to a national database maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency. Officials inspected the company's work 79 times, according to the database. The database does not show any citations or warnings, but it is not always updated, state officials said. In December, the Department of Natural Resources issued a "notice of violation" in connection with the Old Capitol fire. The department, which is still considering a fine, believes Enviro Safe may have dried out the asbestos by using torches and heat guns.

UPDATE, Firework ban after fatal spark

John Gittings in Shanghai, Tuesday January 15, 2002, The Guardian

The manager of a Chinese fireworks factory caused a deadly explosion by using a scythe to cut fuses, it was revealed yesterday. Six people died at the factory in Yongzhou, Hunan province. The manager, who was among the dead, was apparently trying to step up output in time for next month's Chinese New Year, when fireworks are in most demand, when his scythe caused a spark. The plant was operating without a licence when the blast occurred on January 10. Eleven local officials have been punished and another 170 small factories in the area have been closed. The neighbouring province of Jiangxi said after a string of similar accidents that it would ban fireworks production, putting more than 200,000 employees, and thousands of villagers who assemble fireworks in their homes, out of work. An explosion there last month killed 14, officially, but local newspapers have published a list of 21 dead and allegations of a cover-up. The ban is supposed to be enforced by the end of the year. Critics accuse the authorities of taking the easy way out. "What laughable logic," a contributor to a website run by the official People's Daily wrote. "When accidents occur one should find out the cause, not use the blunt instrument of closure." Other critics predict that the ban will never be enforced, citing similar examples in the mining industry, in which thousands of workers die every year. Fireworks earn Jiangxi more than #30m a year in taxes. Hunan is another centre of production.

UPDATE, Company Fined in Del. Refinery Fire

Monday January 14 3:39 PM ET , Associated Press

DELAWARE CITY, Del. (AP) - Motiva Enterprises has been fined $259,000 for failing to inspect a refinery tank that exploded and killed a worker last summer, federal regulators said Monday. The body of boilermaker Jeff Davis, 50, of Fairless Hills, Pa., was never found. Seven people were also injured when the sulfuric acid tank blew up July 17 as welders worked above the tank. ``Motiva failed to internally inspect Tank 393 in a timely manner, despite its knowledge that the tank was long overdue for inspection, had a history of leaks and showed signs of deterioration,'' said Richard Soltan, OSHA regional administrator. The workers were employees of Washington Group International of Cleveland, a subcontractor.OSHA fined Washington Group $14,000 for failing to contain sparks while welding and cutting and for failing to train employees working in the cleanup of hazardous waste. Motiva said it strongly disagreed with the fines and would vigorously defend itself. ``Motiva and its employees never acted to violate OSHA requirements,'' the company said in a statement.

Coal fire linked to torch

Friday, January 11, 2002, By Jeff Kart, Times Writer

An explosion inside a Consumers Energy Co. building filled with coal and coal dust in Hampton Township ignited fires that took six hours to extinguish Thursday, firefighters said. The blaze started at about 4 p.m. after a worker used a cutting torch on railroad tracks inside the dumping building, which is used to dump coal from rail cars into a hopper and onto conveyor belts, firefighters said. There was 1 to 6 inches of coal dust and 100 tons of coal inside the building, part of the Karn-Weadock complex, 2555 Weadock Road, firefighters said. The dumping building is five stories tall; four of those stories are underground. Eight fire departments and a total of 40 firefighters used foam and water to put out the fires, said Hampton Township Fire Chief Wayne Schaefer. "It was a very, very volatile situation," Schaefer said. "The problem is that it's such a fine dust that if you were to hit it directly with water, it would be like spraying gunpowder into an open flame." Schaefer said the fire started after a contractor had used a cutting torch to repair a railroad track inside the building. Hot metal from the repairs fell into a pile of coal dust in a hopper below the tracks, igniting the pile and causing it to smolder, he said. No one noticed the smoldering pile until a rail car was dumped inside the building, riling up the coal dust and causing an explosion, Schaefer said. One worker was inside the building at the time, but he was in a control room and not injured, the fire chief said. There was no structural damage to the building, he said. But Karn-Weadock General Manager John Dobbs said Schaefer's explanation is only one possibility. Dobbs said Consumers will investigate the incident to determine exactly how it happened and how to keep it from happening in the future. "We need to get to the root cause and correct it," which should take about a week, he said. Dobbs said contractors follow a safety procedure when welding in the building. He said coal may have been smoldering in a rail car that was dumped in the building, or a spark from dumping equipment may have caused the fires. The Hampton Township Fire Department responded along with departments from Essexville, Portsmouth and Frankenlust, using foam from Kawkawlin, Pinconning, Bangor and Monitor fire departments, Schaefer said. "To put it in simple terms, what we wanted to do was make it rain inside that building with foam and water," he said. The building, constructed of steel, is about 40 feet wide and 250 feet long, he said. "Half of that building had spot fires in it," the chief said. "(The explosion) set off fires in at least a dozen and a half places." Dobbs said the coal from the building can still be used. - Jeff Kart covers Bay County government for The Times. He can be reached at 894-9639.

Fast-spreading fire leaves about 20 people homeless

By Barb Ickes/ QUAD-CITY TIMES

A fire sparked by furnace workers using a cutting torch caused more than $300,000 in damage Thursday to a 12-unit Rock Island apartment complex and its contents. The smoke and flames that shot off the rooftop of the complex were so thick, the fire could be seen from at least two blocks away. At least one woman, who is six months pregnant and whose apartment adjoined the second-story unit where the fire started, was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle, said Rock Island Fire Department Battalion Chief Kent Maeglin. She was treated and then released after it was determined her carbon monoxide levels were acceptable, he added. I believe she made the 911 call, Maeglin said. She was asleep and was awakened by the smoke detector, which shows just how important they are. As fast as the fire spread, she could easily have been a fatality. No other injuries were reported. He estimated the damage to the structure at $225,000 in addition to $90,000 in damages to its contents. While the upper levels suffered heavy fire damage, the lower level suffered severe smoke and water damage. He said that the fire was caused by a cutting torch workers for a furnace company were using to replace a furnace unit on the second floor. As firefighters drenched the blazing rooftop and upper-level apartments at 529 31st St., several people who live in the building met for the first time on the street below. Greg Morris, who works for the U.S. Coast Guard, said he had just come home for lunch when he realized his apartment complex was on fire. I swear to God I was just thinking about getting renter's insurance a couple days ago, he said. I got a lot of nice gifts from my family over the holidays - all of it's in there. My first concern, though, is with the welfare of my neighbors and the firefighters, he said as flames continued to shoot from the roof. I'm often working right alongside all these other service workers out here. Though Lonzo Childs was inside his second-floor apartment when the fire started, he had no idea his life and his home were in danger. I didn't smell smoke or anything, he said. I was watching TV, and the cable went out, and I didn't know anything was up until I stepped outside. I got a bill the other day for my renter's insurance, he said. I sure hope it didn't lapse. Neighbor Bryant Locher could not even hope his insurance had not lapsed as he watched his apartment building burn.

CONFINEMENT FIRE

January 10, 2002

Lots of thick smoke, but no animals were involved. An empty hog confinement building on the Jon Swenson farm, about six miles southeast of Belmond, was destroyed by fire around noon Friday, Jan. 4. Officials believe the blaze was started by workmen who were removing equipment from the south end of the building with a cutting torch. Dense smoke could be seen for miles and fire trucks from Meservey, Rowan, and Alexander assisted Belmond firemen. An interior wall stopped the flames from destroying the north third of the building, an official said. But the wooden frame in the south two-thirds was consumed and the steel exterior collapsed.

Cutting Torch Ignites Chemical Fire at Paper Plant; Residents Advised to Shelter in Place

Wayne Ryland, regional manager for poles for International Paper Co., said Wednesday's (1/09/2002) fire at the company's plant near 20th Street and Range Line started when a maintenance worker using a cutting torch ignited some of the preservative mixture the company uses to treat utility poles. That fire spread to the walls of the two-story building where the poles are treated. Initially, the sparks from the torch caused the oil in a sump to ignite and flash off, Ryland said. Our employees are trained to contain small fires, but my instructions are for them to back off and call the Fire Department if it gets too big. That's what they did, and the Fire Department did an excellent job. Joplin District Fire Chief Jim Austin said one firefighter was treated at the scene after some water, possibly containing a hazardous chemical, splashed into one of his eyes. Austin said the firefighter did not suffer any lasting harm. Fire Chief Bill West said the blaze involved a chemical preservative used to treat utility poles, and that made it a hazardous-materials situation. Ryland said the preservative is a mixture of a chemical called pentachlorophenol, or penta, and diesel oil. West said city officials used the reverse 911 system to alert Joplin residents north and west of the fire scene to close their doors and windows, and stay inside until the plume of smoke cleared. West said county officials were contacted to alert residents of Duenweg and Webb City. The company manager said it would probably be a good idea if we contacted people and let them know what was happening, West said. It is a chemical, and any time we have a chemical involved, we take precautions. With enough concentration, penta could cause eye and throat irritations. District Fire Chief Howard Reding said the alarm came in at 11:15 a.m., and the fire was under control by 12:04 p.m. All firefighters returned to their stations by shortly after 3 p.m. Ryland said some wooden structural members of the building were scorched, and some wiring and cabling will have to be replaced. The damage was far less than I thought it would be initially, Ryland said. If we had lost any of the pumps or other equipment, we'd be out for a longer time. I'm really proud of the response by the firefighters. They really saved us some big bucks.

Two hurt in Jerusalem petrol station accident JERUSALEM

Jan. 5

A welding accident caused an explosion at a petrol station in Jerusalem on Saturday afternoon, wounding two people, police said. ''We are talking about an explosion that occurred as a result of welding activity in a car,'' a police statement said. ''There were two wounded.'' One of the two was ''moderately injured,'' police said, while the other was only slightly hurt.

Man stable after blow torch line explodes

A 35-year-old Sussex man was injured in an explosion in the southeastern Johnson County town of Linch. Kraig Chadwick was apparently thawing the lines on a oil vacuum truck Thursday when the hose on a blow torch exploded, said Johnson County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Long. Chadwick was able to drive himself to help, then was taken by ambulance to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. He was listed in stable condition Friday. He is an employee of Linch Environmental Contractors and was working at the company's shop at the time of the accident.

-- By The Associated Press

Blaze destroys Pittsfield landmark

PITTSFIELD - A local landmark on South Main Street was destroyed Friday when a spark from a welding operation ignited the building. All that remained of the attached Pittsfield Bowling Center and Laundromat on Friday afternoon were a few cinder blocks, charred wood and a singed storage barn. Everything I worked for is gone, said a dazed Sessa Menendez, who owned the facility. The 63-year-old man said he would like to rebuild, but was not sure Friday if he would. I've got to see what the insurance will pay on it, he said. Six firefighters on the scene were taken to Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield where they were treated for smoke inhalation and inhalation of noxious fumes. They reportedly were in good condition late Friday afternoon. Dean Billings, assistant Pittsfield fire chief, confirmed Friday that the fire started in the 16-lane candlepin bowling alley. He said some welding was being done on pin sweepers when a spark apparently ignited the floor. By the looks of it, it started and went down under the bowling alley then into the walls and into the ceiling, Billings said. We feel it got a good start. Some explosions occurred while firefighters were battling the blaze. Billings said some 55-gallon drums of lacquer, which was used to coat the bowling lanes, apparently ignited and exploded inside the approximately 100-foot by 60-foot building. It was very difficult to fight, Billings said of the fire, because it had such a head start. Menendez, who has owned and operated the facility since July 1973, said he had enlisted the aid of a Waterville friend to weld parts onto the pin sweepers to make them stronger. Work on about half of the pin sweepers was completed last week and the friend had just taken a break Friday from work on the other pin sweepers when the fire erupted shortly after 10 a.m. A spark must have gone under there somehow, Menendez said as friends comforted him. Justin Wells, a part-time employee who was making some repairs elsewhere in the building, noticed smoke coming from under the floor and alerted Menendez. Believing that the fire was a small one, the pair tried to douse it with fire extinguishers and buckets of water. But the fire quickly spread as Menendez called the fire department. The thing is the fire was underneath the lanes so we couldn't get to it with a fire extinguisher, Wells said. Menendez said he rushed into the Laundromat and advised the people inside to quickly leave and to move their vehicles. I can't believe that went so fast, Menendez said of the building's destruction. If you want a little humor, I just paid my taxes, he said. His business, he said, catered to many leagues representing everyone from senior citizens to students. The nearest remaining candlepin facilities are in Augusta and Dover-Foxcroft. Roberta Nichols, an 18-year employee of the bowling alley, couldn't believe the devastation. She was to have worked Friday when the facility opened at 1 p.m. She said she and two others, in addition to Menendez and his wife, Marie, are now unemployed. Menendez, whose mobile home located several yards from the bowling alley remained unscathed, estimated that it would cost at least $1.5 million to replace the two businesses. He said he had about $45,000 worth of equipment inside the Laundromat. Assisting local firefighters at the scene were firefighters from Newport, Hartland, St. Albans, Burnham, Waterville and Detroit. Clinton firefighters remained on standby at the Pittsfield station.

Fire destroys part of Chilean fishmeal plant

Puerto Montt, Chile: Fire has destroyed a major part of the fishmeal production plant at the Pacific Star company in Chiloi. Losses could amount to US$729,000. The Pacific Star fishmeal production plant in Castro, on the Island of Chiloi, suffered thousands of dollars in losses after a fired destroyed a major part of its installations, according to a report in the newspaper "El Llanquihue". Fire started by welding spark? According to preliminary reports from firefighters, the fire started in the processing room of the plant, and quickly spread to the rest of the building, due to a large quantity of fibreglass in its construction. The assumption seems to be that the fire was caused by an incandescent metallic spark from welding work being done in the sector of the plant where the emergency started. 120 volunteer firemen belonging to 5 fire departments in Castro and a fire department in Dalcahue, Chiloi, fought the fire, and had it under control within an hour. Pacific Star registered a production of 46,000 tonnes of fishmeal this year. 74 staff members, in addition to 25 contract workers, were at the plant when the fire started. Heavy cost: In an interview for "El Llanquihue", the head of the plant, Milton Sanhueza, admitted - without making a detailed evaluation of the damages - that the losses would surpass 50,000,000 Chilean pesos (CLP) or about US$729,000. The newspaper reports that the company was covered by fire insurance. Production to restart this week: Mr Sanhueza said that the fire had been a very unfortunate incident, but pledged that production will resume this week, in the older part of the plant.

UPDATE, 2 men medevaced after explosion in Liberty County

December 11, 2001

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced two men on the morning of December 6 after they were critically burned in a natural gas explosion in Daisetta, on West Oaks Street, at approximately 8:30a.m. Roy Eugene Weaver,49, from Daisetta and Pablo Delarosa, 39, from Liberty suffered 3rd degree burns over 90 percent of their bodies. Melchor Delarosa, also of Liberty, suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face and arms. The Liberty County Sheriff's office contacted Coast Guard Air Station Houston around 8:45a.m. requesting immediate assistance to transport the two men who were most severely injured. According to their report, the men,employees of Hull Gas Plant L.P., had been working on a pipeline when the explosion occured. It was later determined that the three men were attempting to repair a broken natural gas pipeline. One of the three men lit a cutting torch to repair the pipeline, which ignited gas fumes in the hole where two of three men were working. Within twenty minutes, two Dolphin helicopters launched from the Air Station. The first helicopter landed on the football field of a nearby high school around 9:45a.m., and the second arrived around 10:00a.m. Both men were transported via ambulance to the helicopters, and were then flown to UTMB Hospital in Galveston. Melchor Weaver was transported to Liberty Dayton Hospital by Liberty County EMS. He was treated and later released. Weaver passed away early Saturday, December 8. Pablo Delarosa is still listed in critical condition.

UPDATE, Old Capitol damage to cost twice original estimate to fix

By COLLEEN KRANTZ, Register Staff Writer, 12/01/2001

Iowa City, Ia. - Repairing the damage from last week's fire at the Old Capitol will cost more than twice what was originally estimated. The University of Iowa, working with insurance representatives, placed the damage Friday at $5.2 million to $5.6 million, said Pamela Elliott, business and finance director for the Iowa Board of Regents. Officials are confident, however, that insurance should cover the damage. The state's general fund should not have to be tapped, unless it's to cover expenses in the short term, state Auditor Richard Johnson said. The Nov. 20 fire destroyed the Old Capitol's gold dome and cupola. The rest of the building remained standing but suffered significant water damage. Originally, the Iowa City fire marshal had estimated the losses to be $1.5 million to $2 million. Within a few days, however, it was clear that water damage inside the main part of the building was worse than initially believed. "We've been looking at all the water damage inside, and the fire marshal had no idea what it would be at the time" he did his estimate, said Steve Parrott, university spokesman. The $5.2 million to $5.6 million estimate, which includes expenses related to relocating staff from Old Capitol offices and fighting the fire, may be revised again, officials said. At the time of the fire, the building's exterior and dome were being restored. Workers from Enviro Safe Air Inc., a South Dakota company hired to work on the building, accidentally started the fire after using a propane torch and heat gun to soften a paint-like coating containing asbestos, investigators say. It's unclear what tool started the fire. The company was not supposed to use torches. Another construction company working on the renovation had warned the U of I as long ago as September that a fire might result. The U of I has said it may have been too lenient in simply warning the company about its alleged use of torches on the building. Enviro Safe officials have repeatedly failed to return phone calls. The company was insured for $2 million on the U of I job. It might end up being pressured to cover more, officials said. "The limit of the contractor's insurance doesn't necessarily limit his liability because he . . . probably has a separate umbrella policy that would cover more," Johnson said. "It could be devastating to a contractor that's a small contractor." The university has its own blanket policy that could be used to cover any losses not covered by Enviro Safe's insurer. "Let's hope they don't have to dip into the university's insurance because long-term, that will raise premiums," said regent David Fisher of Des Moines. The Board of Regents, which oversees the state's public universities, isn't likely to become directly involved, said regent Amir Arbisser of Davenport. The Old Capitol, in the heart of the U of I campus, served as Iowa's first capitol. It was also the first building owned by the university. The U of I expects to begin rebuilding in the spring, Parrott said.

UPDATE, U of I looks to rebuild with insurance

By COLLEEN KRANTZ, Register Staff Writer, 11/27/2001

Iowa City, Ia. - The University of Iowa expects a construction company's insurance to cover at least some damage from the Old Capitol fire. Iowa City Fire Marshal Roger Jensen said Monday that an Enviro Safe Air Inc. worker accidentally started the fire while using a heat gun and torch. It's definitely Enviro Safe's insurance company we will be having discussions with," university spokesman Steve Parrott said. The fire last Tuesday toppled the gold dome and cupola of the 160-year-old building, which served as the state's first capitol. The university had hired Enviro Safe of North Sioux City, S.D., to remove asbestos as part of an $895,000 renovation of the Old Capitol dome and exterior. The company used open-flame tools to soften a paint-like coating containing bits of asbestos, Jensen said, even though workers had been warned not to without proper permits from the university. Workers did not fill out papers to make such a request, university officials have said. They did not break any laws, Jensen said. The workers were using a heat gun and workman's torch outside the building near the base of the dome, Jensen said. A tool ignited the wood frame or possibly a bird or mouse nest, he said. Enviro Safe officials did not return a phone call Monday. The company has done asbestos removal and other work at other colleges, including South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota. Enviro Safe also removed asbestos from pipes at Corn Belt Power Cooperative power plants near Spencer and in Humboldt. There were no problems as far as the records show," said Kathy Taylor, vice president of corporation relations at Corn Belt Power of Humboldt. The company was cooperative during the investigation, Jensen said. "Our analysis that led to the determination that there was no criminal intent is complete," he said. "We will cooperate with the insurance companies and their investigators now." The building is insured under a university policy. Enviro Safe Air and another contractor were each required to carry $2 million in liability insurance. The damage could surpass $2 million, university officials have said. If Enviro Safe's insurance doesn't cover the entire amount, it's unclear who would pay the rest. Jensen said he planned to encourage the university to install an automatic sprinkler system in the Old Capitol. "This is a very close call to a piece of property near and dear to people not only in our city and university, but in our whole state," he said. "There are steps we could take to better protect it." Parrott said additional steps to protect the building would be wise. "We hope he doesn't mean absolutely just a sprinkler system, though, because it might have caused damage inside the building" with this fire, Parrott said. "But we might investigate something for fire suppression." A 1920s-era concrete fire wall helped prevent the fire from spreading beyond the dome and cupola, but the rest of the building was damaged by smoke and water. Firefighters generally try to use enough water to control a fire but not so much extra that the water causes a lot of damage, Jensen said. "Unfortunately, this fire was of such an extent that we were forced to use large-diameter pipes," he said. The University of Iowa Foundation has continued to raise money to repair the Old Capitol. At least $10,000 has been raised since the fire, Susan Shullaw, a foundation vice president, said Monday. If insurance covers the damage from the fire, the money will be used to complete restoration that already was under way, officials said.

Fire damages site for loft apartments

By Earl Daniels and Dan Scanlan, Times-Union staff writers

It could have been worse. Developer Mike Langton expected the worst Tuesday evening when he drove up to the front of a downtown building he is having redeveloped into 12 upscale loft apartments and saw 10 firetrucks. Langton had been telephoned at home that his building, the W. A. Knight Building at 113 W. Adams St., was on fire. The fire caused minimal damage to the building. Langton had scheduled a formal press conference for yesterday to let the public know the $1.6 million renovation process is under way. He postponed the event earlier this week because more work needed to be completed. Instead of a press conference Langton spent yesterday assessing the building's fire damage, which he estimates to be about $1,000. The public display now will take place Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the three-story building. When firefighters arrived at the W.A. Knight Building, smoke was coming out of the building, said Roscoe Hager of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Hager said there were no injuries or deaths associated with the fire, which was contained to the building's basement. Langton said the fire likely was caused by sparks from a torch being used by workers to cut steel railings in the building's elevator shaft. The sparks dropped into the basement, possibly igniting the fire. Fire department officials are still investigating the cause, Hager said. "It is kind of scary to have someone call you at home at 7:30 p.m. and say your building is on fire when I just borrowed almost $2 million to do this building," Langton said. "It was a near miss. It could have been worse because there are other buildings next to my building." Langton laughed when he compared the fire with the past difficulties he has experienced with getting the project started. "After all I have gone through with the city and lawyers who almost stopped this project, a fire almost did it."

Workers spark fire in complex

2001-11-13

Construction workers sparked a fire inside an exclusive northwest Oklahoma City condominium complex Monday. The fire at the gated Waterford Condominiums, 6206 Waterford Blvd., started about 2:45 p.m., fire Battalion Chief John Moad said. The workers remodeling the unoccupied condominium escaped. Moad said they may have been welding when the fire started. Atop the roof, firefighters cut a hole to ventilate smoke and flames coming from the second floor. No damage estimate was available and the cause was under investigation Monday.

Industrial building damaged by fire

Ruth Fuller, Published November 13, 2001

BEACH PARK -- Sparks from a welding tool apparently ignited a fire Sunday that caused more than $100,000 in damage to a Beach Park industrial building, authorities said Monday. Bonnie Brook Fire Protection District Chief Michael Yeager said the fire, at about 11 a.m., destroyed a section of the building, that houses five businesses. Sparks apparently ignited rags on a workbench, near where an employee was welding, Yeager said. Several barrels of racing fuel stored in the building along with two trucks caused small explosions, he said. No injuries were reported.

No one hurt in two weekend Elgin fires

By Tom O'Konowitz Daily Herald Staff Writer

Elgin firefighters on Sunday were investigating the causes of two house fires that occurred earlier in the weekend. No one was injured in either fire, but the houses both sustained moderate damage according to authorities, who said the fires appeared accidental in nature. The first fire was reported about 5:20 p.m. Saturday at 270 Lessenden Place on Elgin's near east side. Fire Capt. Rudy Horist said that a resident of the house was using a blow torch to repair some pipes in his bathroom when it apparently ignited part of a wall. The fire spread inside the wall, and the man called 911 before he and his family evacuated. Firefighters brought the fire under control in about a half hour, and damage was contained mostly to the bathroom, Horist said. An exact damage estimate was not available Sunday. The second fire of the day was reported shortly after 8 p.m. at 274 Waverly Drive on Elgin's east side. Horist said residents called the fire department after realizing a fire had started in the upper part of their home's chimney. The family had been using their fireplace when the fire started, but the exact cause of the fire was not yet determined. Flames spread across 30 feet of the home's roof and into the attic, and firefighters extinguished it in less than half an hour. No one was injured, and damage to the roof and attic is estimated at $15,000. Firefighters were continuing to investigate both incidents, but said they both appeared accidental.

Fire damages St. Anne's Hill house

By Lisa Perry, Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | An acetylene torch ignited a house fire that extensively damaged a home in the historic St. Anne's Hill district just after noon Saturday. A first-floor resident of 1427 E. Fourth St. was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The olive-green, two-story frame home is mid-block between Dutoit and Henry streets. The fire began on the ground level floor while someone was winterizing the duplex using the acetylene torch and tar. The fire spread quickly up through the walls to the second story and the attic, District Fire Chief Jim Beach said. Beach estimated damage to the structure at $25,000. Much of the damage was visible from the northwestern corner of the home closest to where the fire started.

State investigating the death of Bellevue auto shop worker

By SHEILA BURKE, Staff Writer

Yesterday's death of a 57-year-old Fairview man burned during an explosion at a Bellevue auto repair shop has prompted a state investigation into last Friday's accident. ''We will begin investigating immediately,'' said Nikki Crosslin, a spokeswoman with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration. TOSHA, which investigates workplace hazards and accidents any time a worker is killed on the job, will determine if any workplace safety standards were violated. James W. ''Johnny'' Roberts died just before 7 a.m. yesterday after sustaining burns on 80% of his body when a 500-gallon oil tank exploded at the business at 7400 Old Harding Pike. Another employee of the business, James Ivey, 38, of Nashville, was also injured in the accident. He suffered burns on more than 30% of his body and was in critical but stable condition in Vanderbilt University Medical Center yesterday, hospital spokesman Clinton Colmenares said. Roberts and Ivey were standing at the end of the tank when it exploded. Nashville Fire Department officials said the explosion started when sparks from a blow torch dropped on the tank and ignited the flammable liquid inside. A third employee had been standing on a ladder and cutting a piece of metal above the oil tank when the sparks fell. Roberts and Ivey were engulfed in a fireball when the tank exploded. TOSHA usually issues a report in four to six weeks and has the power to set financial penalties against Bellevue Auto Repair if the company violated safety standards, Crosslin said. Repeated phone calls to Bellevue Auto Repair yesterday afternoon went unanswered. Roberts' brother, Stanley Roberts, has set up a fund for the families of both victims. Anyone wanting to help the families can go to any AmSouth Bank branch and ask to contribute to the fund called ''Stanley D. Roberts, C/O James Roberts and James Ivey Burn Victims.''

Investigators: Torch Sparked Ballroom Fire

Firefighters pinpointed the cause of a Midtown ballroom fire last Friday, KMBC reported. Investigators determined that workers using a torch on some pipes accidentally started the fire at the Monoco Ballroom, which is located at 31st and Cherry streets. The historic structure was being renovated at the time of the fire. Damage to the building and contents is estimated at $275,000.

Store evacuated after construction fire

By Shana Gallentine

More than 200 customers and employees evacuated the Sam's Club on Atlanta Highway Monday morning after a construction fire broke out near the building. A portable crane being used to build an addition to the store caught fire shortly after 11 a.m., prompting store managers to evacuate the building. Though the crane was badly charred, no one was injured in the fire and the blaze did not spread to other areas. Capt. Melvin Jones of the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department said it took about 30 minutes to put out the fire because the blaze apparently caused the crane to leak flammable propane, gasoline and hydraulic fluid. By early afternoon, Jones said it was still unclear how the blaze started, and firefighters had been unable to find the crane operator for information. Jimmy Bellew, a maintenance employee at Sam's Club, said he had just left the construction area when the fire broke out, and said sparks had been flying down from where workers were welding ceiling beams. He speculated that the sparks may have ignited the blaze. Once everyone was evacuated to the parking lot, Bellew said the crowd heard a loud booming noise that sounded like an explosion. Despite talk that the propane tank had exploded, Jones said that was not the case. ''A tire exploded -- the propane tank never did explode,'' Jones said. ''... Our main goal was to get the fire out before the propane tank exploded.'' Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, October 30, 2001.

Midland chemical company catches on fire, prompts resident evacuation

By Naomi Watts, Odessa American

MIDLAND - Dozens of south Midland residents were evacuated briefly Tuesday when a chemical company caught fire. The Midland Fire Department was called to a chemical fire at Tetraco, located at 2500 W. Francis Ave., shortly before noon. Midland County Fire Marshall Dale Little said an overhead door company was cutting a hole in a wall in a warehouse when sparks from the blow torch caught insulation on fire, which then ignited two barrels of diesel fuel. The fire concerned officials because three 500-gallon tanks of methanol were being kept in the warehouse as well, said MFD investigator Michael Cota. Methanol becomes a toxic gas when burned, Cota said. Residents in a half-mile radius around the chemical company, which is located in the Cotton Flats area of South Midland, were evacuated for about an hour, Little said. We evacuated the area until we found out what the chemicals were, Little said. Any time you're dealing with chemicals that are unknown, it's always dangerous. Cota said the fire department used an alcohol-resistant soap foam and carbon dioxide extinguisher to put out the fire in about an hour. Residents were then allowed to return home. No injuries were reported, although the building suffered structure damage, Little said. Tetraco officials declined to comment on the fire.

Extensive Damage Done To Landmark Building

CARMICHAEL, Calif. - A fire tore through a popular Mexican restaurant Tuesday morning in Carmichael a day before it was scheduled reopen. Jose's, at Fair Oaks and Garfield, has been serving customers for more than 25 years old, while the building is about 90 years old. Investigators said the restaurant was destroyed and the bar heavily damaged. "When I realized it was Jose's it just made me sick," JoAnn Hunting, a Carmichael resident, said. "Because, like I said, this is a landmark. It has been here forever." Jose's owner Bill Neely said the restaurant has been closed since March for remodeling that was necessary after a kitchen fire. The final inspection before it reopened was supposed to take place Tuesday, he said. A construction worker smelled gas and saw smoke before calling 911 about 8:30 a.m., according to firefighters, who rushed to get two large propane tanks out of the building. "There are several attick spaces and add-ons to the restaurant, and the fire worked its way into the attick," Capt. Pat Ellis of Sacramento Metro Fire said. Ellis said that the fire was caused by someone using a blowtorch on a construction project in the kitchen.

Construction accidents endanger downtown Cherokee businesses

Times Staff Report, October 18, 2001

CHEROKEE-Cherokee firefighters and Alliant Energy workers averted yet another potential disaster Tuesday in downtown Cherokee. Firefighters were summoned to the alley behind the Lewis Hotel for a small fire which produced a large amount of smoke in the basement area. "We got the call at 1:10 p.m. and we had a lot of smoke visible in the basement," said Fire Chief Jack Olson. "We looked in the building and found nothing. It gave us the impression it was on the inside when it was on the outside." In searching the alley, the firefighters found that workers tearing up concrete in the alley had accidentally set an old doorframe afire with cutting torches. The doorframe had been uncovered by the work and the workers had been cutting away some metal in order to better fill the void. The fire caused quite a commotion for residents in the Lewis Hotel and firefighters remained on scene 30-45 minutes to make sure the fire was fully extinguished. Firefighters were promptly recalled at 4:03 p.m. for a gas leak behind the White Rose. During the course of their work, employees of Deer Valley Land Improvement accidentally snagged a gas meter line with a backhoe. The leak was large enough to allow residents on Maple Street to hear the whistling. "They pulled it pretty good," Olson said of the leak. "Basically we had enough of the pipe sticking out that we could pinch it off." In shutting off the leak, all that stood between downtown Cherokee and disaster was a vice grip. Some buildings were evacuated, but only long enough to ventilate them and get rid of the fumes, Olson noted. The perimeter extended from just near Letsche's Bike Shop west to Fourth Street and south to Maple Street. This was the sixth gas leak suffered in downtown Cherokee since work on the alleys started in early summer. After the first several leaks, Alliant Energy workers were sent to supervise the digging.

Cutting torch starts fire at warehouse

10/17/01

WASHINGTON TWP. - A smoky fire broke out in the old 7Up warehouse on Port Colden Road after workers clearing the building of trash accidentally set fire to a wood pallet. Police said a worker was using a cutting torch to remove a metal hopper when sparks landed on the pallet and ignited it. The worker tried to douse the blaze but it became smoky after spreading to plastic material left in the building from when it was used by the soda manufacturer, police said. A nearby resident saw the smoke and called authorities at 5 p.m. Kurt Merrill, chief of the Washington Township Fire Co., said firefighters extinguished the fire within 10 minutes of arrival. No one was injured.

Fire leads to evacuation of Center City tower

INQUIRER STAFF REPORT

Hundreds of office workers were evacuated this afternoon after a fire in the Penn Mutual Towers in the 500 block of Walnut Street. Fire officials said one worker, who co-workers said may have suffered a heart attack, was taken to a hospital, but there were no other injuries. Fire officials said the blaze was started by workers using a torch to dismantle a cooling tower on the roof of the high rise building. Some material inside the tower caught fire. "It was burning pretty good, but it was all contained," said Fire Battalion Chief Robert Noble. "None of it got onto the building," The one-alarm blaze was reported at 2:47 p.m. and was placed under control at 3:15 p.m. Hundreds of office workers were allowed to return to the building at 3:42 p.m.

Fire Damages Haven Building

Work on the roof at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. may have sparked the blaze.

Thursday, October 11, 2001, By WILL VASH, The Ledger

WINTER HAVEN -- A fire Wednesday night damaged a Winter Haven office building.

Firefighters from Winter Haven and Polk County responded at 5:45 p.m. to A.G.Edwards & Sons Inc. at 1501 First St. S. to find the roof of the building in flames, said Winter Haven Assistant Fire Chief Bill Sigler. About 40 firefighters fought the fire, and it was under control at about 7 p.m., Sigler said. Workers were reroofing the building earlier in the afternoon before the fire occurred. Sigler said the workers were using propane torches to meld overlapping rubber segments to make the surface watertight, which is a common practice. He said the torches probably sparked a 1-inch-thick fiber insulation board below the rubber, which wasn't noticeable until flames erupted later. The roof work was to have been completed this morning.  Ron Snyder, 62, assistant manager of the investment company, said several employees were still in the building when the fire began.  "The main thing is there were no injuries at all," Snyder said. "There's probably going to be a lot of water damage."  Snyder said confidential customer information and investments were safe. He said the company would seek a temporary location until workers could go back into the building. Sigler said the interior of the building, which normally houses 19 employees, probably suffered water damage, but total damage amounts were not available.

Worker Injured In Construction Site Accident

Man Suffers First- and Second-Degree Burns

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A construction worker suffered first-degree burns to his face following an explosion at a site near 2900 W. Memorial Road. One of the workers was welding on air conditioning ducts when a paint can caught fire. When he tried to move the can, it exploded. The worker suffered second-degree burns to 18 percent of his body. Doctors are also concerned that he may have inhaled the paint fumes.

Fire displaces 14 people

By Ed Brock, October 04, 2001

The fire at Brentwood Manor apartments on Old Dixie Road started around 3:07 p.m. as a result of some work being done by a maintenance worker employed by the complex, said Clayton County Fire Department spokesman Deputy Chief Jeff Hood. "He was soldering some pipes in a chaseway (a utility passageway) there and the torch he was using started the fire," Hood said. The fire traveled quickly up the chaseway to the attic and burned through the roof, Hood said. Some residents were in the building at the time of the fire, Hood said, but they were evacuated and nobody was injured. Hood said the fire was under control by 3:24 p.m., but fire damage left two apartments unlivable and smoke and water damage left three other apartments in the same condition. "We did have to call Red Cross in to relocate some people for tonight," Hood said. Six children were among the evacuees, Hood said. The fire appeared to be an accident, Hood said, and the maintenance worker had tried to extinguish the blaze with a fire extinguisher shortly after it began. "When it starts in a chaseway like that, it's just like a chimney and it travels," Hood said. Six fire engines, two "aerial" or ladder trucks and two ambulances responded to the fire, Hood said.

Minor fire at Topaz Lodge

Staff Reports, Reno Gazette-Journal, Wednesday October 3rd, 2001

A fire at the Topaz Lodge 20 miles south of Gardnerville on U.S. 395 forced the evacuation Tuesday of about 50 customers from the lodge's casino and restaurant. No one was injured, and damage from the 5:25 p.m. fire was minimal, said Topaz Lodge controller Deanna Newman. The 5:25 p.m. fire was apparently sparked when roofers using a torch ignited some of the building's insulation, said Joe Warren of the Douglas County dispatch center. The smoldering insulation produced a large amount of smoke, some of which got into the building's ventilation system, Warren said. Guests in the lodge's 102 rooms weren't evacuated.

German court recommends fines for defendants in 1996 Duesseldorf airport fire

The Associated Press, 10/1/01 4:39 PM

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) -- Charges against eight people accused in a deadly 1996 fire at Duesseldorf airport should be dropped if the defendants agree to pay fines, a German court recommended Monday. Seventeen people were killed and 88 others injured by the fire on April 11, 1996, which spread along concealed, plastic-coated wiring from an outdoor construction site where welders had been working. Investigators found safety regulations hadn't been followed, and prosecutors brought charges including causing death by negligence against employees of the welding company, officials at the airport, architects and firefighters. But the court in Duesseldorf said Monday the fire wouldn't have happened without "a whole chain of tragic circumstances," for which "no one accused in this trial can be held responsible." The charges should be dropped if the defendants pay fines of between $2,800 and $18,700, according to their ability to pay, the court said. Charges against another person should be dropped because of lack of evidence, it said. It is now up to prosecutors and the defendants to decide whether to accept the proposal. The court said it wants to make a final decision Oct. 11. A new passenger terminal to replace buildings badly damaged in the fire opened in July. The rest of the airport, Germany's third-biggest, is to be modernized by early 2003.

Roof fire forces 600 from school

By Tim Potter, The Wichita Eagle

Roofers atop Wichita's Gammon Elementary School accidentally started a small fire Friday that sent smoke into classrooms and forced the evacuation of almost 600 students, officials said. Although the fire spread light smoke over about two-thirds of the school, no one was injured or overcome by smoke, fire Battalion Chief Dan McClure said. School staff evacuated students to an area outside the school, then ushered them into the school gymnasium when it was deemed safe to enter the school. The gym had been untouched by smoke. Crews aired out the rest of the school, at 3240 N. Rushwood St. Later, fire officials decided it was safe to take children back into their classrooms, McClure said. A preliminary investigation found that roofers using a torch to heat asphalt shingles accidentally ignited boards about 11 a.m., McClure said. The fire started near part of the school's air-conditioning system, which sucked smoke into the school, he said. The fire probably caused less than $1,000 in damage, McClure said. While students sat in the gym, McClure and school officials tried to reassure them that the fire was out, the smoke was gone and they were safe. The students seemed not to be worried as teachers led them in songs. The school brought in new lunches for the children out of concern that lunches already prepared might have been tainted by the smoke, principal Phil Fullerton said. The kids ate lunch in their classrooms. Students and teachers weren't the only temporary evacuees. Someone made sure that Carmel, a tan guinea pig, was evacuated from a second-grade classroom.

Fire engulfs Mapleton home; cause unknown

CALEB WARNOCK The Daily Herald on Thursday, September 27

MAPLETON -- A $300,000 home burned hot and fast Wednesday, as neighbors and firefighters worked to contain the blaze. "It was a total loss, I can tell you that," said Sgt. Jeremy Anderson, who was doing a fire investigation in the home at 915 N. 1140 West. Dan Good, the homeowner, was reportedly welding a water heater in his basement when the blaze started shortly after noon, Anderson said. The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but the welding is being considered, he said. "I don't believe firefighters could have done anything," Anderson said. "By the time they arrived, the house was consumed." Firefighters assisted neighbors in keeping neighboring homes from burning because the heat was so extreme. Tracy Jorgensen, who's home is south of the Good home, received a call at work alerting her to the blaze. She arrived home to find a neighbor spraying her house with a garden hose to keep it from catching fire. "The fire broke two of our windows and melted the blinds," she said. "There was also some water in a window well." Jorgensen said she spoke with Good after the fire and he had "some minor burns and redness on his arms, but other than that he seemed OK. He was spraying down the neighbor's house with a hose and apologized to us and asked us if there was anything he could do." His family is getting a lot of support from neighbors, Jorgensen said. "I feel really bad," she said. "I wish there was more I could do." The Good family is reportedly staying with family in the area.

Debris burns at Beaumont Mills fire

By TERESA KILLIAN. Staff Writer

Anita Roseburgh watched giant, low-hanging clouds of smoke drift Wednesday night from a Beaumont Mills fire. "Black smoke was everywhere," said Roseburgh, who said she dropped her soda when she heard a loud boom about 7 p.m. Wednesday while she walked near the corner of North Pine and Liberty streets. "I thought it was a bomb." Firefighters suspected the blaze was actually caused by sparks from a cutting torch used during demolition of a Beaumont Mills building, said Assistant Commander Dale Worthy of the Spartanburg Public Safety Department Fire Division. The sparks ignited debris on the ground, he said. Firefighters had the initial fire under control within 15 minutes, he said. As a green crane combed through the debris, flames would resurface from heaps of debris and metal under the building's blue frame. The building was part of the former 26-acre division of the Spartan Mills empire. Spartanburg businessman Jimmy Gibbs, who watched firefighters Wednesday, said a surgical center is being constructed on the site and should be completed by April. Plans call for a medical office building and surgery center for Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System to be built on the property. When complete, the hospital system will relocate the Same Day Surgery Center, currently at the Spartanburg Hospital for Restorative Care on Serpentine Drive. SRHS has agreed to lease the facility for 121/2 years from Gibbs, at which point the hospital system will take it over. Plans initially called for one side of the property to be the surgery center and office building and the other side to include a Motor Racing Museum of the South and the S.C. Athletics Hall of Fame.

UPDATE, Widow of worker killed on film set sues Columbia Pictures

ASSOCIATED PRESS, September 20, 2001

LOS ANGELES - The wife of a crew worker who was killed on the set of the upcoming "Spider Man" movie sued Columbia Pictures. The wrongful death suit filed Wednesday in Superior Court seeks unspecified damages. A call made to Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, wasn't immediately returned early Thursday. Tim Holcombe, 45, of Monrovia died March 6 while welding sets for the film when a forklift he had been operating toppled onto a construction basket in which he was riding, investigators said. Another worker in the basket was not seriously injured. Also named in the suit is equipment maker Ingersoll-Rand. Representatives from that company couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. The lawsuit is the second setback for Sony this week. Company executives decided to pull a "Spider Man" trailer from theaters and the Internet because of last Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the East Coast. The trailer contains a scene in which a helicopter carrying fleeing robbers gets trapped in a giant spider web strung between the World Trade Center towers. The giant structures collapsed when a pair of planes slammed into them last week. Columbia Pictures was previously fined nearly $59,000 for workplace violations stemming from Holcombe's death. "Spider-Man," based on the Marvel Comics hero, is scheduled to open in May and will star Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and Kirsten Dunst

Fire forces evacuation at East Side Golf N' Stuff

DAVID J. CIESLAK, Citizen Staff Writer, Sept 15, 2001

A small fire at an East Side amusement center Thursday forced firefighters to evacuate about 200 people from the building. An employee working in a maintenance room at Golf N' Stuff, 6503 E. Tanque Verde Road, left a heat gun burning. The gun set fire to a box, said Capt. Joe Gulotta, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman. Flames spread through the maintenance room, which is part of Golf N' Stuff's arcade building, Gulotta said. Firefighters evacuated around 200 people at the facility when the fire started about 8:25 p.m., Gulotta said. No one was injured. Damage was estimated at $20,000. It took 20 firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, Gulotta added.

Former depot building catches fire

By: SUSAN CLARK PORTER, Times Staff Writer

A Thursday night fire at one of the industrial plant buildings at the former Seneca Army Depot is being blamed on construction work there. ROMULUS - Romulus Fire Chief Jim Hinman said the fire call came in at 9:42 p.m. from a resident at the nearby Spring Meadows apartment complex who noticed a glow in the sky. Hinman said a crew from Reece Crane and Rigging of Geneva was working on crane fixtures in the overhead area of the building Thursday afternoon. A Reece truck remained in the building, and torches were still positioned in the rafters last night. Hinman said investigators surmise that a stray spark or heat generated from welding could have ignited the blaze. "It could have been any number of things," Hinman said. "[The fire] was in here cooking from the time the workers left until we got the alarm." The fire chief estimated it took about an hour to bring the fire under control. About 100 firefighters were on the scene, including those from the Romulus, Ovid, Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Interlaken, Red Jacket, Lodi, Fayette, Hector and Willard fire departments. Hinman reported no water supply problems. Firefighters used three aerial trucks from the Seneca Falls, Waterloo and Ovid fire departments to fight the blaze. Hinman said when he arrived at the scene, the building was "closed up tighter than a drum" and had to be entered forcibly. The 16,000-square-foot building had no sprinkler system. By 11:30 p.m., firefighters had begun to roll up some hoses and some trucks were leaving the scene. Hinman said a few crews would probably remain at the site through the early morning hours. The building is among those that have been taken over by the Advantage Group, which has leased the buildings for over a year from the Seneca County Economic Development Corp. but will eventually own them. The Advantage Group is turning the depot site into a warehouse and distribution center for restaurant and retail equipment. Some of the company's clients include Target, Bruegger's Bagels and the Olive Garden. During the depot era, the structure was used as a site to refurbish industrial equipment. Pete Gorski, vice president of operations for the Advantage Group, said the company had been storing some of its equipment, such as a snowplow and truck, but the building had not been activated for use. "I was actually pleasantly surprised looking at it this morning," said Gorski, noting that the building primarily suffered roof damage. "I don't think there's a lot of structural damage." No damage estimates are available yet, but Gorski said the building is insured. Gorski was encouraged that a paint shop in the other end of the building appeared to have escaped unharmed. He said a structural engineer will be brought in to examine the building.

Fire Causes $400,000 Damage To Seaboard Plant

Updated: 10:38 a.m. CDT September 13, 2001

GUYMON, Okla. -- A propane torch sparked a fire at Seaboard Farms' only processing plant, causing $400,000 in damage and forcing the facility's closure Wednesday, authorities said. The blaze began when roofing contractors left the torch burning during a lunch break on Tuesday, the Guymon Fire Department and state Fire Marshal's office have determined. The torch ignited asphalt roofing and high winds helped move the flames across the roof quickly, a fire department news release said. Most of the damage was contained to the roof and there was some smoke damage inside, said Gary Reckrodt, Seaboard spokesman. Seaboard employees and animals at the facility escaped injury. Reckrodt said Seaboard officials believe the company will make up for its down time. "It's not unheard of that you would go down for a couple of days," Reckrodt said. The plant, which employs 2,300 people, could be running as soon as Thursday. Employees are working with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to make sure the building is sanitary. That often requires extra effort in the event of smoke damage, Reckrodt said. One of two shifts did not operate Tuesday and no shifts ran Wednesday, he said. Lost production time will be made up on Saturday and Sunday. The plant usually processes 16,000 hogs a day. Officials also said several cooling units and the plant's ammonia refrigerant system were damaged in the fire, but no ammonia was released. "The burn patterns and other damage clearly indicate the area of the origin," Guymon Fire Chief Ed Kirtley said. "The position of the cylinder valve and the damage to the cylinder also indicate the torch was left burning."

UPDATE, Tosco settles with ex-welder for $8 million

Ironworker was burned last year

Tosco Corp. has agreed to pay $8 million for injuries to a former welder who accused the company of breaking a promise to eliminate all safety hazards at a refinery where four workers were killed in a devastating fire in 1999. Neal Jones, 47, who was burned the following year when fuel leaked into firefighting water at the plant near Martinez, received the offer just as his civil suit was about to start trial late last month. Evidence at the trial would have shown that Tosco managers refused to spend the money to close the link between fuel lines and the firefighting system at the same time they were pledging to Contra Costa County officials that all dangerous conditions at the refinery would be eliminated, said Jones' attorney, Joseph Appel. "This was a safety project that was in their computer for 10 years," Appel said. The attorney said he was prepared to present evidence that the valves separating the water and fuel lines had failed at least twice before, in 1990 and 1994. Tosco operators and engineers implored the company to eliminate the connection, but managers said the $200,000 cost was too high, Appel claims. Instead, the attorney said, they approved changing one valve at a cost of $450. When Tosco closed its refinery for months of repairs and retraining after the fatal 1999 fire, company engineers and staff again urged managers to separate the fuel and fire-water lines, he said. "They did nothing -- zero," Appel said. Tosco spokeswoman Mary Jen Beach was not immediately able to comment on Jones' claim that Tosco knew the firefighting system was dangerous but refused to remedy it. Jones was welding on a platform between two fuel tanks in March 2000 when fellow workers sprayed firefighting water on the ground below him as a precaution -- to keep stray sparks from creating a fire danger. But the water itself was contaminated with propane and butane, which ignited in a fireball. Jones was thrown back and flames reached under his helmet, melting his respirator, his attorney said. Beach said the company "accepts responsibility for this unfortunate accident." "We believe that the settlement with Mr. Jones is fair and reasonable under the circumstances," she said. Jones suffered facial burns, nerve injuries and a crushed wrist that ended his 25-year career as an ironworker. But Appel said Jones also sustained emotional trauma because he feared he was about to die like his friend Raynold "Tommy" Rodacker -- one of four workers burned to death at the same refinery in 1999. Rodacker, Jones' fellow employee at Bigge Crane Co., was on scaffolding high on a distillation tower on February 23, 1999, helping Tosco workers who were trying to repair a leaky pipeline. Suddenly fuel erupted from the pipe, soaked the workers and burst into flames. State and federal investigators blamed Tosco managers for failing to maintain deteriorating parts of the distillation unit and allowing the pipe repair job to go on while the high-temperature tower was running. The 1999 fire was the refinery's second fatal accident in two years. Appel said he had asked Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge James Trembath to allow him to recount Tosco's past accident record to the jury in Jones' case. Trembath had not yet ruled on the issue when Tosco offered Jones a settlement. Appel said he planned to show the jury videotape of an appearance of Tosco CEO Thomas O'Malley before the county Board of Supervisors after the fatal 1999 fire, when O'Malley swore the refinery would be closed down unless he could assure its safety. If the case had gone to trial, Appel said he would have asked for an award in the hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to Jones for his injuries and in punitive damages to discourage future safety violations. Tosco settles the case as its proposed acquisition by Phillips Petroleum is pending before the Federal Trade Commission. The company had previously agreed to pay $21 million to the families of three of the workers who died in the 1999 fire and $4 million for emotional trauma to another ironworker who witnessed the deaths. Tosco repaired the fire-water system before selling its refinery near Martinez to Ultramar Diamond Shamrock. Tosco still operates a refinery in Rodeo.

Chicago Theater undamaged in fire

Published September 8, 2001

LOOP -- A rubbish fire in the Chicago Theater during morning rush hour Friday snarled traffic on State Street between Lake and Randolph Streets but caused no injuries or damage to the theater, Chicago fire officials said. Welders working inside the theater, 175 N. State St., called the Fire Department at 8:06 a.m. after a welding torch ignited rubbish between the walls, said Fire Department spokesman Dennis Gault. The welding crew put out the flames before the first engine company arrived, Gault said. But without knowing the fire was out, another welder pulled the alarm in a fire box outside the theater, which summoned extra fire companies. Hook and ladder trucks filled the street. Police officers already directing traffic nearby rerouted vehicles onto Lake and Randolph. Firefighters left, and traffic returned to normal after a 15-minute inspection, Gault said.

Fire at China Oil Refinery

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - A fire ignited by a welding accident at an oil facility in southern China forced the evacuation of 20,000 people and sent flames shooting 150 feet into the air, a local official said Friday. Six workers were injured in the explosion Thursday at a pier used to unload oil tankers in Maoming, a port in Guangdong province, said Weng Guoqiang, a city official. The explosion forced the closure of China's largest oil refinery, also in Maoming. The refinery operator, Sinopec Corp., said it has rerouted oil tankers to another port. State television on its noon newscast Friday showed emergency crews in Maoming spraying white foam onto flames leaping from damaged pipes. A welder ignited the fire while repairing a pipeline used to unload crude oil from ships, Weng said. The pipeline exploded, setting off a second and much larger blast involving all 12 of the pier's pipelines. The fireball from the second explosion was more than 150 feet high, he said. Evacuated residents were allowed to return within a few hours.

S.L. officials angry over fire-settlement delays. 10 months after garage blaze, no final settlement

By SAM DiMEO, Staff Writer

SARANAC LAKE - Village officials are fuming over delays at reaching a settlement for vital maintenance trucks damaged in garage fire 10 months ago. "I think it is ludicrous," said Village Manager Howard Riley. "We are sitting here in September with nothing done. We have asked to settle at least some of it. We are so exasperated." On Nov. 1, a fire started by an improperly sited acetylene torch gutted the Village Garage on Van Buren Street. The damage was heavy enough for NYMIR, the building's insurer, to declare it a total loss and to pay more than $490,000 for replacement. But the contents were insured by Travelers Insurance, which has paid the village about $103,000 to date although officials here say losses easily reach the $300,000 mark and that some money is needed now to repair the trucks. Wayne Voudren, the village's chief mechanic and fire-settlement coordinator, said a large grader used for a variety of road and plow work in the village and a Vac-Con sewer-cleaning truck are the major stumbling blocks to a final settlement. Voudren said he is concerned about the status of the village's grader. The machine picks up snow downtown and is used to plow streets. "It is a key piece of equipment for us in the winter," said Voudren, who didn't hide his disappointment with the the insurance company. "They have jerked around and jerked around and we lost three deals (for purchasing another grader)." Meanwhile, the older of two large plow-sanding trucks was sent out for $10,000 in repairs and cleaning but must be sent again because of a lingering, pungent smell of smoke in the cab. "The health of our employees is the main thing," said Voudren. Repairs for other large equipment damaged in the blaze include $16,000 for a front-end loader, $20,000 for a backhoe, $20,000 for a sidewalks plow and more than $36,000 for the sewer cleaner once a settlement is reached. Riley said the village and Travelers agreed to turn the matter over to an independent appraiser in March to make a final determination on a settlement between the insurance company and Adjusters International, the firm hired by the village to work out an agreement. The village manager voiced severe dissatisfaction with Travelers for failing to make a partial settlement and instead insisting on final bills for items that have yet to be resolved. "We went to arbitration March 7," said Riley. "They each hired lawyers and still nothing. It is ridiculous. ... "On the Vac-Con they are waiting for a final bill which we won't have for months and months." In the meantime, construction of the new garage near the site of the old one is scheduled to move forward today when workers begin installing steel support beams. Village Treasurer Mary Peria said the new garage will be built at a cost of about $725,000 - with $450,000 in insurance money and $275,000 in bond revenue. To date, the village has received nearly $594,000 in fire settlements and has paid Adjusters International almost $30,000, or 5 percent, in fees. Figures provided by Peria show the village expects almost $64,000 more in the "near future" as a result of building and contents depreciation, valuable papers lost and additional expenses, such as the rental of space until the new garage is ready. The funding, she said, would pose no problem with the village buget unless an agreement with Travelers is not reached before the fiscal year ends in June. "At the end of the year, unless we get some settlement, we could be in trouble," said Peria.

Inferno paralyses Central
Michael Ng and Joan Yip, Hong Kong iMail

A SIX-HOUR blaze in a Central leather-goods shop yesterday caused traffic chaos and left two firemen injured. Firefighters had to cut open the main door of Prosperous Building at 48, Des Voeux Road to gain access to the ground-floor shop, where the fire was reported at 7.25am.
Rush-hour traffic was paralysed as the area was cordoned off and dense smoke from burning leather restricted visibility. Traffic jams built up through Central and Admiralty and backed up as far as the Island Eastern Corridor as police closed Des Voeux Road and Pottinger Street, diverting vehicles into Connaught Road. Commuters complained that the trip from Tai Koo Shing to Central took more than an hour. Tram services between Admiralty and Central were also suspended. In a grim reminder of the fatal Garley Building fire in 1996, sparks from welders conducting maintenance work on elevators are suspected to have started the blaze, which was not put out until 1.40pm. Firemen said dense smoke had hampered their work. Roads remained closed until 5pm while clean-up work was completed. A 47-year-old fireman, identified only by his surname, Hui, was in a stable condition in Queen Mary Hospital last night suffering from smoke inhalation. Another fireman, surnamed Chan, 30, was treated for minor back injuries at the same hospital and discharged. Four people were rescued uninjured from the shop. Using four water jets and four breathing-apparatus teams, firefighters brought the blaze under control at 12.30pm and extinguished it completely just over an hour later. ``As the burning of leather goods produced a large amount of smoke and affected our work, we had to spend more time to extinguish the blaze,'' said Fire Services Central District Divisional officer, Tsang Sing-hong. Firefighters said welding sparks had ignited goods in the shop about 4am. Maintenance workers put the fire out but it flared again later. A commuter giving his name as Mr Chan said a bus ride from Sheung Wan to his office near the fire scene took 40 minutes instead of the usual 10, making him half an hour late for work. A Buildings Department spokeswoman said fire-safety improvement work was being carried out on the 33-year-old building under a notice issued in July 1999. On January 3 this year, about 200 staff and visitors escaped unhurt when a fire broke out on the roof of Melbourne Plaza in the same district. Welding sparks from elevator work caused the Garley Building inferno in Jordan in November 1996 that killed 40 people.

Welding torch sets pipes, paper on fire at Wheeler YMCA
PLAINVILLE -- A fire broke out at the Wheeler YMCA early Wednesday after molten steel droppings from a welding torch set PVC pipes and paper on fire in the building's basement. Officials say the flames were contained to a tunnel around the pool in the basement and no injuries were reported; but because of severe smoke, it took firefighters nearly four hours before the smoke was eliminated from the basement. According to Fire Chief David Laurie, the call came in 7:59 a.m. Fire Marshal Larry Sutherland said welders, who are renovating the YMCA, were using a torch to cut through a tank when a piece of molten steel dropped between a barrel that contains water for filling the pool and the flooring. Sutherland said the fire was extinguished by 8:27 a.m., but firefighters did not return to the department until 11:45 a.m., spending those three hours using ventilation fans to get the smoke out of the basement. "There was very little fire damage," Laurie said. "The problem is that PVC is a hydrocarbon and burns with very hot, black, acrid smoke." According to Sutherland, the fire was contained to a tunnel, which is located around the swimming pool. Because of its location, the fire was very hard to reach. By all accounts, it was not a large fire and resulted in very little damage. "The only things damaged were drain pipes and some of the combustible storage," Sutherland said. Lou Falk, YMCA director, said the fire was identified by one of the contractors who saw smoke and called the authorities. Falk said there were a couple of members and children in the building at the time, but everyone was evacuated without problem. "I'm pleased that our evacuation procedure worked perfect," Falk said. "Children in child care were moved to the infant and toddler center immediately." YMCA officials expect to be open today, but child care will be moved to Our Lady of Mercy Parish Center for a few days. Falk does suggest that members call first to assure the facilities will be open.

Routine railroad work sparks fire Blaze burns 80 acres in open field

Tue, Aug 28, 2001, By VICKY CAMPBELL, Standard-Examiner staff

PLAIN CITY - Union Pacific Railroad workers were doing a routine grinding of the rails to smooth the tracks when sparks ignited a fire that ended up burning about 80 acres Monday afternoon. The fire burned in an open field in the area of 10000 W. 950 South and sent jack rabbits scattering, but no one was hurt and no structures were affected, Weber County Sheriff Sgt. J.P. Hansen said. Workers at a nearby Hill Air Force Base research facility left on their own, Hansen said. "It was not required, nor demanded, nor I don"t think ever a necessity," he said. "They just did that of their own accord." The fire started at about 3:50 p.m. and was out by about 5:30, he said, with the help of a U.S. Forest Service helicopter and a few of their firefighters along with the Plain City Fire Department. The helicopter had difficulty finding a water source and was only able to dump a couple of hundred gallons of water on the blaze before crews were able to extinguish the fire. Although the Great Salt Lake is very close to the area - Antelope and Fremont islands were visible from the fire - the helicopter couldn"t use the saltwater because it was too heavy. Instead it went looking for a slow-moving, deep river to haul water from. "If it"s too fast it"ll take them with it," said Hansen. "If it"s too shallow it won"t fill the (100-gallon ) bucket." A fire at the mouth of Weber Canyon that threatened several homes Aug. 13 was also started by railroad crews grinding rails. Hansen said the machines that grind the rails have dousers at either end of them, but the fires "get away from them" and spread quickly through dry grass and weeds.

Small blaze breaks out at Stauffer

By Times staff writer, © St. Petersburg Times, published August 30, 2001

TARPON SPRINGS -- A small fire broke out Saturday morning at the Stauffer Superfund site during demolition of the maintenance building. The site construction manager told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the fire started after sparks from torch cutting on the roof fell into the shop area. The sparks lit some boxes of unused household furnace-type air filters that were stored on a second level over some offices, said Stauffer site manager Frank McNeice. The fire, which lasted less than 10 minutes, was quickly extinguished by on-site workers. There were no injuries. Though the fire resulted in smoke, that smoke dissipated before reaching the property's border, McNeice said. "There was nothing of concern," he said. "This was a big nothing."

Fernandina barge catches fire while being cut into scrap

By Dana Treen, Times-Union staff writer

A potentially hazardous fire aboard a barge that was being cut into salvage in Fernandina Beach yesterday burned and smoldered for about two hours before it was put out by firefighters from several jurisdictions. No one was injured when formaldehyde-containing foam in the 100-ton-capacity barge caught fire while a welder was cutting the beached vessel into scrap, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mitchell Sutherland. The Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission set up a no-boating zone to prevent boaters from breathing fumes from the 10 a.m. fire. Firefighters from Fernandina Beach, Nassau County and Jacksonville fought the fire in the salvaged barge that had been sitting at an old fertilizer factory site on the north end of Amelia Island at Eagens Creek near the Intracoastal Waterway. Al McGough, manager of the emergency response office for the state Department of Environmental Protection in Jacksonville, said foam like that in the barge was often used to provide floatation in older vessels. A spray that expands as it sets, the foam fills cavities with a material similar to common take-out cups used for hot or cold drinks. Although the burning foam produces toxic fumes, McGough said the fire yesterday did not pose a significant threat.  "You'd have to be standing real close to it and breathing it in," he said. No evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported, he said. Deputy Chief Chuck Cooper of Nassau County Fire Rescue said firefighters had the fire knocked down in about 30 minutes and extinguished after about two hours. He said the barge was about 55 feet long and 30 feet wide. Investigators with the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office and the state Fire Marshal's office will conduct investigations into the fire, officials said.

Hospital Office Fire Blamed On Materials; No One Injured In Blaze

Posted: 3:50 p.m. CDT August 27, 2001, Updated: 4:55 p.m. CDT August 27, 2001

TULSA, Okla. - Investigators blamed the combination of cutting torches and treated construction material Monday for igniting a blaze atop a 12-story medical building in Tulsa. The top of the office building under construction at St. John Medical Center caught fire last Wednesday. Tulsa fire investigators deemed the fire accidental. Molten rebar that had been trimmed with a cutting torch fell on plywood forms used in concrete work, they said. The plywood had been treated with oil to keep concrete from sticking to it. No one was injured in the blaze, and no patients in the nearby hospital had to be evacuated.

Blaze near airport injures firefighters; Attempted truck repairs set off Thermo King fire

A large industrial fire broke out Sunday afternoon, rocking the facility with explosions and sending several firefighters to the hospital. The plumes of smoke from the fire at Thermo King of Indiana Inc. were visible for miles. The fire broke out at about 2 p.m. at the 7924 Burch Park Drive business, near Evansville Regional Airport. Thermo King is in the business of heating and cooling systems for trucks and other transportation equipment. The fire started during a mechanic’s attempted repair to a trailer’s refrigeration unit. Mark Reinicke, the mechanic, was treated and released from a local hospital, said McCutchanville Fire Department Assistant Chief Randy Gentry. The five injured firefighters were treated and released. Two were from McCutchanville, one from Scott and two from Knight. The most serious injury, said Gentry, was a McCutchanville firefighter who broke his arm when he fell about 7 feet from the top of a ladder truck. The fire was caused, Gentry said, by heat transfer from the mechanic’s cutting torch to the trailer’s load of shampoo. The tractor-trailer, owned by Dick Simon Trucking Inc. of Mobile, Ala., was brought in by Dudley Campbell and his wife, Connie. “I called ahead and the guy opened up for us,” Connie Campbell said Sunday. “We unhooked the tractor and parked in front of the trailer. I went to sleep. “Next thing I knew, Dudley was yelling, ‘Get up!’ I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ and he said, ‘It’s on fire.’” While she slept, Dudley Campbell said a mechanic he knew only as Mark began working on the trailer’s condenser, which had a leak. “He was welding,” said Dudley Campbell. “Then I heard him yell. He tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. “Then he opened the door to get to the fire inside the trailer. When he opened the door, the fire came toward the air. It set the building on fire.” Keith and Debbie Kinney saw the smoke from U. S. 41 and headed over to help. “We were afraid to get too close,” said Keith Kinney. “Things were exploding in the trailer. “The tractor was around back, getting ready to ram the gate so he could get out. I got the keys from the worker and let him out.” Debbie Kinney assisted the mechanic. “He had a pretty bad cut on his finger,” she said. “Mostly he was shaken up.” Don Moffett, chief of the McCutchanville Fire Department and incident commander, beat his trucks to the scene. “I was first on scene,” he said. “The fire was at the rear and around the trailer. By the time the trucks got here, fire was showing above all four overhead doors. “We went with an external attack, using several large-bore hoses. After the explosion, we got everybody back and set up master streams. We call that surround and drown.” There were several explosions, Moffett said, the largest of which was probably caused by a propane tank. The lower half of a propane tank was lying on the ground a few feet in front of the building, and bits of debris were scattered on the lawn of the business across the road. Moffett said the building was badly damaged, especially the north end, which housed four maintenance bays. “We put a tremendous amount of water on the fire,” he said. “We had two ladder trucks and three engines pumping water.” Moffett ordered firefighters out of the building at one point, when a brick wall, which was weakened by fire, water and explosions, began to bow. Firefighters from McCutchanville, Paradise, Scott, Knight and German township fire departments turned out to fight the fire, Moffett said, and the Ohio Township Fire Department from Warrick County provided manpower. “Those firefighters did great,” said Dudley Campbell.  Debbie Kinney agreed. “These people are all volunteers,” she said. “It’s just amazing to see them turn out and give their all like this.” The Campbells were scheduled to deliver their cargo to Bristol-Myers Squibb this morning. “Now, we’ll be here until I get all the paperwork wrapped up,” said Dudley Campbell. “Then, I’ll call Mobile, get another load, and get back on the road.”

Two injured in plant explosion

LAKE CITY (AP) — One person is in critical condition and another suffered minor injuries in a chemical explosion at the Nan Ya Plastics plant. Tuesday's explosion happened as a private contractor was welding on a tank, South Lynches Fire Department Chief Sam Brockington said. The worker was burned on the face, hands and arms. He was thrown against a guard rail and fractured his leg and was cut on the back of his head. The welders were not employees of Nan Ya, but private contractors working through Amps Welding of Lake City, said Adrian Harris, safety, health and environmental director at Nan Ya. The names of the two workers are being withheld until family members have been notified, an Amps Welding worker said. The tank, which is about 10 feet tall and buried in a containment pit, contained ethylene glycol, which caused the explosion and flash fire, Harris said. Brockington said no chemicals were in the tank to sustain the fire and it was out when firefighters arrived.

Smoke from tool draws Morristown firefighters

By Jon Zlock, Daily Record

MORRISTOWN — Fire officials were summoned Wednesday to a fire at the Granite Morristown building, the second construction-related fire call in the vicinity of Washington Street and Cattano Avenue in 10 days. Smoke was reported coming out of the building’s second story, but when firefighters arrived at 10:56 a.m. they found no fire. Officials said a welding tool caused the smoke, which built up in a drainage pipe that had been plugged with newspaper while construction was going on. Fire personnel stayed on the scene for roughly 20 minutes, during which time traffic headed east on Washington Street toward the town Green was rerouted up Cattano Avenue and westbound traffic on Washington was detoured onto Bank Street. Last Monday, the fire department were summoned to the former Macy’s building after demolition workers accidentally ignited debris in the building’s rear loading dock. The flames spread to the third floor of the building before they were extinguished, officials said. A firefighter suffered a minor shoulder injury in the incident. The Granite Morristown project consists of two six-story apartment and retail buildings on Washington Street and Cattano Avenue and a third, nine-story structure attached to the Cattano Avenue building. It is expected to be completed by spring 2002 at the earliest, a representative said Wednesday. The $15 million project has been under construction for a little more than a year. William Walther, president of the New York City-based G. Holdings Corp., Granite’s parent company, said Wednesday the roof of the Cattano building should be complete by next week. That, he said, should alleviate some of the traffic problems caused by material deliveries on Cattano Avenue. "That’ll be good relief for all of us," Walther said. "We should stop seeing as much traffic as we have today." Walther said the group hoped to have two model apartments completed by November. The apartment buildings will have 148 residential units, an indoor garden plaza for residents and 7,500 square feet of retail space on the first floors. The 125,000-square-foot project encompasses a half-acre site where the former Morristown Triplex theater and Elks building once stood. The 822-seat theater, vacant since 1986, and former Elks building were sold at auction for $1.85 million in May 1987 to four real estate investors.  Rough economic times in the late 1980s and early 1990s stymied development, producing a series of proposals before the current design was approved by the board of adjustment in 1999.

Second fire breaks out in asphalt storage tank
GRANITE CITY -- A large asphalt tank erupted into flames Wednesday for the second time in 36 days, closing Illinois Route 3 and forcing police to re-route traffic through residential neighborhoods. Fire departments from throughout the area converged on Apex Oil Co. on Rock Road in the Tri-City Port District after the Granite City Fire Department received a call at 11:50 a.m. Dozens of firefighters from the Granite City and Madison fire departments, U.S. Army Depot and Tosco Refinery responded. The storage tank that caught fire is used to store heated liquid asphalt and is the same storage tank that caught fire July 10. The exact cause of the first fire has yet to be determined. Authorities said Apex Oil crews trying to clean out the charred tank sparked Wednesday's fire. About 300,000 gallons of asphalt left in the tank from the first fire had hardened in the charred cylinder. The fire started when workmen tried to warm the material so it could be removed. Tosco provided foaming materials to help cool down the tank. In the July blaze, it took 14 hours before foaming material was brought in to put out the flames. On Wednesday, a thick, black cloud of smoke could be seen for miles, and motorists traveling down Route 3 were re-routed through a residential neighborhood of Granite City. Capt. Tim Lyerla of the Granite City Fire Department said power was shut off from West 20th Street to Northgate Industrial Drive on Route 3. The closed stretch of Route 3 was reopened to traffic at 4:45 p.m. Sgt. Ray Takmajian of the Granite City Police Department said no accidents were reported during the traffic tie-ups. However, tractor-trailers traveling along Missouri Avenue found it difficult turning onto connecting streets along the detour. On the corner of 20th Street and Missouri Avenue, two tractor-trailers came to a standstill. A tractor-trailer making a left turn onto Missouri Avenue almost collided with another tractor-trailer approaching a stop sign. "This is the second time around, and we did really good," Takmajian said. Authorities said no one was injured, and residents were not evacuated. The Long Lake, Glen Carbon and Maryville fire departments also provided mutual aid by covering the stations of the departments involved in fighting the fire.

Surprise fire at ammunition plant keeps firefighters busy
By Gretchen Fowler, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A fire Tuesday at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant injured two Wood River firefighters and kept others busy throughout the afternoon.  A controlled burn of many of the buildings in Line 5 was in the plans, Plant Manager Tom Jamieson said, but the fire wasn't scheduled for today.  "Even though we're going to burn down the rest," he said, "we're not ready."  Jamieson said the building that burned was not scheduled for destruction but wasn't considered much of a loss because it had no resale value.  He estimated that the fire began around 1:30 p.m. A worker had been using a torch, went to lunch, and when he came back, the building was on fire.  Five tankers from the Wood River, Cairo, Alda and Grand Island Rural fire departments worked for about an hour and a half before the blaze was under control, Wood River Fire Chief Roger Derr said. He figured crews would be at the scene for the majority of the afternoon and evening.

Montpelier fire causes chaos

By Stephen Mills, TIMES ARGUS STAFF

MONTPELIER – Parts of downtown Montpelier were paralyzed Monday by a house fire that tied up traffic for several hours and attracted scores of curious onlookers. No one was hurt in the fire in an apartment house on Elm Street near the corner of Court Street. The house was owned by James Barrett and was undergoing renovations. According to fire officials and witnesses who spoke to workmen, an acetylene torch being used to heat flashing is believed to have sparked the fire, which began at about 2:30 p.m. “We know that they were renovating the building and that a propane torch was being used to heat stuff, and therefore is a possible cause of the fire,” said Montpelier Deputy Fire Chief Gesualdo Schneider. “As far as we know, the building was unoccupied for renovations. “The roof is burned off, and whether there is enough support in the walls to warrant rebuilding is something an engineer will have to decide,” he added.  Early efforts to attack the fire inside the house failed after the roof caught fire. Attempts to run fire hoses from ladder trucks to the building were delayed for more than an hour to allow electricity to be turned off. Schneider said the power had to be disconnected in case the ladder trucks bumped the nearby power lines, risking electric shock to firefighters. “Power is extremely dangerous, not so much because of the water we use, but because of the danger of ladders and other equipment coming into contact with it,” he said. He said firefighters were further hampered by the building’s position against a steep, rocky cliff that prevented them attacking the fire from the other side. Power lines running in front of the building also made it difficult to position equipment in front of the building or on either side of it. For a time, there was some concern that dry brush and trees might cause the fire to spread up the hill to other properties. Dozens of onlookers watched as smoke and flames poured out of the roof, and police redirected traffic away from the area. By early evening, the blaze was out, but fire crews continued to dampen the building to prevent it from re-igniting. “I saw smoke coming out of the house and went to call 911 and told them there was a fire over here,” said nearby resident Diane Flint, who watched from her apartment window. “He (the landlord) was putting all new lumber into the house and was working very hard to fix it up.” “One of the workmen came in and said they were working on the back side of the house putting on flashing with a (propane) torch,” said Demsey McCann of the nearby Deli Mart. “A customer, a meter maid, noticed the smoke and came in, and I called it in. Fire departments from Montpelier, East Montpelier, Berlin and Middlesex were called to fight the blaze.

Three-alarm fire at Seton Shoal Creek Hospital

08/13/2001, KVUE News staff

Thirteen fire trucks were called to Seton Shoal Creek Hospital Monday for a fire on the second floor of the six-story building. Seton Shoal Creek is at 3501 Mills Avenue between Mopac and Lamar Boulevard, south of 38th Street. Their website says the hospital provides behavioral health services in such areas as emotional crisis, depression and drug and alcohol dependence. The patients were evacuated from their rooms while firefighters extinguished a small fire in a second floor wall. The fire was caused accidentally by a plumber's torch. The building does have smoke detectors and a sprinkler system.

Disco-fire trial begins in China

Defendants face a wide variety of charges

Twenty-three people have gone on trial in central China in connection with a huge fire at a disco last year in which 309 people died. Local officials plus staff at the building face numerous charges, including negligence and abuse of power. The fire happened at a commercial building in Luoyang in Henan province in December. It started in the basement and then thick smoke spread to the disco on the fourth floor. The official media in China said it was one of the worst fires in the country's recent history and had shocked the nation. Most of the victims suffocated from smoke inhalation. Among those on trial are four welders accused of starting the blaze by igniting piles of rags in the basement. Investigators at the time of the blaze last December said stray sparks from welding set fire to cloth and furniture stored in the basement. They said say one welder had been operating equipment in violation of regulations. The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, the People's Daily, said on Monday the four failed to extinguish the fire, "took to their heels from the scene" and made a pact to keep silent.  Local safety inspectors are also accused of negligence. Lax fire safety standards lead to thousands of deaths in China each year. The Luoyang dance hall had only two emergency exits, one hidden behind the bar. There were no sprinklers or smoke alarms. Immediately after December's fire, the government ordered the closure of dance halls and recreation centres which had inadequate safety equipment. It also called for checks for potential fire hazards in other public buildings, including hospitals and schools. The nightclub fire was China's worst such disaster since December 1994, when 324 people, mostly children, were killed in a concert hall in Xinjiang.

Gun shop explosion injures owner, blows out building wall

BULLHEAD CITY - The owner of a gun shop was injured as a result of an explosion Wednesday afternoon. Wes Griffin, owner of the shop in the 2700 block of Camino Del Rio, received burns to his arms, wrists and face as well as singed hair after a spark from the metal he was grinding caused a nearby can of shotgun powder to explode, according to fire department Battalion Chief Jon Barrett. Griffin was transported to Western Arizona Regional Medical Center (WARMC) by fire department personnel as a precaution after he breathed in smoke from the explosion and flash fire. According to Barrett, paramedics were concerned about Griffin having possible respiratory problems from the chemical filled smoke. The explosion caused a flash fire inside the building and then blew out the side of the gun shop. Following the explosion, city of Bullhead City Building inspectors were called in to assess the damage, and personnel from Mohave Electric Cooperative and Southwest Gas were called to turn off their respective utilities. According to Larry Tunforss, Bullhead City Fire Department public information officer, the explosion is still under investigation by the fire investigators from the Bullhead City Fire Department. "Griffin is being held over at the hospital for observation and treatment of first and second degree burns," added Tunforss.

Fire at CIA does more than $1 million in damage

The Associated Press; 8/8/01 9:03 PM

McLEAN, Va. (AP) -- A fire at CIA headquarters Tuesday caused more than $1 million in damage, authorities said. Investigators from the Fairfax County Fire Department determined the fire began after slag, melted by a welder's torch, fell onto some wooden shelves in a utility room on the fifth floor of the older headquarters building on the closed CIA campus outside of Washington. The building, and the nearby new headquarters building, were evacuated after fire alarms sounded around 5:50 p.m. EDT Tuesday. During the fire, CIA uniformed security officers escorted the local firefighters through the building. Ten of those officers were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. Two more CIA employees were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and later released. Some CIA employees were given Wednesday off because of the heavy smoke in the building, but all are expected back at work Thursday. A CIA spokesman, Mark Mansfield, said the fire didn't reach any sensitive areas in the building. The spokesman said that regular agency briefings to policy-makers were conducted on schedule Wednesday.

No injuries reported in rock crusher fire at Mission Mine yesterday

LA MONICA EVERETT-HAYNES, Citizen Staff Writer, Aug. 8, 2001
Welding sparks set a rock crusher on fire at the Mission Mine south of Tucson, but the fire was quickly extinguished. The fire at the ASARCO copper mine, 4201 W. Pima Mine Road, started at 4:45 p.m. yesterday and burned rubber, hydraulic lines and other parts of the rock crusher, said District Chief George Good, a Rural/Metro Fire Department spokesman. "We'd been there before, eight months ago, for the same problem," Good said of the site about 20 miles south of Tucson. "I think it's the type of thing which is common to mine operations," he said. No one was injured, he said. "The fire was contained, and the crews at the mine also have some fire training and are helpful in that type of situation," Good said. "I don't know how many and I'm not sure who did what."  He said 12 Rural-Metro firefighters responded to the fire, which was confined to the crushing machine. He did not have a damage estimate.

Closed Plant Blast Kills 4 in Russia

By Associated Press

MOSCOW -- Four workers were killed at an explosion at a closed defense plant in Siberia, emergency officials said Tuesday. The explosion occurred Monday at the Konversia-M plant near the town of Krutaya Gorka in the Omsk region, about 1,400 miles east of Moscow, said Viktor Verblyudov, a spokesman for the regional emergency department. Two people were wounded, one seriously, he said. The explosion apparently occurred when a welding spark caused a canister of oxygen to explode, Verblyudov said, adding that a special commission was investigating. It was unclear what the plant was producing. NTV television reported that the section of the factory where the explosion occurred was under the management of the Russian space and aviation agency, Rosaviakosmos.

UPDATE, Welding Sparks Cause Seattle Ship Fire

By AP Staff

Fire aboard a 200-foot ship yesterday in Seattle was caused by sparks from a welding operation that ignited diesel fuel. That's the word from fire investigators who checked the Ocean Pride this morning. The fish processing vessel is docked in the Lake Washington Ship Canal near Ballard in Seattle. Damage is estimated at more than $3 million dollars. Seattle fire officials said it appears the ship can be repaired. Firefighters were there overnight on fire watch but they have all left the scene now.

Six Seattle firefighters hurt battling ship fire

Seattle-AP -- Six firefighters have been injured battling a ship fire in a Seattle canal. Three of them suffered steam burns while battling the fire aboard the fish processing ship "Ocean Pride." Two others had heat exhaustion, and one was treated after inhaling smoke from the fire. Authorities estimate the fire caused a (m) million dollars in damage. Coast Guard officials say crew members on the ship were working with a torch when the fire broke out Saturday morning. The ship canal was closed for several hours as the fire sent toxic smoke shooting into the air.

Officials: Solder gun started Voorhees fire

By STEVE LEVINE, Courier-Post Staff, VOORHEES

A fire that destroyed five homes here started when a resident's friend ignited insulation with a solder gun while installing a pedestal sink, fire officials said Wednesday. The blaze spread through a three-story building at the Mews at Echelon Tuesday after the resident, Michelle McKeever, and her friend, whose name was not released, tried to fight the flames themselves, said Deputy Camden County Fire Marshal Jay Houck. "At first they thought they got it out. It went from the first floor up through the wall and extended into the attic," Houck said. He said McKeever's friend is not a contractor. Firefighters arrived about 8:20 p.m. to find smoke and flames billowing through the roof of the three-story building. No injuries were reported in the two-alarm blaze near the Echelon Mall. But all five units were heavily damaged, their yards filled with sooty black water and the air around them reeking of smoke Wednesday. McKeever refused to comment but some of her neighbors said they had not insured the contents of their homes. Dara Nachimson, 28, said she fled the fire with just her handbag and a necklace owned by her grandmother, who died last month. "There are pictures and letters from her I'm hoping will be OK," she said. "I'm a renter and I don't have renter's insurance," said Nachimson. The Red Cross fund-raiser said she should have known better. "We hear about fires and people not having renter's insurance but you never think it will happen to you," she said. Jason Cohen said he and his wife, Michelle, did not insure the contents of their home. He estimated a loss of about $ 10,000. "I honestly don't know what we'll do," said Cohen. Condo association fees pay for insurance on the structure. Property manager Karen Merlino said residents should carry contents coverage on their own. "It's stated in their bylaws to get insurance," she said. " It's the same as if they own their own home."

Fire starts in pile of discarded tires

Publication Date: 8/1/01, By KATHERINE BELCHER, Staff Writer

PARKSVILLE -- Firefighters from the Boyle County Fire Department were kept busy most of Tuesday afternoon after a fire started in a pile of discarded tires at a salvage yard. The fire broke out at 11 a.m. at Coulter Tractor Salvage at 7075 Lebanon Road. Firefighters responded when workers tried unsuccessfully to put the fire out themselves. Co-owner of the business Rolan Coulter said he and other employees used water hoses and extinguishers on the fire, but the flames got too big, too fast. Simon Gilpin, of Parksville, is a mechanic at the salvage yard and had been working with a cutting torch before the fire started. "I was cutting a piece of metal with a blow torch and didn't think nothing about it," Gilpin said. "The next think I know there was smoke and then flames."

Three fire engines and two tankers responded to the scene. Perryville Fire Chief Woody Ball said the fire would have to burn itself out as they could only try to contain it. "Water is not effective on this kind of fire. We could use foam, but combined with petroleum based products, the mixture would create an environmental problem." Ball said. "In a case like this we will just create a 'dig around' the base of the fire to contain it." Ball went on to explain that this includes digging a trench around the perimeter of the fire to keep it from spreading. The only building close to the fire was an empty storage unit. Fire personnel remained on the scene until the fire smoldered out at around 5 p.m.

No damage in Holiday Inn fire

By NATE REENS, Staff writer

A small fire in a lobby wall of the Holiday Inn Express in Holland Township forced the evacuation of 11 guest rooms on Tuesday, the hotel manager said. Chris Taylor said he has yet to estimate the amount of damage sustained in the 10:30 a.m. fire, but that it wasn't severe enough to close the hotel, which opened Thursday at 12381 Felch St. Glenn Veldheer, Holland Township assistant fire chief, said the fire, caused when a copper pipe being soldered by a plumber overheated, was contained to the wall between the first and second floors. "There was no evidence of damage to the second floor," Veldheer said. "They've got a little smoke in the building, but we've pretty much ventilated it out already." Veldheer said the hotel will have to seal the wall, but that there weren't extensive losses attributed to the fire. Taylor said the damage was minimized because the hotel's fire protection system worked "exactly as it's supposed to." "These buildings are very safe and they're fire sealed," he said. Tom Clouser, a guest who was evacuated from the hotel, said he and his wife, Jackie, and their two children were "up and around the hotel" when they smelled smoke. "I was in the lobby getting coffee and could smell smoke, but it wasn't billowing out or anything," Clouser, an Ohio resident, said outside the hotel. "It just smelled like an electrical fire." Jackie Clouser said she was told to leave the hotel while her two girls, Amber and Emily, were in the room packing. "I said my kids were in the room and I had to go get them," Jackie Clouser said while watching firefighters air out the lobby. "I told them to drop their gear and get out."

Investigators Identify Cause Of City Hall Fire

Fire investigators have identified the cause the a fire at City Hall in Winston-Salem.

Investigators said that construction crews were using a blow torch to cut through some metal causing some sparks to drop into a pile of trash. The fire began around 9:30 p.m. Monday. It smoldered for several hours. The building suffered $30,000 worth of damage.

Blaze ravages Victorian: Renovation work a likely cause

By Dave Waddell, Bee Staff Writer , (Published July 28, 2001)

A torch used to remove old paint may have ignited a fast-moving blaze that badly burned a 113-year-old, two-story Victorian home near 22nd and N streets Friday. No one was injured. The house at 2213 N St. was unoccupied, but workers were preparing the structure for exterior painting when the fire broke out on an upper-story landing about 10:45 a.m. Flames shot through the attic, and heat from the fire could be felt by scores of onlookers across N Street. A plume of dark smoke billowed skyward and could be seen at least 10 miles away. The fire jumped to the roof of the adjoining residence at 2215 N St., but firefighters extinguished it without extensive damage. Capt. Dave Whitt, public information officer for the Sacramento Fire Department, said the cause of the blaze is "undetermined, but we cannot rule out the use of a torch for paint removal." Damage was estimated at $100,000, and the structure was uninsured, Whitt said. The house's old wood and "balloon construction" -- meaning no fire break between the floors -- allowed the flames to advance quickly, Whitt said. The home is owned by Mike Carroll, who said he was among those working on the renovation. Carroll said he's owned the house since 1973 and that it has been unoccupied and without power for seven years. Bernard Jones, who was working with Carroll when the fire started, called the blaze "heartbreaking." "We were just trying to fix the thing up," Jones said. "We were just trying to get it right."

Fire damages Zimbabwe's top tourist hotel

Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- A fire today raged through Zimbabwe's top tourist and casino hotel, famed for its gigantic thatched roof, within sight of the landmark Victoria Falls. Damage was extensive but there were no injuries. Witnesses said about 60 percent of the 275-room luxury Elephant Hills hotel was destroyed by today's fire. The Zimbabwe Sun Hotels group released a statement calling damage "considerable." "As soon as the fire broke out, all guests were safely transferred" to other hotels, the statement said. The hotel boasts one of Africa's biggest straw thatch roofs. It was built for $55 million as an ethnic African showcase for heads of government attending a 1991 summit of the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies. The fire began in the laundry section of the hotel where repair work with welding equipment was under way, the statement said. Firefighters were called from neighboring Zambia and the airport at the Hwange wild life preserve, 55 miles to the south. The hotel -- seen as a mainstay of Zimbabwe's ailing tourist industry -- is jointly owned by Zimbabwe Sun Hotels and the world InterContinental hotel group. The site overlooks the soaring spray of the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi river, the world's widest curtain of falling water. The hotel's private golf course was designed by Gary Player. The hotel was rebuilt for the 1991 Commonwealth summit on the ruins of a smaller thatched hotel that burnt down in 1977 after being hit by guerrilla rockets in the bush war that led in 1980 to the end of white rule in Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence. The actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton concluded their honeymoon there after a trip to neighboring Botswana in the 1970s. The statement did not say how many guests were in the hotel at the time of the fire.

UPDATE, Two minor leaks discovered in Delaware City refinery

As cleanup goes on, mayor asks for better alert system

By ESTEBAN PARRA and BETH MILLER, Staff reporters, 07/22/2001

DELAWARE CITY -- As crews continued Saturday to secure a dike around the site of Tuesday's Motiva Enterprises refinery fire, new sulfuric acid leaks -- said to be minor -- were found in two storage tanks damaged in the accident, Motiva officials said. At the same time, Delaware City Mayor Cordelia "Dee" Bennett expressed concern about the promptness of community alerts Tuesday and called for the development of a better system of notifying neighbors about accidents. Emergency response officials activated a reverse-911 system shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, intending to contact 6,000 residents in southern New Castle County. The alert was called off at 5:30 p.m., and fewer than 900 homes had been reached. "In this case, they used reverse 911, but it's not complete," Bennett said. "It shouldn't happen again." Speaking at the Delaware City Days celebration Saturday, Bennett said she wants the problem of delayed community alerts resolved before another incident occurs. Spiros Mantzavinos, a Motiva spokesman, said Saturday the company would work with a local emergency planning council to develop a better system to notify neighbors of emergencies. Motiva officials said Saturday they found small leaks from valves on two of four tanks still containing sulfuric acid. Both contain about 328,000 gallons of sulfuric acid. Motiva said Saturday that valves on two tanks are dripping sulfuric acid at a rate of about a half-gallon an hour. The leaks were noticed Saturday morning by inspectors suspended in an aerial basket above the containment area, which is bounded by a wall four feet tall. "It is not a major leak at this point," said Vance Evans, a spokesman with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Evans said one of the newly discovered leaks is coming from the most visibly damaged tank, which contains fresh sulfuric acid at almost full strength. The other leak is from an adjacent tank holding spent sulfuric acid, which is at about 90 percent of full strength. In Tuesday's accident, one of the six original tanks collapsed and spilled about 263,000 gallons of spent sulfuric acid. A second tank was found Friday to also have leaked all of its contents, estimated at another 263,000 gallons. Sulfuric acid is an irritant to the skin, eyes, nose and throat. At high levels of exposure, it can dissolve flesh. Motiva uses it in the petroleum refining operations and at its waste-water treatment plant. Motiva officials said they have detected no unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide in the air outside the refinery's perimeter. Workers are continuing to apply neutralizing soda to the fire site, but still are unable to get near the tanks for a closer inspection because of unsafe levels of sulfuric acid vapors. The vapors also continued to prevent a search within the containment area for a missing worker, identified Friday by family members as Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills, Pa. Davis, a member of a five-person crew from Washington Group International, was working on a catwalk connecting the cluster of six tanks at the time of Tuesday's accident. Eight people were injured in the Tuesday fire and acid spill, and were treated at Christiana Hospital for respiratory distress from breathing sulfuric acid mists. Seven have been released from the hospital. The eighth worker, Steven Spera, 44, of New Castle, was in stable condition Saturday night. The spill sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of sulfuric acid, firefighting water and neutralizing agents into sewers, drainage pipes and streams. Some of the corrosive mix made it into the Delaware River, killing more than 2,500 fish and 245 blue crabs, officials said. The state Fire Marshal's Office has not been able to get close enough to the tanks to investigate what caused the fire. Dangerous vapors around the sulfuric acid tanks have made it unsafe for workers to enter. Searchers have been using a grid pattern outside the containment barrier to look for Davis. Workers Saturday continued to seal the dike around the tank farm, build additional earthen berms and work pumps and vacuum systems. Once the area is considered safe for workers to enter, the search for Davis will continue, as well as the investigation of what caused the fire. In addition, workers eventually will remove the acid in the remaining four tanks, although the method has not been determined. Motiva also said Saturday that most of the 12 million gallons of corrosive runoff from the spill stored in tanks near the waste-water treatment plant has been processed through the plant. Eight million gallons of runoff and normal plant waste water have been treated and the remaining 4 million gallons are now being processed. Motiva officials measured a pH of 7 on Saturday at the end of the pipe that empties treated waste water into the Delaware River. Water has a pH of about 7 and sulfuric acid usually has a pH of less than 1. Getting the stored runoff processed was a priority Wednesday and Thursday because of concerns about whether the storage tanks were capable of handling the corrosive runoff. Those concerns eased when it was learned the three tanks are lined with cold tar epoxy, which officials said would prevent deterioration of the tank walls. Many of the firefighters who fought the fire and worked for days to neutralize the tank farm spent Saturday morning back in the community at Delaware City's annual festival. Organizers said they had been concerned that the accident would keep people away from the parade and celebration. But Bennett, the mayor, said she saw no evidence the crowd was thinner than in previous years as she surveyed Clinton Street after the morning parade. She criticized the way community officials and residents were advised of the accident and said she hopes a local emergency-response council will improve notification policies. Delaware City, its fire company and many of the chemical companies along Del. 9 have formed the council to plan for such accidents. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who was grand marshal of the town's parade, praised the community's response to the accident and said she thought the response of state agencies also was appropriate. Some town residents at the parade said they were upset Saturday that they had not been notified of the incident Tuesday. Bennett and other town officials said they did not learn of the situation until they called the refinery to find out what was happening. Leann Blackiston, who lives on Washington Street, said she was home all afternoon Tuesday and never received a warning call or knock on her door. "I think they should have told us," she said. "It's only a mile away." Carolyn Miller, 69, a lifelong resident of Delaware City, said she was surprised she was not notified. But she said she figured she would have heard if she had been in danger. "They knew we weren't in danger or they would have let us know," she said. "We must not have been in any immediate danger."

UPDATE, Leak drains acid tank after Delaware City accident

Worker still missing; river safe, officials say

By BETH MILLER, Staff reporter, 07/21/2001

DELAWARE CITY -- All the sulfuric acid has leaked out of one of the five tanks left standing after Tuesday's fire and acid spill at Motiva Enterprises refinery, company officials said Friday. And efforts to find the missing worker -- identified by family members as Jeffrey Davis of Fairless Hills, Pa. -- were hindered again by continuing pockets of dangerous vapors at the fire scene. Motiva officials estimated about 263,000 gallons of spent sulfuric acid had leaked from the second tank into the containment area around the small tank farm, enclosed by a wall four feet tall. They said acid levels in the other four tanks have not dropped, but one of them is visibly damaged. Some of the leaking acid had reached the Delaware River earlier in the week, killing more than 2,500 fish and 245 blue crabs, officials said. No further fish kills were discovered in the area Friday. The U.S. Coast Guard believes a variety of containment measures -- some pre-existing and some put in place since the fire -- mean the river is out of immediate jeopardy, according to Chief Petty Officer Carolyn Cihelka. And Motiva officials said Friday they think the containment area around the tanks no longer is leaking into the plant's wastewater system. The Coast Guard had raised concerns Wednesday about the safety of holding 12 million gallons of corrosive runoff from the fire and spill in three tanks near Motiva's wastewater-treatment plant on the Delaware River. With waterway concerns largely resolved, the Coast Guard Friday handed its federal oversight role to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has three main concerns, according to Vance Evans, community-involvement coordinator. They are that the remaining acid be placed in a secure area; that Motiva continue to operate its wastewater-treatment plant in an acceptable manner; and that long-term cleanup efforts be done properly. Dangerous vapors around the sulfuric-acid tanks made it unsafe for workers to enter the area Friday to search for Davis, 50, a boilermaker employed by Washington Group International. But searchers used a grid pattern outside the containment barrier Friday to look for Davis, who was part of a five-person team working Tuesday on catwalks connecting the six tanks. Eight people were treated at Christiana Hospital for respiratory injuries after the fire Tuesday. All have been released except for Steven Spera, 44, of New Castle. A hospital official said Friday that Spera was in good condition. Motiva officials have said they have detected no unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide in the air outside the refinery's perimeter, but significant air-quality concerns remain on the refinery property. "Hot zones" -- where unsafe levels of sulfur dioxide are detected -- have prevented a search of the fire area in the tank farm. The vapors also prevent a careful analysis of the integrity of the five tanks that survived the fire, and removal of the remaining acid in them. The hot zones have prevented Assistant State Fire Marshal Willard F. Preston III and his staff from determining the cause of Tuesday's blaze. Preston said Friday he and his staff have interviewed Motiva workers and reviewed photographs of the scene but have reached no conclusions. "We have to match up what we learn in interviews with physical evidence at the scene," Preston said. He did not know when it would be safe for investigators to enter the area. "At this point, the safety of the staff is utmost," he said. "The evidence is going to stay the same. It's secured."  When the fire started Tuesday, six 32-foot-high carbon steel tanks containing sulfuric acid were in the tank farm. One caught fire, collapsed and spilled its contents -- now estimated at 263,000 gallons of sulfuric acid. Motiva officials said Friday a tank next to the one that collapsed Tuesday now is empty. A third tank shows visible signs of damage, but officials said they do not know the extent of it. Both tanks that lost their contents held spent sulfuric acid at about 90 percent strength. Two of the remaining four tanks hold spent acid and two hold fresh, 98 percent-strength sulfuric acid, Motiva officials said. Work at the fire site now focuses on sealing the 4-foot-high dike around the tank farm, building additional earthen berms, putting pumping and vacuum systems in the vicinity of the tank farm and continuing to monitor the tank walls and levels. Once the area around the tank fire is considered safe for workers to enter, the search for Davis will continue. In addition, workers eventually will remove the acid in the remaining four tanks. Sulfuric acid is an irritant to the skin, eyes, nose and throat. At high levels of exposure, it can burn tissue. Motiva uses it in the petroleum refining operations and at its wastewater-treatment plant. About three-quarters of a mile away from the fire site at the tank farm, Motiva's wastewater-treatment plant continues to process corrosive runoff stored since Tuesday. The three holding tanks are sending material into the plant for processing, officials said. Eight million gallons of runoff and normal plant wastewater were treated there Thursday. At the end of the pipe that empties treated wastewater into the Delaware River, Coast Guard officials measured a pH of 6.6 on Friday. Water has a pH of about 7. Sulfuric acid usually has a pH of less than 1. The pH level inside the tanks at the treatment plant has been a concern because those tanks were not designed to hold high concentrations of sulfuric acid. The pH in the smallest of the three tanks was measured at between 1 and 3 Thursday, according to Maria Taylor of the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. All three tanks are lined with cold tar epoxy, which officials think has prevented deterioration of the tank walls.

Roofers' blowtorch may have triggered bumper business blaze

PAWTUCKET -- Salesman Ed Badessa was driving to his workplace, J & J Bumper, Inc., Thursday evening when he saw fire trucks speeding by him heading to the same 10 Dunnell Lane warehouse. "I had no clue what was going on," said Badessa, who sells reconditioned bumpers to auto mechanics. He later learned a fire had started on the roof of the business after a roofing company had been working there all day. Fire Battalion Chief Michael Carter said an initial investigation showed that sections of the wood that roofers were covering may have smoldered when they blowtorched the plastic-like shingles. He would not confirm the cause of the fire until fire marshals finish an investigation. The smoke triggered a box alarm alerting the Fire Department and a sprinkler system that saved the rest of the building. "The sprinkler knocked it down enough so we could easily keep it in check," Carter said, noting the sprinkler eased concerns that the metal and fiberglass bumpers in the building would ignite. There were several workers in the building, who were evacuated once they smelled the smoke, said John Candido, one of those workers. Firefighters quickly doused the wood roof, making sure the fire did not spread to spots the sprinklers didn't reach. A ladder truck, five engines and a command vehicle quickly responded to the 5 p.m. alarm and had the fire under control within 10 minutes, he said. It only took another 15 minutes to make sure nothing else was smoldering and for firefighters to begin packing hoses. Carter was able to rotate the engine trucks to use the water from each pumper, considering the nearest hydrant was a quarter-mile up the road. If the fire had spread, he would have had to connect hoses that length, however. "If they didn't have the sprinklers, it could have gotten out of control," Carter said. The owners of the business, John Pinheiro and Jack Candinho, were on site and said they would review insurance details today. The roofing company was ABC Commercial Roofing of Cambridge, Mass.

Frazee man electrocuted while working on car

Associated Press, Thursday, July 19, 2001

FRAZEE -- A Frazee man was electrocuted while welding in his garage. Authorities say that 24-year-old Scott Schermerhorn was electrocuted last night when he grabbed the car with his free hand as he welded underneath the vehicle. Schermerhorn's wife discovered him in the garage, unconscious and not breathing. He was transported to St. Mary's in Detroit Lakes, where he was pronounced dead. Doctors concluded that electrocution was the cause of death.

Welding probably caused Valley fire
A Tuesday night warehouse fire in the Spokane Valley was probably sparked by welding work, fire officials said. The fire started when sparks from welding ignited sawdust piles inside Quality Jobbers, a sawdust-hauling business at Flora and Euclid. It appears to be accidental, said Kevin Miller, an investigator for the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Three welders injured as pipe ignites, burns through insulation

By TRICIA SCHWENNESEN, The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Three men were taken to the hospital and a child care center was among several businesses evacuated Monday morning after a maintenance mechanic apparently ignited a fire at a glue manufacturing plant. The mechanic and three contractors had been working to repair an exterior, leaky fume-filled pipe shortly after 9 a.m. at the Dynea USA Inc. building - formerly Neste Resins Corporation - at 475 28th St. Sparks from a plasma cutter, a tool used to cut metal, caused the fire inside the pipe, which then warmed up and burned through to the outer insulation, plant manager Bill Langley said. No one was injured and the plant was not operating at the time of the fire, he said. While workers flooded the 12-inch-diameter pipeline with water to prevent any smoldering embers from igniting, plant officials called 911 and evacuated about 100 employees. Three welders, whose names were not released, were taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, treated for minor smoke inhalation and released, Langley said.  "Our main concern is for the community and our employees," Langley said. "We kept a few (employees) around and evacuated at the advice of the fire department." The plant manufactures a synthetic resin, or glue, used to make particle board for the housing industry, he said. Neither the fumes nor the finished product - piped into about 25 silo-like structures on the property - are toxic or flammable. "It will burn, but it's not flammable, like explosive, like gasoline would do," Langley said. "We haven't identified anything dangerous (released into the air). There are no environmental, no community implications." Down wind from the plant, nearly 50 children and a dozen child care providers were evacuated from a Goodwill Industries day care center at 204 30th St., and bused to nearby Maple Elementary School until their parents could be notified, Springfield police Sgt. Dick Jones said. Dozens of employees from several other buildings, including the state Department of Fish & Wildlife, and a Goodwill retail store and work program were also asked to leave the area, he said. "The biggest problem was there was a day care or a preschool type thing and we got them out," Jones said. A Goodwill spokesman said the company relied on an emergency plan to move the children out as quickly as possible. "We were contacted by the police and working with the City of Springfield and the school district - we loaded the kids on the bus and took them to Maple," David Bartlett said. "Everything turned out fine. Crisis planning pays off." Tim Gribble, president of Preferred Construction Inc., located across 28th Street, said from his store front he first saw a fire engine, then two more followed by an ambulance. "I just assumed they had an industrial accident but I couldn't see any smoke or flames," he said. "Then they closed off the street and I knew that it was bigger than I thought." The police also warned Gribble that he, too, could be evacuated. "I wasn't concerned ," he said. "I didn't see anything dooming." Deputy Fire Marshal Paul Gerard said the fire was immediately extinguished but firefighters and hazardous materials investigators wanted to make sure there were no embers or hot spots inside the pipeline. The crew then used heat sensitive equipment to determine the pipeline was cold. Employees were allowed to return to the plant by about 2 p.m., and it was fully operational by about 7 p.m., Langley said.

Bad weld linked to gas spill at lake

March 2000 leak contaminated Dallas water source with MTBE

07/17/2001, By Terri Langford / The Dallas Morning News

About 564,000 gallons of MTBE-laced gasoline that spilled last year - some of it contaminating Lake Tawakoni - can be linked to a faulty weld along the seam of a 30-year-old pipeline, according to a government report released Monday. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates pipeline accidents, found that the March 2000 spill near Greenville was traced to a crack measuring 501/2 inches long by 63/4 inches wide. The city of Dallas uses water from Lake Tawakoni, and the spill threatened 25 percent of the area's water supply. Initially, high levels of methyl tertiary butyl ether - or MTBE - were found at Lake Tawakoni, forcing city water officials to turn off pumps at the lake. Five months later, after most of the chemical had evaporated, the pumps were switched back on. City officials said late last year that costs related to the cleanup were about $13 million. The city has filed a lawsuit against Explorer Pipeline Co., the owner of the pipeline, in which unspecified damages are sought. The suit has yet to go to trial. The report indicates that the break occurred late March 9, not early March 10 as originally reported. Gasoline poured into Caddo Creek, which feeds Lake Tawakoni. A thunderstorm exacerbated the problem when it flushed the contamination 24 miles downstream into the lake. Cracks found near the tear were typical of a weld defect, the board concluded. The 28-inch diameter pipe, buried 41/2 feet below ranchland, was made in 1970 by the Steel Co. of Canada. Officials with Steel Co. could not be located late Monday. "The probable cause of the pipeline failure was corrosion-fatigue cracking that initiated at the edge of the longitudinal seam weld at a likely pre-existing weld defect," the report stated. "Contributing to the failure was the loss of pipe coating integrity." The pipeline's owner - Explorer Pipeline Co. of Tulsa, Okla. - did not dispute the board's conclusions. "We essentially agree with the findings," said Rod Sands, Explorer's vice president and chief operating officer. "We think the report was thorough. ... We feel like it's an accurate report." Dallas city officials, notified late Monday of the ruling, were withholding comment. "We'd like to have a chance to review the ruling, analyze it, before we can comment on it," said Tom Perkins, first assistant city attorney. The safety board is not a regulatory agency. Instead, it makes safety recommendations. There were no recommendations in the report, but the board noted Explorer's post-spill efforts. The company tested most of the line for leaks before restarting it. On Dec. 15, 2000, Explorer was granted permission to return pipeline operation to the operating pressures that had been in effect before the accident. Cleanup nearly done More than a year after the spill, 90,000 cubic yards of dirt has been hauled from the contaminated site, treated and transported back to the area. The cleanup will be completed in the fall, an official said. "We're about 80 percent complete," Mr. Sands said. Some of the world's largest fuel providers own shares in Explorer, which transports oil, jet fuel and gas through its 1,400-mile pipeline from Louisiana to Indiana.

LVFD assists with grass fire

Jul 13 2001 12:00AM By Aaron S. Lee Staff Writer

A call came in on Thursday at 11 a.m. to the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department regarding a grass fire east of town on Highway 26 near Dinklage Feed Yards. Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad workers, while trying to repair a section of the track by using a grinding machine, created sparks that ignited the extremely dry grass that bordered the tracks just a few feet away. According to County Fire Warden Dave Stoeger, the firefighters fought and contained the blaze for the remainder of the afternoon until extinguishing the fire, about eight hours. “Two other calls came in from Yoder and Fort Laramie about that same time,” he said. “We never found those reported fires so we believed the residents were smelling the grass fire in Torrington.” Roughly two miles of grass was burned, according to Torrington Fire chief Dennis Estes. It took 40 people to fight the fire, using Torrington, Lingle and Lyman, Neb., firefighters. Estes said problems stemmed from motorists passing parked emergency vehicles. A new law that was passed July 1, known as the “Move Over” law, requires drivers traveling in the same direction as an emergency vehicle parked along the roadway to slow 20 mph or less than the posted speed limit on two-lane roads. “They need to be careful, because there were people flying through the smoke - they didn't even know if there was a firetruck on the other side,” Estes said. “It's pretty tough for us because we've got to watch for flames, then we've got to watch for cars flying down the road. They need to take some consideration.” Estes urges residents to keep the weeds down around their homes for safety reasons. “They can't put the fire down once it starts,” he said. “In the last two fires there were people right there when it started, and they couldn't put the fire out with water. That's how dry it is.”

Fire rips through new subdivision; Five homes razed; sixth home damaged

By SCOTT VANHORNE/Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE - Five homes burned to the ground and a sixth sustained major damage Wednesday afternoon after a blaze ripped through a row of houses under construction in a new subdivision. “This is the largest loss of single family homes under construction in Victorville history,” Victorville Fire Department Investigator Greg Coon said. The fire started about 2 p.m. inside a home on Brianhead Court near Cobalt Road. A plumber welding a damaged pipe apparently sparked the fire, but he didn't realize it until another worker saw smoke coming from inside the home, Victorville Fire Department Investigator Kim Dhaemers said. The two went back in with a fire extinguisher to extinguish the rapidly spreading fire, but they weren't able to stop it, she said. “By the time they noticed the smoke, it was huge,” said 19-year-old Eric Musser of Hesperia, who was working on the houses when the blaze started. The home where the fire started was in a row of seven homes under construction in a subdivision called Cobalt Country Estates. Drywall hadn't been placed inside the homes, and stucco paper on the outside was still exposed. Stucco paper is soaked in oil, which causes it to ignite easily. “Had they been insulated and drywalled, we wouldn't have had this,” Dhaemers said. The fire jumped from house to house as construction workers tried desperately to gather their tools and get out of harm's way. “A lot of our tools were around that house, and we couldn't save them,” Andrew Malachowski, 24, of Hesperia said. Firefighters were able to stop the fire before it spread to a seventh home on the edge of the block, but the rest of the homes were destroyed. Piles of burning rubble were all that was left of five of the homes. The sixth home was still standing with part of the roof had collapsed, but officials said it was a total loss. “Everything is going to have to be bulldozed and rebuilt,” Coon said. A sign outside the subdivision said the homes sold for $139,000. Coon estimated the damage at about $400,000. A number of bystanders gathered on a hillside and along the street to watch as firefighters battled the fire. Bob Pruett, 36, of Hesperia was on his way back from work in Adelanto when he saw the huge plume of smoke pouring from the blaze. “I was thinking it was just a car fire, but it kept getting bigger and bigger,” he said. “I couldn't believe how much it burned.” San Bernardino County Fire Department firefighters assisted Victorville firefighters with the blaze, which was almost completely out by 2:45 p.m.

UPDATE, Fire-hit plant will be closed at least year

The fire-damaged Farmland Foods processing plant in downtown Albert Lea will be out of commission for at least one year, a company official said Friday. Farmland President George Richter said he could not say how long the plant will be shuttered -- or whether it will be rebuilt -- but he said there would be no production for 12 to 18 months. Richter promised to give employees more information within 90 days when a structural analysis becomes available. The displaced workers received their final paychecks Friday, along with accrued vacation and holiday pay. Many will be able to work at other Farmland plants, Richter said. The ham packaging plant burned for nearly three days after sparks from a welding torch ignited flammable material Sunday afternoon. About 500 people worked at the plant. -- Associated Press

Man critical after chemical blaze; Cigarette touched off blast in solvent truck

Sunthorn Pongpao, Samut Prakan

Two 10-wheel chemical trucks exploded and caught fire at a Samut Prakan factory yesterday after the driver of one of the trucks lit a cigarette near an open solvent tank.  Suthep Kanbanjong, 28, a truck driver from M Line Co on Theparak road, was in critical condition after receiving burns to his entire body. The driver who lit the cigarette, identified only as Somkhuan, was slightly injured and fled the scene. Four pick-up trucks and a motorcycle were also damaged. Ten fire engines rushed to M Line factory, a solvent producer, and contained the blaze after two hours. Police said one of the trucks, carrying 9,000 litres of solvent, was about to leave the factory when it broke down. The second truck was parked alongside to transfer the chemical. Mr Suthep had already opened the valve of his solvent tank when Mr Somkhuan lit a cigarette. There was a loud explosion, followed by a huge fire which quickly engulfed the trucks and Mr Suthep. Mr Somkhuan ran away. Damage was estimated at around three million baht.  Police will question the factory owner today.

UPDATE, Albert Lea fire rages in plant

By Jennifer Hemmingsen, Special to The Austin Daily Herald, Published Monday, July 09, 2001 1:36 PM CDT

ALBERT LEA - Firefight-ers continued to struggle against a blaze at Farmland Foods into this morning as the fire raged southward within the building. Crews expect another full day of work before the flames are under control. The fire, which started Sunday, apparently leaves more than 700 out of work and the future of Albert Lea's second-largest employer in doubt. Sixteen fire departments from across the region responded as hundreds of people looked on from the parking lot and surrounding streets. As dawn broke today, many volunteer firefighters had to leave for their day jobs, leaving the scene short of manpower. Firefighters and police responded to a fire call at 5 p.m. They thought the fire was under control in the first moments after arriving, but the fire spread deeper into the Farmland complex. By 5:30 p.m., the fire caught in the roof of the building and spread across other buildings, Albert Lea Police Lt. Tim Matson said. Fire officials sounded an all-call, pulling firefighters from all over Freeborn County and several surrounding communities, Albert Lea Fire Inspector Doug Johnson said. "Basically, they just said whoever's got men, send them," Johnson said. The plant contains several flammable materials, including acetylene, anhydrous ammonia and liquid oxygen, a firefighter said. At 2 a.m. today, they still were trying to drain large tanks of anhydrous ammonia. Crews Sunday focused their attention on keeping ammonia pipes atop the structure cool as the fire burned in the buildings below. By 10 p.m., the fire had engulfed several stories of the old cooler complex. Flames licked the Farmland sign perched on top of the structure. At least three floors of the building were engulfed, Johnson said. Shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday, departments began hauling water to the scene with tanker trucks. Officials were concerned Farmland's water supply would run out, or the fire would spread to mechanical rooms, shutting off the pumps, but the water held up through this morning. Crews were pumping about 3,000 gallons of water onto the inferno each minute. Departments tried to get firefighters in the building Sunday, but abandoned the effort when the fire became too hot. The layout of the complex made entry difficult, Johnson said. It also made it hard for firefighters to contain the fire from the outside, Albert Lea Fire Chief Rich Sydnes said. Sydnes said he had enough personnel and equipment on the scene Sunday, but getting close to the blaze was the biggest challenge. "We can't get at it. There's no logical place to cut it off," he said. "Every time we think we've got it, we get another hallway (on fire)." Upper floors within the building had collapsed by this morning, making it too dangerous when firefighters again tried to enter the building on the lower floors. Crews extinguished the fire in the northern part of the facility, including in a small storage structure and in the cooler complex. But Sydnes said there was no hope of putting out the rest of the fire unless firefighters could enter the large, brick cold-storage area where the blaze was concentrated this morning. No serious injuries were reported, although two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion at the Albert Lea Medical Center emergency room. They later returned to the scene, he said. Farmland officials would not speculate on the cause of the fire, but workers said stray sparks from contractors' pipe cutting began the fire in a box storage room to the north of the plant. Several contractors were in the building when the fire started, Farmland plant manager Ray Roberts said. Few Farmland employees were working at the time, and no one was injured. He wouldn't speculate on the cause or how long the plant would be closed. Salvation Army volunteers were on the scene, offering firefighters and law enforcement officials water, Gatorade and hamburgers. At 9:30, they had served about 70 people, said Capt. Jamie Pennington, who became aware of the fire as he was driving home after the weekend. "I was stopping back from the Cities and noticed the crew here, and I asked them if they needed some help," he said. Albert Lea police called in about 20 officers from all shifts to control traffic and keep order at the scene Sunday night, and several Freeborn County Sheriff's Department deputies also responded. At around 9 p.m., they cleared bystanders from the south side of the plant and from the parking lot, afraid hazardous materials could catch fire and explode. "Man, this is like something you see in movies," said Ron Nelson, who pulled in to Albert Lea Sunday night after he saw the smoke from Interstate 35. "I had to see what was going on." Albert Lea Mayor Bob Haukoos will meet with local legislators to apply for relief from the state today. Other areas have gotten unemployment benefit extensions and education credits, he said. Haukoos, a former firefighter, was unsure what the city could do to help Farmland and its employees, but said the council would look into it this week. "We'll do anything we can," he said. "We have 700 families involved, and we'll do anything we can to ease the pain." The company was in the middle of a major remodeling project, and had planned to add several hundred new jobs by this fall, he said. If the building can be salvaged, rebuilding will not be easy, Haukoos said. "It's not going to be a month or two job," he said. "It's going to be a big job to get it back in service, but it's a huge employer and we hope they do." Once the building is declared safe, Johnson and the Minnesota fire marshal will investigate the cause of the blaze.

Fire strikes again at Durfee

JOHN MOSS, Herald News Staff Reporter July 08, 2001

FALL RIVER -- It was déjà vu all over again as another fire broke out Saturday afternoon on the roof above the Music Department at B.M.C. Durfee High School. The fire started shortly after 3 p.m. and caused an estimated $23,000 to $25,000 in damage, said acting District Fire Chief William Joaquim. And unlike the last fire, this time there was damage to musical instruments. Joaquim said the fire damaged the area that had been completely repaired after a fire on May 12 that resulted in an estimated $30,000 damage.  The cause was the same in both fires, Joaquim said. He said a generator is fired up on weekends. "They let it run for a couple of hours, then cut it down, to be sure it's operational," he explained. He said a half-inch steel vent pipe runs from the generator in the basement through the roof. "It runs pretty hot," Joaquim indicated. "It heated up quite a bit and ignited roof materials." "It's the same exact problem," he said of the cause of both fires. Assistant School Superintendent Richard D. Pavao said the fire was so similar to the previous one that the same school security guard discovered it as in May. "Unfortunately, some musical instruments were damaged" this time, he said, including a xylophone and a bass drum. He said the band leader would determine the damage to the instruments. Also, Pavao said the contractor, Wayne Roofing Systems Inc., 560 American Legion Highway, Westport, would be called in to determine where the problem lies. Some additional people were called in Saturday to "button up" the roof until Monday when final repairs can be done, Pavao said. Questioned about a fire official's reference in May about heat-absorbent insulation that should have surrounded the pipe, Pavao responded, "That's the question we have to ask the contractor on Monday." Also, Pavao said the deductible on the fire insurance that the School Department has on the building is higher than $25,000 so the amount to make the necessary repairs will have to be paid "out-of-pocket with a budget that's already strained." The latest fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes and was out shortly afterward. Security personnel were the only people present at the time of the fire. Nobody was hurt. After the May fire, which started about at 4 p.m., a Fire Department spokesman said that normally, the pipe running through the roof would be surrounded by heat-absorbent insulation, but the protective layer had apparently worn off over the years. On Saturday, Joaquim said the fire burned roofing material around the pipe and 10-inch thick boards along the edge of the roof.

4 departments respond to morning blaze

Friday, July 6, 2001, By AMY ORRINGER, NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Milan resident David Bolog didn't start his day off well Thursday. He arrived at the Milan Township grain farm where he works only to find that the metal barn used as a repair shop was burning to the ground. The night before, he had parked his new Harley Davidson motorcycle in its usual place, inside the barn. Bolog had spent years saving up for the bike. But Bolog's motorcycle was just one of many things destroyed in the barn fire. Milan Area Fire Chief Bob Stevens estimated the damage would reach anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000. No one was hurt in the fire, and the surrounding buildings were unharmed. Stevens said they were unsure of the exact cause of the fire, but farm owner Gary Heath speculated a blowtorch might have set it off. Heath was working in the barn when the fire started. He said he was busy working on a sprayer when he looked up and noticed the fire in the front of the building. "(I) tried to put the fire out, then said, 'This isn't going to happen,"' he said. "I called for the fire department and they took it from there." Firefighters from four area departments worked to douse the flames. The first fire trucks arrived just before 10 a.m. At 11:30, several firefighters were prodding through the pile of metal that used to be the barn, trying to extinguish the smoldering debris. The air was clouded with black and white smoke. The barn housed a sprayer, a tractor, several motorcycles, and parts and tools. "This is a lot of damage," Heath said. "It's going to set back our ability to work in the fall a little bit. ... It's a vital part of the farm." Stevens said he expected that the fire department would have to be on site for most of the afternoon to make sure they extinguished all the fire. He said the only problem spot was around the back of the barn because of a fallen power line. Heath seemed to be in good spirits despite his loss, and made sure to order food for the firefighters before they left. Meanwhile, all Bolog can do is reminisce about the purple motorcycle with flames rolling up the side that he got 11 months ago. He said he will have to wait a few years before he can save up the money to buy himself a new "Hog." "At least I got pictures," he said.

Torch ignites rectory

Published in the Asbury Park Press 7/07/01, By JOHN A. HARNES, COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

BELMAR -- A fire ripped through the rectory of St. Rose Roman Catholic Church yesterday, causing no serious injuries but destroying all of one priest's possessions, authorities said. Belmar Fire Chief Sean Pringle said the accidental blaze at the church on Seventh Avenue began about 2:20 p.m when roofers were working over the first-floor porch. A torch that one roofer was using appears to have ignited the fire. The flames quickly spread from the second floor, on the east side of the three-story building, up into the attic, Pringle said.  "Once the fire got under the slate roof, it just began to get hotter," the chief said. Firefighters had to break through that roof to get at the flames. About 50 firefighters responded from Belmar, Avon, Neptune and West Belmar and Glendola in Wall. "It took about 45 minutes to get the fire under control," Pringle said. At least once yesterday, firefighters had to return to water down areas of the building after the wreckage started smoking. "It was an accident," said Monsignor Casimir Ladzinski, who lives in the rectory. Another priest, Father Bill Lago, lived on the third floor, and "all he has now is the shirt on his back. They are not even letting him go up there," Ladzinski said. Ladzinski said he believes the rectory is about 80 years old. He said he was not sure yesterday what arrangements for temporary housing will be made. Carol Lytz, South Belmar, was working to clean the church with her 2-year-old granddaughter, Selena. When they returned to the church from lunch about 2:20 p.m., Lytz said she saw the roofers at work at the rectory next-door to it. "All the windows are shut in the church, and I didn't hear anything," she said. However, Lytz said she noticed the windows were getting steamed up in the front of the church, so she opened the door onto Seventh Avenue to see what was happening. She remembers dropping her broom when when smoke rushed in. "I tried to cover my granddaughter's head," she said. Emergency workers helped her to an ambulance and gave her some oxygen. "I'm still sore in my lungs," Lytz said.  "Thank God none of the cinders got on the roof of the church," she said. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what was happening. It's such a tragedy."  "My brother-in-law and best friend are in the Fire Department, and when the door (to the fire station on Seventh Avenue) opened, I went to see what was happening," said Teresa Panagakos of Seventh Avenue. "I saw smoke, then the smoke just got very thick quickly," she said. "There was a lot of smoke for about five minutes, then I saw the flames." Later, Panagakos spotted smoke coming from the building and alerted authorities. Firefighters sprayed down the wreckage. Parishioner Daniel Guerra, 12, of Eighth Avenue, was enjoying the summer weather when he smelled smoke. Upon investigating, he found firefighters battling the blaze. "It was so interesting, and at the same time it was very sad," Guerra said. John Caverly, of Oakwood Road, and Ethel Whitt, of Neptune City, are members of the St. Rose High School Class of 1961. When they heard there was a fire there, they rushed over to the church. "Someone told us there was a fire at St. Rose, and I felt devastated," Whitt said. "Thank God is wasn't our school." Caverly said he, Whitt and other classmates share a lot of wonderful memories of their school days. Published on July 7, 2001

Minor fire extinguished quickly

CENTRAL FALLS -- A minor fire sparked during some exterior maintenance work brought city firefighters to the Leedon Webbing Co. Friday morning. Deputy Fire Chief Gerard Cournoyer said no one was hurt in the fire and there was no serious, structural damage to the building. Cournoyer said Leedon employees were using a grinding wheel to sand a window frame when they hit a nail or staple, shooting embers against the building's dry, exterior shingles and sparking the blaze. "They (Leedon employees) shot it with a portable fire extinguisher. Good thing too," said Cournoyer who commented that the age of the wooden building and the lack of rain in the past few days would have allowed a fire to spread, "extremely rapidly." After the exterior flames were doused, firefighters searched the walls with the IRIS infrared imaging system to look for "hot spots" hidden in walls but found the fire had not spread beyond the immediate area where the sparks had landed. Cournoyer said fire department personnel were on scene at 86 Tremont Ave. at 9:03a.m. and stayed until 9:56 a.m. Cournoyer said the building suffered about $10,000 worth of damage due to the accident.

Fire at Heinz Field

By TRIBUNE-REVIEW

A small fire sparked by a welder's torch sent a plume of black smoke above Heinz Field on Friday but was quickly extinguished, officials said. Welders working on structural steel where the stadium scoreboard will hang apparently sent errant sparks onto waterproofing material on the platform below, setting fire to the black rubber material, Steelers spokesman Ron Wahl said. No one was injured in the fire, which sent thick, black smoke over the stadium for several minutes. A preliminary assessment revealed minimal damage, Wahl said. "Fortunately, it was one of those situations where it looked a lot worse than it was," he said. One city fire engine and two pumper trucks arrived at the stadium just before noon and had the fire extinguished within 10 minutes, Pittsburgh fire Battalion Chief Harry Scherer said. The construction crew's fire watcher battled the blaze using his water truck before the arrival of firefighters, officials said. Scherer said welders' tools often cause small fires that can easily be extinguished by workers. But the fire watcher could not reach the blaze with his equipment because of the height of the scoreboard, he said. Scherer said firefighters were able to climb up the steel structure for the still-under-construction scoreboard at the south end of the stadium. They shut off power at a nearby junction box and hosed the area thoroughly. Wahl said a structural engineer was assessing the damage.

Fire at Mercury sends worker to hospital

By Frank Scotello, Of The Reporter Staff

One man went to the hospital for observation as a result of a fire Thursday morning at Mercury Marine. Capt. Steve Beer of the Fond du Lac Fire Department said firefighters responded to call at 8:48 a.m. at Mercury's Plant 17. He said a crew from Muza Sheet Metal of Oshkosh was disassembling an aluminum dust collector outside the plant when the fire began. Beer said that the men were using a torch to loosen bolts and apparently caused a spark in the dust residue inside the collector. Employees from Muza were attempting to extinguish the fire as the Fire Department arrived. One of the Muza employees was transported to St. Agnes Hospital by ambulance for possible inhalation of fire extinguisher chemicals. Tom Mielke, a Mercury Marine spokesman, said the man was checked out and went back to work. For the most part, the fire was confined to the large aluminum dust collector. However, Beer said there was some smoke damage to the outside of the plant. Beer said some Fire Department personnel stayed on the site for about two hours. They used a thermal imaging camera to monitor the situation.

Welding Containers

In two recent incidents in Ontario, explosions during welding fuel tanks killed three workers. In the first, two workers welding a 150-gallon diesel fuel tank were fatally injured. In the second, a 500-gallon gasoline tank exploded during welding, killing a worker. These accidents would not have happened if proper cleaning, purging and testing procedures had been followed.  After the first incident, it was discovered that the diesel fuel in the tank was contaminated with gasoline. As little as two per cent of gasoline in diesel fuel can create an explosive mixture in a closed container, with the flashpoint (the temperature at which a spark or other ignition source will cause an explosion) falling below the temperature inside the container.  For any hot work such as welding or cutting a container that may have contained flammable or combustible material, the following minimum precautions must be taken:

The container's internal layout must be determined to make sure that fittings such as baffles will not interfere with cleaning or purging.

The container must be drained and cleaned using appropriate methods.

To determine whether draining and cleaning has made the container safe, its interior must be tested with a combustible gas detector both before hot work begins and periodically during the work.

However, some containers cannot be drained and cleaned well enough to make them safe. Such containers may be made safe by purging and inerting with an inert gas, but only if these precautions are taken:

Recognized procedures and proper equipment must be used.

The oxygen level inside the container must be monitored with an oxygen analyser and maintained at essentially zero for the duration of the work. To accomplish this, if steam is used the hot work must be completed before the container begins to cool. If inert gas is used then the purging must be continued throughout the duration of the hotwork.

Workers must be made aware of the limitations of the inerting process.

NEVER ASSUME A CONTAINER IS CLEAN OR SAFE. MAKE SURE THAT IS IT MADE SAFE AND THAT ITS SAFETY IS VERIFIED BY TESTING BEFORE ANY HOT WORK BEGINS. NOT FOLLOWING THIS RULE IS LIKELY TO KILL YOU!

Occupational Health & Safety
1995-07-24

(1999 accident)

Storage tank explosion kills 2 workers, severely burns 1

By Leon Alligood / Tennessean Staff Writer

Two men were killed and another was severely burned yesterday when a storage tank containing crude oil exploded less than a mile north of Livingston. The dead were identified as Marty Geesling and Johnny Garrett, both of Overton County. Their co-worker Kelly J. Daniels, 25, also of Livingston, was severely burned. He was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. A hospital spokesman said he was in critical condition. According to authorities, the men were independent contractors working for the oil well owner, Young Oil Co. of Knob Lick, Ky. At the time of the explosion, which was reported just before 7:45 a.m., the men were doing maintenance on two tanks. They finished one tank Tuesday and had just begun working on the second yesterday when it erupted in a blast heard for several miles. A wall of flame leaped more than 150 feet into the air, and the metal structure was hurled about 40 feet away. The tank had a capacity of 210 barrels, about 7,000 gallons. Sheriff's investigators think a spark from a grinder apparently ignited fumes that had built up inside. "I was 200 to 300 yards from the scene and (Daniels) came running up to me. He was very badly burned," said Sheriff's Department Sgt. Rob Schoettle, the first officer to respond. "About the only place on him that wasn't burned was his shoes." Schoettle said Daniels told him the men who were killed had been working on top of the tank, but did not say where he was when the explosion occurred. Overton County, located on the Cumberland Plateau about 90 miles east of Nashville, is the most active drilling area in the state, said Bill Goodwin, executive director of the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association. Natural gas is a byproduct of crude oil and can build up in tanks. The safest way to do maintenance work on them is to drain and fill them with water, Goodwin said. "Sometimes when they've got a tank empty and totally vented, they think it's safe," he said. "You can usually safely weld on it without it being a problem. In this particular case, there was evidently more gas present than they thought." The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MADRID, Spain -- Fire has devastated an indoor sports arena in central Madrid.

Clouds of smoke from the huge blaze on Thursday could be seen several kilometres away, a fire service spokesman said. The metal roof of the Palacio de Deportes, in one of the city's main shopping districts, collapsed and two people needed treatment for smoke inhalation. The musical "Riverdance" had been due to open on Thursday night and preparations were being made for the opening. The fire was believed to have been caused by a welding torch, said Mayor Jose Maria Alvarez de Manzano. The complex has hosted important sports events and concerts by well-known pop stars.  In 1982, thousands gathered in it to see Pope John Paul II. The injured, a firefighter and a workman, were treated and released, police said.

Three injured in Caesars fire

Propane tank explodes on roof of hotel, causing two-alarm blaze

An explosion and brief roof fire Thursday at Caesars Palace sent three people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Clark County Fire Department said. The 11:24 a.m. blast atop one of the hotel-casino's four guest towers caused about $30,000 damage to the hotel, sounded a boom heard several blocks away and left a dark smoke plume hanging over the Strip. A 29-year-old construction worker near the propane tank explosion suffered shrapnel-like injuries and second-degree burns on his hands, arms and face. He was taken to University Medical Center, where a spokesman said he had burns on 3 percent of his body and was expected to be released Thursday. Two guests in a room near the explosion site suffered minor injuries, including a concussion and smoke-related injuries. Paramedics transported the couple to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where a hospital spokeswoman said both were listed in good condition. The worker was reroofing the Centurion Tower, a three-story structure between two higher guest room towers at the resort, using tar and a heating torch, according to Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach. When a 5-gallon propane tank fell or was knocked over, leaking gas ignited and pressure from the heat exploded the tank, Leinbach said. The fire mostly burned roofing materials, but also scorched a nearby wall. Workers on the roof battled flames with water from a roof firehose cabinet until firefighters arrived, Leinbach said. A half-hour after the blaze, workers carrying materials down from the roof said the explosion was deafening and that the fire was extinguished in minutes. Smoke detectors immediately sounded, but authorities did not evacuate the hotel or casino. Scores of guests and employees voluntarily left the property or went outside to watch the spectacle. About 16 fire units with about 50 firefighting and paramedic personnel responded to the two-alarm fire. A stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard near Flamingo Road was closed for emergency vehicle access between 11:30 and 1 p.m., backing up traffic at one of the city's busiest intersections. Traffic was also rerouted on Industrial Road and Interstate 15.

Roofers blamed for $2 million fire

BY STEPHEN A. CROCKETT JR., Mercury News

Fire officials say workers with a propane torch accidentally started the fire that damaged two historic buildings in downtown Redwood City on Monday. Roofers caused the fire that heavily damaged two historic buildings in downtown Redwood City on Monday, fire officials have found. Redwood City Fire Chief Edward Montez said a team at work on the landmark Alhambra Theatre's roof inadvertently started the fire with a propane torch they were using to seal seams. After applying a coat of materials midday, the workers took a break for lunch and returned to find a quickly spreading fire that prompted seven alarms and a 100-firefighter response. After stepping through the damaged Alhambra building on Tuesday, investigators concluded that the fire was accidental and estimated damage to the two buildings at $2 million. Most of that was to the Alhambra Theatre building -- also known as the Masonic Temple -- at 835 Main St., though the Odd Fellows Hall next door at 839 Main was also damaged. A day after the huge blaze, many residents came out to show support and gaze at the fire-marked building. ``It was such a beautiful building; this is just a shame,'' said Mimi Ismail, who was in the neighborhood to make sure her favorite antique store -- Henry's Eclectic Antiques, next door to the Alhambra Theatre -- was still intact. ``I just wanted to make sure the store was OK and that no one was hurt,'' she said. She was relieved to see that Henry's was open for business. The store suffered minimal interior damage, and the roof may be in danger of caving in, but the owner considers himself lucky. ``The fire department saved me and my merchandise,'' said Henry Sumaraga. He said the show of support he has received has been overwhelming. ``Thirty to 40 customers have come by just to make sure the store is OK. My voice mail is packed. It is really good to see this kind of support.'' Redwood City Planner Charles Jany, the city's resident history expert, is still feeling the shock of the fire. Jany said the Mission-style Alhambra Theatre was built in the early 1900s. Its facade and that of the Odd Fellows Hall were built in 1921, after the original fronts were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. ``I'm still grieving about this whole thing,'' Jany said. John Anagnostoui's family owns the Alhambra Theatre building and many other properties downtown and was in the process of renovating the building. He was cautiously optimistic about the turn of events, though he hadn't been able to walk through the fire-ravaged building yet. `I am pretty confident that we can restore the building,'' he said. ``We cannot restore the history, but we can rebuild the building. I'm just happy that no one got hurt because we can't rebuild lives.'' Staff writer Karen de Sá contributed to this report.

Empty chicken ranch barn burns

The fire is accidentally started by workers using a propane torch to clean coops.

BY ERIN D. RANDOLPH, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE SAGE

Firefighters saved more than 40,000 chickens and two large coops Monday afternoon when an empty coop nearby caught fire while workers used a torch inside it, investigators said. California Department of Forestry Capt. Greg Everhart said the fire started around 3 p.m. at Maust's California Farms on Sage Road, a mile southeast of Hemet. He said the fire started while farm workers used a propane torch inside the empty aluminum coop to clean feathers from wire cages. He said investigators have determined the blaze to be accidental. Firefighters were able to control the blaze before it engulfed the neighboring coops, which had chickens in them, and spread up a nearby hill. A few chickens in the other coops could have been injured and farmworkers were checking them after the fire. The burned coop was a total loss. Damage was estimated at about $120,000. Everhart said the coop normally holds about 25,000 chickens valued at about $1 each. Chickens, raised for eggs at the farm, squawked as high-powered fans cleared smoke from the undamaged coops Monday. Two hand crews and nine engines responded to the fire.

UPDATE, Shipyard deaths not due to safety lapse, says MSE

Nine workers died last week in Pasir Gudang explosion (SINGAPORE) The explosion which killed nine Malaysian Shipyard and Engineering Sdn Bhd (MSE) workers on Wednesday morning in Pasir Gudang was not due to a lack of workplace safety procedures, according to MSE chairman Mohd Ali Yasin. 'The incident was unfortunate. They went through all the various procedures, they were inspected thoroughly to make sure that the area was gas-free every time they went into the tank,' he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report. Malaysian Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik said his ministry will conduct a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident on the oil tanker, New Renown, once it has received a preliminary report from MSE. The eight Malaysians - including one MSE senior foreman - and one permanent resident were found dead by the shipyard's emergency response squad minutes after the fire alarm was triggered at about 10 am. The nine are believed to have suffocated following a flash fire while they were carrying out welding work according to MSE officials. 'There was no explosion but a flash fire, the cause of which is still unknown to us. The fire, which lasted about 10 minutes, triggered our alarm system and several other workers who were near the tank alerted our emergency unit,' the company's CEO Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman was quoted as saying. The nine victims - who were reportedly carrying out welding repairs to pipes that transfer liquid between cargo tanks - were found sprawled in the 15 by 20 metre cargo tanks with safety suits intact and no severe burn marks. 'This has led us to believe that they died from suffocation probably due to hydrocarbons, a result of chemical reaction between oil and other substances in the tank,' said Mr Abdul Rahman. The Liberian-registered 240,830 DWT, 1976-built New Renown is owned by

Hong Kong-based Associated Maritime. - By Donald Urquhart

Welding Torch Spark Ignites 15-Acre Fire

From Times Staff Reports

A brush fire sparked by a welding operation burned more than 15 acres near Lake Piru on Friday before being contained by about 155 firefighters and aircraft.  The fire began about 3 p.m. when a spark from a welding torch ignited grass, said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. No structures were threatened.

Explosion onboard Monrovia vessel kills nine workers; Workers died of burns, suffocation while doing minor repairs on ship

An explosion ripped across an empty tanker undergoing repairs at the Malaysian Shipyard Engineering here this morning, killing nine workers on board. The nine, eight of whom were contract workers hired by a private engineering contractor and the other an employee of the shipyard, were found badly burnt. They were also believed to have suffocated when the explosion occured at Quay 3 of the shipard at 10.30am. It is believed that the workers, all Malaysians, were involved in some minor repair works on the Monrovia registered tanker, the 300-tonne New Renown, owned by a Hong Kong company, when tragedy struck. The workers were about to finish laying new pipes and changing plates with some welding work being done in one of the storage compartment measuring 12 by 12 metres. The repair work was scheduled to have been completed by today and the tanker was supposed to leave tomorrow. Eyewitnesses said the nine were trapped inside and by the time the first of three fire engines arrived from the Pasir Gudang Fire Station, shortly after receiving a distress call at 10.32am, the workers were believed to have died from their injuries. The first of the nine bodies were taken to the Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Baru by ambulance and arrived at the HASB just before 2pm. This was followed by seven bodies in a lorry and the last two in a police van. In it's 28-year operation history , the MSE, which repairs 100 ships a year, has never suffered a catastrophe of such propotion. Safety measures has always been of priority of Malaysia Shipyard and Engineering, since it commenced operations about 25 years ago. Despite constant reminders, MSE has had mishaps and deaths reported. But if statistics were anything to go by, incident rate at the yard continue to remain low taking into consideration about 100 ships are handled each year. In March 1984, an explosion onboard the vessel World Gala resulted in three workers suffering minor injuries. In February 1985, three workers of the engineering divison were hurt in an explosion in the repairs section. Nine days later there was also an explosion onboard a tanker and although no one was hurt, eight workers were overcome by fumes. In September that year, a worker was killed onboard the tanker Rajendra Prasad, after a fire broke out. In June 1986, a fire which broke out in the pump room of a tanker, left four injured. In 1995, two workers were killed on the same day in separate incidents. One was electrocuted while doing some repair work onboard a ship and the other was hit by a falling object while working on a tanker.

Torch Causes Beaverton City Hall Fire

BEAVERTON, Ore., 8:56 a.m. PDT June 20, 2001 -- A roofer's torch ignited a blaze that tore through parts of Beaverton City Hall Monday. Investigators say that a torch, used to heat the overlay to help it bond to the roof, ignited a smoldering fire Sunday. It burst into flames around 1 a.m. Monday. Damage was limited to the south end of the building, which is located at 4755 S.W. Griffith Drive. A damage estimate is not yet available. However, firefighters say that smoke, fire and water harmed equipment and destroyed records stored in the building. Some city staffers had to relocate.

Roof Blaze at used Car Showroom

Jun 19 2001

More than 150 people had to be evacuated after fire broke out at a Newcastle car showroom yesterday. The fire started in the roof of Pattersons Used Car Centre on Scotswood Road, Cruddas Park, shortly before 3pm and all 130 members of staff and around 20 customers were evacuated in less than two minutes. No one was injured in the fire, which was caused by sparks igniting roof insulation and timber in the roof. Builders had been cutting metal in the roof. Ten fire appliances and 40 firefighters from all over Tyneside tackled the blaze, which destroyed a 30 metre by 40 metre section of roof to the rear of the premises. The officer in charge at the fire, Station Officer John Hall, said: "The staff raised the alarm straight away and need to be praised for the way they conducted themselves by evacuating the area very promptly in less than two minutes, with no panic and minimum fuss. "The fire was started by the sparks from the builders cutting metal in the roof. Wool insulation caught fire and this led to timber joints in the roof catching alight. "It was a severe fire and while it took more than half an hour to get it under control, we spent almost the next five hours watering the roof, removing the insulation and checking their were no hot spots which could ignite it again." Ashley Winter, the managing director of Pattersons, said: "The staff all reacted brilliantly and the evacuation of staff and customers went smoothly. "It will be business as usual today. No cars were damaged and I even managed to conclude a deal outside the garage while the fire was under way. Customers have nothing to worry about as no stock was damaged and our workshops were also unaffected by the fire."

Acetylene torch fire destroys garage

Sunday, June 17, 2001, By Beth Anne Piehl - Staff Writer

A summer garage project apparently sparked a fire that destroyed the Leoni Township garage of Peggy and James McComb on Saturday afternoon.  Peggy McComb said her husband was working with an acetylene torch to weld a piece of lawn equipment in the detached garage of their home at 1350 Donnely Road when a fire ignited and destroyed the structure. "I never dreamed it could go so fast," said a visibly upset Peggy, observing the damage from her driveway. No one was injured in the blaze that occurred about 2:30 p.m. Three dogs and three cats enjoying the outdoors summer day also escaped harm with their people. McComb said thousands of dollars worth of tools, lawn equipment and other items were among the casualties. The fire also did minor damage to the nearby house, including damage to a new $4,000 roof. "We've got good insurance. We've always made sure of that," she said. Leoni Township Fire Department Acting Captain Mark Demosiuk said the fire was put out in about 30 minutes. The thick black smoke from the fire was visible from downtown Jackson. Demosiuk explained that acetylene is similar to propane. "It mixes with oxygen and you can use it to cut steel or weld," he said.

Firefighters battle blaze as city takes lunch

By PHILLIP L. HAMILTON, LubbockOnline

Dark, black smoke billowed over Lubbock's central business district during the noon hour Friday as firefighters extinguished a rooftop blaze. Initial reports said an air conditioning unit on the roof of a two-story vacant building at 1316 Texas Ave. was responsible for the fire, which quickly spread to tar in the surrounding area. "It's the tar that made that black smoke," fire Capt. Thomas Cox said. Subsequent investigation determined that a welding unit, which was being used to apply roofing materials, was responsible for the fire, said Assistant Fire Marshal Ed Henderson. Workers had been using the welding unit earlier in the morning, but were not on the roof at the time of the fire, he said. Firefighters were on the scene by noon and the two-alarm blaze was controlled about 10 minutes later, Fire Department spokesman Mark Ethridge said. Firefighters cut through padlocks on a gate at the front of the building to gain access as hundreds of downtown workers watched during their lunch hours. Firefighters roped off the area and kept onlookers across the street. Amy Garner said employees at U.S. Agriculture Crop Insurance, which is on the second floor of a building next door to the one that caught fire, learned of the blaze on the telephone. The caller was one building off. "The phone rang and some man said, 'Your building is on fire,' " she said. "We thought it was our smoker in the back. We were about to have lunch. We sent someone out there to check on it." When employees realized there was a fire next door, they went out the front of the building. Derek Reichle, another U.S. Agriculture Crop Insurance employee, said he drove up to the building to attend an office barbecue lunch. "I saw a 10-foot flame and smoke, but I didn't think anything about it," he said. "I just thought they were cooking the barbecue." Cox said four fire units initially responded to the blaze, and three more arrived on the scene after the call went out for additional manpower. At least five engines, including an extension ladder truck, were on the scene. "It was all on top of the building," Cox said of the fire. Smoke filtered into the third floor of a parking garage west of the burning building. The smoke drifted through the garage and billowed out on 13th Street. That gave the impression that the garage also might be on fire. The fire was contained to the roof and did not cause structural damage, Ethridge said. Henderson estimated the damage to the building at about $5,000. "There were no injuries, and no other buildings were damaged," Deputy Fire Marshal Randy Selman said.

Care home fire sends residents to old place

Friday, June 15, 2001, By Gary Rotstein, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

A fire that destroyed the Quality Assisted Living personal care home in New Kensington on Wednesday wiped out the 19 low-income residents' clothes and possessions and extinguished some of the dreams of its owner. But as the mostly elderly residents and owner Deborah Perry quickly resettled into the same building they'd moved from just four months ago, their resolve to stay together remained strong, said staff member Vici Gilley. "They're banding together, trying to help each other cope with this. These people have only the clothes they got out with on their backs, and that was it," said Gilley, a registered nurse and full-time employee. She and most of the home's occupants, who are ambulatory but carry a range of physical and mental ailments, were present in the former Trinity United Lutheran Church on Constitution Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon when a roofer's blowtorch accidentally set off the blaze, destroying the structure. Quality Assisted Living had transformed the church into a personal-care home earlier this year, moving residents from about a mile away. All of the residents and staff escaped without injury. The homes' two kittens were also saved, but not their mother. Gilley said Perry, who is also the home's administrator, was too busy for an interview yesterday while tending to residents' needs and exchanging information with state inspectors, insurance adjusters and representatives of the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging, the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and others seeking to provide help. This flurry of activity took place on New Kensington's Freeport Street, where Perry spent seven years operating the Dove Lane Personal Care Home with a 12-bed capacity until February. Twelve residents are able to live there again, but that's 18 fewer than was possible in the two-story classroom building Perry had renovated on the church property. Gilley said Quality Assisted Living had more individuals ready to move in to the new quarters and nudge it toward filling most of the 30 beds. They'll have to make other living arrangements now, as will some residents who were able immediately after the fire to return to the care of nearby family members.  The residents ranged in age from 89 to 33, Gilley said. They are all Supplemental Security Income recipients, meaning the state and federal governments combine to provide the individuals with $60 monthly in spending money and just over $800 to turn over to the personal-care home each month for lodging, food and services. The home is receiving calls and offers by cellular phone, 724-339-4624, until regular service is restored.

Natomas fire burns homes: Damage in the accidental blaze is estimated at $1 million.

By Ralph Montaño, Bee Staff Writer

(Published June 15, 2001)

Fire raced through a Natomas subdivision Thursday, destroying five unfinished homes and damaging nine others, officials said. A plumber welding copper pipes accidentally sparked the blaze shortly before noon on Blackridge Avenue, near Arco Arena, said Sacramento Fire Capt. Don Braziel. The wooden structures burned like "matchsticks," witnesses said. Heat from the blaze threatened to spread to neighboring homes occupied for only two months. Damage was about $1 million. The unfinished homes destroyed by the flames were two months from completion and were worth about $275,000 each, neighbors said. Tony and Wendy Gianola stood across the street and videotaped the blackened ruins of their unfinished home. "We were just out here last night taking pictures," Tony Gianola said. "That was going to be our home, and now it's gone." Their life has been put on hold, he said. Their daughter, Kristina, was to have had her 10th birthday in that house, and she's already enrolled in the neighborhood school. "But life goes on. At least no one was injured," he added. The Gianolas' home was one of five destroyed when a plumber working on a home at the west end of the block sparked a fire with a welding torch, Braziel said. The plumber used a fire extinguisher on the flames, but it was not enough. "After emptying one extinguisher, he ran to get another, and by the time he got back the fire was in the second floor," Braziel said. The bare wood of the homes burned quickly; one neighbor, Roopa Thummala, said it took the flames about eight minutes to spread down the row of houses.  "It was a huge fire shooting up over the roof," she said. George Naraja was among the many people returning home to the scene of a raging firefight.  The heat from the burning homes shattered the windows in his house and ignited the back fence. The plastic blinds also melted, and the rear wall smoldered. "It was ready to go. I thought it was going to burn down," Naraja said. Down the street, Arthur Anderson and some construction workers used a garden hose to spray his home. Firefighters later told him the action bought him time and probably saved his house. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could move in to my new house only to have it come this close to burning down," Anderson said. Sixty-seven firefighters from the Sacramento City Fire Department and the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded to the fire. They used eight engines and five trucks to douse the burning homes and protect the occupied houses nearby. "It could have been a lot worse," said Braziel. "If this was yesterday and it was still windy, we would still be chasing this one."

Fire chars Annapolis shop's roof

By THERESA WINSLOW and BRIAN HAYNES, Staff Writers

It wasn't the Great Annapolis Fire of 1997, but a two-alarm blaze at a Main Street shop yesterday caused its share of problems. The rooftop fire at Annapolis Treasure Co., 161 Main St., shut down the busy street to traffic for several hours and closed two businesses shortly after the lunch rush. Firefighters battling the blaze in 90-degree heat had to be relieved after short intervals, and air-conditioned paramedic units were brought in to cool them down. No firefighters had to be hospitalized, and no one was injured in the store. The fire started when a roofing torch ignited insulation between the roof and an old roof below it, said Capt. Leonard Clark, city Fire Department spokesman. Roofers had been working on the building earlier in the day. The fire triggered an alarm, prompting the alarm company to call city firefighters, he said. Both the shop and the Acme Bar & Grill next door were evacuated. The fire caused about $5,000 in damage to the roof of the shop. The building and the business are owned by Robert and Ellen Hambleton. "I smelled a little smoke," said Michelle Perry, assistant to the Hambletons, who sell coins and other collectibles. The employees watched firefighters from the back balcony of the building next door, Chick & Ruth's Delly. More fire trucks at the back and front of the Treasure Co. building extended ladders to the roof. Other fire trucks and vehicles were parked on Main and Conduit streets. "We're a little empty now," said Teddy Levitt of Chick & Ruth's. "That's life. It's better to be safe than sorry." Mr. Levitt -- along with a flock of tourists, some armed with camcorders -- also took in the early afternoon action. He offered sweaty firefighters drinks. The heat and humidity were so high that a few firefighters took off their heavy turnout coats and sat in the middle of Main Street. The first alarm for the fire was called in at 1:06 p.m. and a second alarm was sounded a half-hour later. The fire was declared under control at 2:05. Firefighters had to cut ventilation holes in the roof of the building to help them battle the flames. Capt. Clark said the Treasure Co. building was equipped with sprinklers, but the bar and grill didn't have them. Both buildings are near the site of the disastrous fire in December 1997 that caused an estimated $3 million in damage on Main Street. The most probable cause of that fire, according to city fire investigators, was an electrical malfunction that started between the original and drop ceilings in an Indian restaurant at 184 Main St.

Shopping center damaged by fire

DeRenne Avenue closed temporarily before strip mall reopens.

By Anne Hart, Savannah Morning News

A fire in the Globe shopping center on East DeRenne Avenue early Thursday didn't keep many shops there from business as usual. The blaze damaged three stores in the strip mall between Bull and Abercorn streets and caused smoke damage to others. No one was injured. Most shops in the 10-business center opened after the early morning fire. Those that didn't were working on a plan. "Hopefully, we will be somewhere where we have a table, computer and phone by Monday," said Linda Downs, manager of GMS Loans and Finance Corp., one of the damaged stores. The fire started in installation boards in a store that was being made into a dry cleaners, said Capt. Tony Faust, spokesman for Savannah Fire and Emergency Services. Welders were working on the shop attaching brackets and roof supports until around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. The fire smoldered for a while before heavy smoke was reported about 5:20 a.m., Faust said. Authorities closed DeRenne Avenue until about 8 a.m. Flames spread from the dry cleaners to two neighboring shops' ceilings GMS Loans and Finance Corp. and Georgia Catalog Sales. Both temporarily closed Thursday because of damage. The catalog company directed customers to its store on White Bluff Road. "We are fortunate it wasn't a lot worse," said Lisa Parker, a wife of one of the owners of Tailor-Made Draperies Inc., which had smoke damage."If it had been a few years ago, the Globe was full of natural gas." One shop that had firefighters concerned was the DeRenne Paint Center. They were able to prevent flames from entering the business. "If that had caught on fire, they would have seen the flames from Garden City," Faust said. Sam Patterson was cleaning up DeRenne Snooker & Billiards after closing hours when smoke filled the business. He called 911 and bolted out the bar. "The first thing you do is get out of the building when you smell smoke," Patterson said.

Wildfire's damage: $320,000

By Francis P. Garland, Lode Bureau Chief

IONE -- Fire crews spent Thursday mopping up the remains of a wind-whipped fire that charred 2,440 acres of rolling oak grasslands the previous day near Camanche Reservoir. Jean and Ormond Howard spent the day figuring out how to make do without their well and mourning the loss of several priceless items. The blaze was sparked by welding equipment Wednesday morning near Jackson Valley Road and Highway 88, and firefighters had it fully contained by Thursday morning. But dozens of firefighters, more than a dozen engines, two helicopters and other resources remained on the scene trying to snuff out the fire once and for all. Fire officials said they hoped to have the fire extinguished sometime tonight. The fire caused an estimated $320,000 damage and destroyed 10 outbuildings, a storage trailer, an old house valued at $40,000 and an airplane hangar belonging to the Howards. David Samaniego, a captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador/El Dorado Ranger Unit, said 68 homes were threatened and directly in the path of the blaze at one time or another. The Howards, meanwhile, saw plenty of damage on their property. The fire destroyed a pumphouse for their well in addition to the hangar and its contents. Among the items lost were a 1941 Culver Cadet airplane, a second plane, a restored 1960s-vintage Pontiac Catalina and a partially restored 1951 Ford. Also lost in the fire were old yearbooks, items that Ormond Howard's father had made him and about 1,000 of Jean Howard's cookbooks. Samaniego estimated the value of the hangar and its contents at $150,000. "It was a disaster," said Jean Howard, who said the items were not insured. "We're just blessed that our house was protected. I have 5,000 cookbooks in here." The fast-moving fire blackened most of the Howards' 51 acres. "We might have a few postage stamp-size pieces that aren't (burned)," she said. "Several of our oaks are still burning." Betty Ann Curran, who lives on the road bearing her surname, had a couple hundred acres of her pasture land burn but didn't lose any structures. "It's amazing what the firefighters did," said Curran, who took a drive through the area to assess the damage to her property. "You'll see black all around, and then scattered in and around are houses just standing there. "Those people did a terrific job." Those in the area saw firsthand what the fire did, but others, such as Glenda and Erle McCan, were scrambling to find out from a distance what impact the blaze had on them. The McCans live in Stockton but recently purchased 40 acres in the Jackson Valley area, where they plan to build a home. Glenda McCan said that when she heard about the fire, she thought, "That's pretty bad luck. "I told my husband -- and I told the Realtor -- that I was worried about fires," she said. "But they didn't listen."

Welder hurt in 45-foot fall at downtown project site

By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH - A 35-year-old welder was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when he fell face first about 45 feet from the framework at the Fort Worth Convention Center construction site, officials said. The man, whose name was not released, was working at the site in the 1300 block of Houston Street when he stepped on unstable framework and fell, Fort Worth firefighter Steven Walker said. "It gave and the whole thing just came down," Walker said. When emergency workers arrived just after 2 p.m., the man was responsive and talking, Walker said. He appeared to have several broken bones and had numerous bruises on his back and chest, but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Walker said. "It was a miracle," Walker said. "That is the only way to put it - a miracle." The man was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital. Staff members would not release information about his condition Tuesday night. Kirk Slaughter, public events director for the city of Fort Worth, said he was told about the accident late Tuesday afternoon but had no details. He referred questions to Ralph Cook of Dallas-based Austin Commercial, program manager for the project. Cook said he expected inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to be at the site today. He said the welder's fall was the only accident "of any significance" on the project. Staff writer Ginger Richardson contributed to this report. Melody McDonald, (817) 390-7386

2 hurt as blasts rip plant in Grand Blanc

Friday, June 8, 2001, By Bryn Mickle and Nicole Jacques

Grand Blanc Twp. - Two men were hurt Thursday in a series of explosions at an aluminum parts-coating plant in an industrial park on Holly Road. A stray spark from a welder at Rue Industries apparently set cardboard boxes on fire about 3:30 p.m., causing flames to ignite chemicals in the building, said Shawn Trendy, a maintenance worker at the company. "It blew up, and it just kept blowing up. It just wouldn't stop," Trendy said. The explosions sent two workers to the hospital with minor injuries and blew a large hole in one side of the building, causing part of the wall to crash onto workers' cars. The powerful blasts also buckled large sections of the outside walls. One employee credited the actions of the two injured workers. "If it weren't for them getting us out and trying to contain the fire, it could have been a lot worse," said Rue worker Emanuel Gray. Gray, who said he was about 50 feet from the first explosion, said he saw the supervisor and plant manager suffer burns while trying to douse the flames with fire extinguishers. Worker Charles Gray said he counted about seven blasts and added that the force of the explosions blew workers across the floor. Firefighters had to bring in special dry chemical foam from Bishop Airport to douse a fire in the furnace area because of water-reactive chemicals in the building, said Grand Blanc Deputy Fire Chief Richard Ferriby. Firefighters from Burton and Groveland Township assisted in battling the blaze. A woman who works in the building next door said she and her co-workers could hear the explosion, but didn't know what it was at first. "The first time we just thought it was thunder, then we thought it sounded like a truck hit the building," she said. "But one explosion really shook us." Rue Industries produces engine coatings for the auto industry.

UPDATE Romania tanker explosion kills 10

CONSTANTA, Romania -- At least 10 seamen died on Tuesday when an oil tanker they were repairing exploded in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta. Shipyard workers welding the hull of the 85,000-tonne Maltese tanker Anopolis set off an explosion and fire that raged for an hour, Serban Berescu, the port's deputy director, told the Associated Press. An official list submitted to the port authority indicated that 14 Romanian workers had been registered to refit the tanker, Reuters reported. Firefighters were still cutting into the side of the vessel in an effort to recover bodies and search for missing workers five hours after the explosion, which occurred at around 1 p.m. local time (1100 GMT). Initial reports from the scene quoted an official at the Santierul Naval Constanta shipyard as saying the explosion may have been sparked by gases from crude oil residue in the tanker. The fire was the second conflagration on the Anopolis in the past two weeks, according to the AP. It was also the second oil-tanker explosion in a month at Constanta, 155 miles east of Bucharest. Two crew members were killed when a Bulgarian oil tanker exploded at the port on May 7. Witness at the time reported seeing a column of dense brown smoke rising from the Bulgarian tanker, whose bow had been pointing up, out of the water, as four tug boats with firefighting equipment drew alongside.

Worker sparks hotel's second fire in a year

06/05/01 By TERRENCE DOPP, The Express-Times

RARITAN TWP. - A worker using a blowtorch Monday afternoon to fix a bathroom in a vacant Route 202 hotel room touched off the second blaze there in under a year. No one was injured during the fire at the Ramada Inn and guests and employees said the row of rooms was only sporadically occupied. One 66-year-old woman, who declined to identify herself, said the owners have been conducting renovations for much of the year. Blue and green tarps still covered the roof of an attached restaurant that was leveled in October when an electrical malfunction sparked a serious blaze. In that fire, the 5,000-square-foot Mangia Bene Italian restaurant suffered heavy damage, and the roof caved in. Monday's fire broke out at 2:47 p.m. when a plumber was using a gas flame to solder shower pipes in Room 235. The intense heat caused surrounding wood to burn, according to Mark Bishop, Raritan Township's deputy fire chief The flames then spread through insulation and into a common attic running the length of the building, which has more than 50 rooms. The contractor tried to put the fire out but it continued to burn in the ceiling, Bishop said. It was a relatively minor fire," Bishop said. "The first truck had it extinguished and the rest of the men assisted." Bishop said rescue crews arrived quickly and the fire was out within another 15 minutes. But Hunterdon County Fire Marshall Allen Layton said the fire could have gotten out of control. The fire could have spread through the attic, he said. "Basically it was an accidental fire," Layton said. "There was an open flame and someone wasn't careful with it. It's a common thing for people working on pipes to do." Arson has been ruled out, Layton said. "As long as we have witnesses, and as long as what they tell us is close to what we see" authorities don't need to do much follow up work, Layton said.

Explosion kills workers on oil tanker

At least 10 people are reported to have been killed in an explosion on an oil tanker in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta. The powerful blast occurred as Romanian workers carried out welding work on the hull of the 32,000-tonne Malta-flagged ship, the Anapolis. Several ambulances were on the scene and it took firefighters an hour to bring a blaze caused by the explosion under control. Rescue workers were still struggling five hours after the explosion to slice open the wreckage and search for the missing.  It was not immediately clear how many people might have been involved. The explosion occurred at about 1300 (1000 GMT) and set off a fire that raged for an hour, said Serban Berescu, the port's deputy director. Initial reports suggested a welder's torch ignited a mixture of paraffin and mud. It was the second oil tanker to explode in less than a month in Constanta, 250km (155 miles) east of the Romanian capital, Bucharest. On 8 May, the Bulgarian oil tanker, Mesta, exploded, killing two members of the crew and filling the air with clouds of black smoke.

Lagos ship explosion kills workers

June 2, 2001 Posted: 3:44 PM EDT (1944 GMT)

LAGOS, Nigeria Up to 10 people are feared dead after an explosion ripped through a ship under repair in Lagos, say port police.  Fire fighters battled for hours to contain the fire, the independent Comet newspaper reported. Senior police officials told The Associated Press that no more than 10 people had been killed. Other reports put the number at five dead but it is feared that the number of casualties could be much higher because no one is sure how many people were taking part in repairs on the ship. A Nigerian Ports Authority Police official told Reuters that four bodies had been found but police had not been able to search the scene. The vessel -- Real Progress -- is berthed in the Ijora fishing jetty in Lagos. It had been moored for repairs for 10 weeks and petrol was being pumped onto the ship through a pipe, the Comet reported. "There were crew members, contractors, suppliers, friends, hawkers on the ship ... we were many up there," it quoted one man. He said he had been thrown off the ship's deck where he was drilling by the force of the explosion. "We were welding," the newspaper quoted another man it named as Johnson as saying. He said he left the ship 10 minutes before the explosion. "I was working with oxygen, cutting through some steel while other were using fire induced appliances," he said. Nigeria, one of the world's major oil producers, has a tragic history of gasoline-fed fires with many of the accidents involving mishandling or blackmarket sales of fuel in makeshift containers. Police said they were still investigating the cause of the explosion.

One injured as equipment building burns

Go-karts, bumper boat engines damaged as explosion sets off fire

By Sarah Schulz and Sandi S. Alswager

Last modified at 11:49 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, 2001, The Independent

Matthew Dugan got more than he bargained for at his fifth birthday party.

Dugan, his mother Tammy, and several friends were putt-putt golfing Saturday afternoon at the Super Bowl Family Fun Center, 1010 E. Bismark Road, when a fire broke out. Tammy Dugan said the group was golfing near the building, which was north of the golf course and south of the go-kart track. She said she heard something explode just before a man came out of the building. He was holding his head which was bleeding, she said. Dugan said the explosion occurred around 1:10 p.m., 20 minutes before her son's party was scheduled to end. None of the party attendants were injured. Matthew Dugan said the loud noise scared him and he saw a lot of smoke. Both Dugans said the birthday party will be one to remember. George Overfield, co-owner of the Super Bowl, said his employee, Tim Mckowski, was not badly hurt. He said there were a few go-karts lost in the fire but it was "not an extreme loss." The injured employee was cutting a barrel with a blowtorch when the drum exploded, said Filemon Sanchez, co-owner of the Super Bowl. Firefighters saved seven karts but 11 were destroyed, Sanchez said. Fourteen bumper boat engines were also destroyed in the fire, he said. Capt. Brian Stutzman of the Grand Island Fire Department said the call came in at 1:15 p.m. Stutzman said the explosion from the 55-gallon drum caused the fire. There is no damage amount estimate yet. Mckowski was treated and released from St. Francis.

Workers Injured in Entek Plant Fire

May 31, 2001, 08:30 AM

Six people were taken to Lebanon Community Hospital this morning, suffering from smoke inhalation in a fire at the Entek plant in Lebanon. Three of them were transferred to Albany General Hospital because Lebanon could not handle all six. Entek produces separators for more than 60 percent of this country's car batteries. Dan Powell, Entek's vice president of finance, said the company is in the midst of its annual maintenance shutdown. He says he believes a spark from a welder got into the duct work and started the fire. No damage estimate was available. Contra Costa Fire Crews at Scene of Blaze at Refinery Contra Costa County firefighters are at the scene of a three-alarm fire at a steel manufacturing facility, and a spokeswoman reports that there are four injuries so far. USS Posco in Pittsburg, in Contra Costa County, is reported by witnesses at the scene to be giving off a thick steam of dark smoke which is drifting into Antioch. USS Posco is a joint venture between US Steel and Pohang Iron and Steel Co. Inc. in South Korea. The fire started at 12:48 this morning, and is apparently feeding on lubricant used inside the factory for the production of steel products, according to a spokeswoman for the county's fire protection district.

4-H Beef Barn fire

Huron firefighters hose down a portion of the 4-H Beef Barn that is being torn down at the state fairgrounds late Tuesday after a fire was reported.  The small fire that began around 9:45 p.m. has been linked to a torch used to cut through steel beams. The flames started in a wall and burned part of the ceiling, said fire chief Doug Rahder.

FOLLOW-UP

UK still looking for fire settlement

LEXINGTON - University of Kentucky officials are still meeting with the construction company it holds responsible for a fire on Tuesday that damaged the UK Administration Building. Officials are in talks with Midland Engineering Co. and its insurance company, Liberty Mutual, to discuss insurance settlements. The fire was started by a welder's torch as molded copper was being installed on the building's cornice as part of a $1.3 million renovation. The building, constructed in 1886, is the oldest on campus. Sodden documents were removed Friday to be sent to a Chicago company to be salvaged. A large crane was assembled to begin removing debris from the top floors, said UK spokesman Lloyd Axelrod. “It can reach above the walls and remove debris so the shoring up of the building can begin in earnest,” Mr. Axelrod said.

Flames destroy Tecumseh home

Tecumseh firefighters respond to a house fire at 201 N. Hurst Friday morning. Loss is estimated at $100,000 after the fire rekindled Friday afternoon in the attic. No injuries were reported. (Staff photo by Jamie Jenkins)

By JAMIE JENKINS

A Tecumseh family has lost nearly everything after a fire occurred in their two-story residence about 10 a.m. Friday. Tecumseh Fire Capt. J.R. Kidney said the owner of the residence at 201 N. Hurst, Matthew Pennington, was beneath the house doing plumbing work with a butane torch when he apparently sparked the floor of the house, causing the blaze. Kidney said Pennington didn't know anything was on fire until he heard the smoke detectors in the house. Pennington later discovered the house full of smoke and called the fire department from a neighbor's telephone. Kidney said it is believed that the fire started in the center of the lower story of the house. He said there was no one else home at the time of the fire and no one was injured. Firefighters were called back to the home about 1 p.m. after the fire rekindled in the attic. Kidney said the loss is estimated at $100,000. The Penningtons have two children; one who attends Tecumseh High School and another who attends South Rock Creek Elementary. Kidney said the family does have insurance and he was unaware of any funds established at this time.

Workers might have sparked building fire

Friday, May 18, 2001

The roof of a Downtown building under renovation was damaged by fire last night. Columbus fire officials said they think workers in an elevator shaft of the historic Hartman Building at E. Main and S. 4th streets sparked the blaze with a welding torch and left without realizing what had happened. A passer-by noticed the flames about 7 p.m. and called firefighters, Battalion Chief Robert Schmidt said. Four men preparing drywall on the first floor continued to work, not realizing a fire was upstairs. "A gentleman off the street ran in yelling, 'The building's on fire!' '' said Ralph Webb, one of the workers. The 72,000-square-foot Hartman Building, a former hotel built in 1898, has been undergoing a $3 million renovation to house several technology companies. An accurate damage estimate was unavailable last night, but Schmidt said it would be in the thousands.

UK hopes to salvage fire-damaged building

LEXINGTON — University of Kentucky officials met with representatives of Midland Engineering Co. and its fire insurance company Thursday to discuss coverage following a fire that gutted the school's administration building. The three-story building, built in 1882 and the oldest on campus, sustained substantial damage in Tuesday's fire, which apparently was started inadvertently by a Midland worker using a propane torch to solder copper eaves. The fire swept through the attic, engulfed the third floor and damaged the second floor of the building, which housed administrative offices — including those of President Charles T. Wethington. Midland is the general contractor on a $1.3 million exterior renovation of the building. Its fire insurance company is Liberty Mutual Group. School officials said all parties agreed to free disclosure of information and documents about the cause of the fire. Dr. Wethington expressed optimism about the future of the historic structure. “All planning at this point is with an eye toward restoring the building,” he said.

School mats may pose fire hazard

Blaze at East High prompts Denver officials to review if pads should be removed from all district facilities

Athletic floor mats used in Denver schools may be a fire hazard and could be removed from all facilities, district officials said Thursday. The investigation into the potential risk of the pads comes after a welder accidentally ignited a closet full of the rolled up mats at East High School Wednesday morning, causing about $1 million in damage to the historic building. "Our risk management people are evaluating the risk of having those mats in our school at all," said Mark Stevens, spokesman for Denver Public Schools. He said the district does not know what the cost would be. Meanwhile, East High School will remain closed until at least Monday. Stevens said the district will decide when to reopen the school after environmental and structural reviews. Fire inspectors said Thursday that the fire started after an ember from a welder's torch landed in a closet filled with the mats. The mats burst into flame, shooting fire up the brick stairwell and spreading quickly to a second story auxiliary gym, despite the efforts of two welders to contain the blaze with fire extinguishers. "Those mats are hydrocarbon-based and they basically turn into a liquid when they burn, making it hard to put them out," said Joe Gonzales, Denver Fire division chief over fire prevention. No one was injured in the blaze. Stevens said welders were repairing several balustrades in a stairwell when the fire started. He said before they started their work, the welders placed fire blankets over the mats. "Could they have been moved? Obviously they could have," Stevens said. "Would it have been easy? No, not easy for a brief two-hour job. Should they have been moved? Obviously." Stevens said the district has suspended all welding work in city schools until officials can review safety policies. Thursday afternoon Mayor Wellington Webb toured the school, trading his sport coat and leather shoes for a hard hat and rubber fire boots. "I wanted to come by East High School to get a sense of the amount of damage," he said. The heat from the fire, which was estimated to reach 1,300 degrees in the auxiliary gym, incinerated ceiling tiles, melted paint off the concrete walls and blew out windows. Melted fire alarms and blackened fire drill posters adorned several walls. Inside a second room where melted plastic hung in strips from the ceiling, the mayor stopped at the door where the fire was contained. "There is much more damage than I realized," he said staring around at the blackened room. "When you read about it or hear about it, it's a lot different than when you see it." May 18, 2001

Fire causes shelter-in-place, confusion in St. Albans

Thursday May 17, 2001; By Charles Shumaker, STAFF WRITER

When a shelter-in-place was issued for residents in St. Albans, a voice came on the television with instructions that many couldn't understand. "I couldn't understand what was going on, what it said or what to do," said Cross Lanes resident Charlie Wheeler, who lives near a chemical plant. Contractors from Hayslett Construction Co. in Hurricane were dismantling a tank at St. Albans' wastewater treatment plant when the fire began about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Capt. Scott Davidson of the St. Albans Fire Department said hot metal from a cutting torch fell into the tank and ignited a piece of fiberglass paneling. Davidson said construction workers tried to extinguish the fire for 10 minutes before the fire department was called. Since the smoke was so thick, St. Albans fire chief Steve Parsons issued a warning using the Emergency Alert System. "They might as well just take it off rather than scare people. If you are not going to be able to understand it, why have it," Wheeler said. More than 400 residents called Metro 911 and area fire stations with questions about what was going on and what they should do. "I didn't know whether to stay put, jump in the car and leave or call the neighbors," Wheeler said. Emergency Services director Bill White also received more than 100 calls to his office after the jumbled message was broadcast. "It's very, very poor. I have fought it for years," White said. "It's just not effective, period, zippo. You can't understand it." The digital voice, White said, is put out by the National Weather Service through television and radio after he notifies them of the emergency. "The voice just doesn't work that well. I could go to a toy store and buy a $10 fire truck that talks that you could understand better," White said. Kevin Dudding, operation superintendent for the municipal utility commission, said upgrades to the sewage plant would replace the tank involved in the fire. Prior to demolition, Dudding said the tank - used in one of the last phases of wastewater cleaning - was cleaned with chlorine. It has been out of service for about two weeks, Dudding said. Firefighters used a ladder truck to extinguish the fire from outside the tank. Davidson said the fire was not all that large and was out quickly. White downplayed the incident. "There wasn't any hazard," White said. "There was just a lot of smoke. Well, hell, the fire didn't last 10 minutes." Since it involved plastics and fiberglass, Davidson said the smoke was thick and lingered near the ground, which initially concerned authorities. The construction firm has received 29 workplace safety violations totaling more than $57,000 in fines since June 1992, according the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The St.Albans municipal utilities commission issued guidelines to the company to make sure nothing similar to the incident happens in the future, Davidson said. Staff writer Ken Ward Jr. contributed to this report.

Fire closes East High for the week

Welder's torch sparks blaze; several hundred thousand dollars in damage is estimated. By Sarah Huntley, News Staff Writer

Fire struck East High School on Wednesday morning, causing enough damage to cancel classes for the rest of the week. No one was injured. The blaze broke out about 10:50 a.m., when a welder's torch threw a spark, igniting rubber and foam wrestling mats in a first-floor storage area, Denver Fire Rescue spokeswoman Celia Kulbe said. The workers were repairing a wrought iron railing in a stairwell. The fire roared up the stairwell to the second floor, spreading into the weight room, or auxiliary gym. Most of the school's 1,650 students were off campus for lunch, but an estimated 200 students and staff members evacuated the building at 1545 Detroit St. About 60 firefighters had the blaze under control in 40 minutes, Kulbe said. Crews were on the scene until 6 p.m. Denver Public Schools officials estimated damage at several hundred thousand dollars. All classes, club meetings and evening activities at the school have been canceled at least through Friday. When the fire broke out, students inside the school were notified by teachers, an announcement over the loudspeaker and flashing alarm lights, but no bells sounded during the fire. School officials said welders had turned off the audible alarm system so it wouldn't be triggered by incidental smoke. "That is standard procedure when the welders go in to work on a building," school district spokesman Mark Stevens said. Turning off the bells inside the school has no effect on the alarm connection to dispatchers. The box alarm at dispatch went off as expected, Kulbe said. But school officials were investigating reports that the welders failed to obtain a permit from the Fire Department. "It doesn't appear that we notified the Fire Department that we were in there working," Stevens said. Stevens said it was a cause for concern because a permit alerts firefighters that people might still be inside, unaware of an emergency. Fire and school officials plan to meet to discuss the problem this morning. Ninth-grader Auria DuPuch was one of about 15 students studying drama in the auditorium when the fire started. "We couldn't smell any smoke or anything from where we were, but a teacher came in and told us we had to leave the building. I thought she was just trying to kick us out," DuPuch, 14, said. Girls' track coach Loren Turner was inside the auxiliary gym when a welder called out to him, warning him of the fire. Turner ran to the cafeteria, about 60 feet away, for a fire extinguisher. But when he returned, the fire had grown from a smolder to a blaze. "It just caught onto those mats and torched them up," Turner said. Black clouds of smoke could be seen two miles away. "We were coming west on (East) Colfax Avenue and, at first, it looked almost like a fog," 17-year-old senior Carolyn Tinsley said. "We were pretty sad," said her friend, 18-year-old Kerry McRae. "I mean, our school is so pretty. We were freaking out." Dean of Students Wes Ashley had a similar reaction. "It's sad to see this happen to an old school like this. It's a historic landmark," Ashley said. East High School was built in 1925, with additions in 1975 and 1981. Some students said they hope the fire doesn't keep them away for too long. "I'm not ready to start an early summer break," said ninth-grader Kenya Robinson, 14. "We're just getting to the fun part of the school year."   Staff writer Tillie Fong contributed to this report.

Fire at auto salvage yard darkens skies in suburbs

Firefighters use tons of foaming agent, water to quell blaze. A petroleum-fueled fire spread rapidly to 1,000 cars Tuesday morning at Larson's Auto Salvage in Blaine, blackening the skies over the north suburbs. Eight fire departments were called in to battle the blaze. The fire, directly east of the Anoka County-Blaine Airport, began at 9:20 a.m. and took four hours to control. By 3 p.m., the fire was extinguished. Two firefighters were injured while fighting the fire: one suffered heat exhaustion and another a back strain. Nyle Zikmund, fire chief of the Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Fire Department, said the cause of the fire is under investigation. However, he said the fire does not appear to have been deliberately set. He said workers had used torches on the vehicles earlier that day. The fire could be seen from as far away as Interstate 35W and the Mounds View municipal building, where the Mounds View Police Department fielded calls from concerned residents. ``It was a four-hour black column of smoke,'' Zikmund said. The acrid smell of petroleum and burning tires permeated a wide area. Koch Refinery assisted in putting out the fire by supplying a special foaming agent designed to put out tire fires. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources dumped 36,000 gallons of water and foaming agent on the blaze.  The Andover, Centennial, Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids, Ham Lake, Lake Johanna and Minneapolis fire departments also assisted in putting out the fire. In all, Zikmund estimated 150,000 gallons of water were used. Cost estimates for fighting the fire ranged from $50,000 to $200,000, including fire and rescue crews, equipment and supplies.

Market Square catches fire

Welder's torch ignites roof of Indiana Pacers' old home

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - A welder's torch ignited the paper backing on roof insulation at Market Square Arena, starting a fire Monday morning that blackened the domed roof a month before the arena's scheduled demolition. The arena was the home of the Indiana Pacers from 1974 to 1999. No one was injured in the fire that sent a plume of black smoke rising from the white roof that could be seen miles away. Firefighters needed about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control after it was reported about 9 a.m. The fire burned a small section of the fabric along the roof's southern face, but caused no apparent structural damage. Demolition crews are expected to resume work Tuesday in preparation for next month's scheduled implosion, according to the city's Capital Improvement Board, which owns the arena. A five-person crew was using a blow torch to separate the main roof from a steel support beam at the arena's rim when the paper backing caught fire, the CIB said. Firefighters had trouble reaching the fire because of the arena's height and were forced to pull a heavy, water-filled hose over a ladder to direct water onto the flames. "We did it the hard way. We've been stretching hose over the aerial ladder," said Mario Garza, a spokesman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.

PUBLISHED TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2001

Roof fire damages home

By the Standard Staff

An Uptown house lost a portion of its roof to fire and suffered interior smoke and water damage Thursday afternoon. Firefighters were called to 521 W. Granite St. at 3:37 p.m. after a roofer using a propane torch to apply hot tar accidentally started a fire, according to Butte-Silver Bow Battalion Chief Mick Mulcahy. `` We got to it before it got too spread through the structure,'' Mulcahy said. Ken Baze, who planned to open a real estate office there, owns the building. Six firefighters and three engines responded to the fire, which was put out and cleaned up by 5:17 p.m., Mulcahy said.

Fire causes minor damage at UBS Warburg

By James O'Keefe, Staff Writer

STAMFORD - About 2,000 employees were evacuated from UBS Warburg yesterday after a welder accidentally set fire to an outside dining area, fire and company officials said. Trading at the investment bank corporation at the 677 Washington Blvd. was suspended for about a half-hour when the fire broke out at about 3:15 p.m. No injuries were reported, and trading-floor employees were allowed inside just before 4 p.m., officials said. "The trading-floor personnel were the first to return to the building," UBS Warburg spokesman Paul Marrone said. Marrone said the fire caused minimal structural damage. The corporation's computer infrastructure was not damaged, he said. UBS Warburg, which employs about 3,000 people in Stamford, is the U.S. investment banking arm of UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank. Customers experienced no interruption in service, Marrone said. Calls to the Stamford building were routed to Warburg's New York City office during the evacuation. Stamford Fire & Rescue Lt. Phil Hayes said the blaze was started by a welder working on the exterior of the building near the outdoor dining area on the fifth floor. The welding torch ignited the patio's plastic subfloor, filling the area with smoke, Hayes said. Firefighters lifted 50-pound tiles off of the patio floor to extinguish the smoky blaze, he said. The fire spread into the building and up a support column before it was extinguished, Hayes said. About three dozen city firefighters responded to the scene, while crews from Glenbrook and Belltown fire departments provided aid, Hayes said. UBS Warburg employees were alerted to the fire by an alarm system. "Everyone got out pretty quick. They all walked down the stairs in an orderly fashion," said Ed O'Dowd, executive director of human resources. Fire trucks and police cars surrounded the building as displaced employees stood in the warm afternoon sun. Some of the workers chatted on cellular telephones, drank coffee or smoked cigarettes while others lounged on the lawn. "We survived the fire," one employee said as he stretched out on the grass with his shoes off. Marrone said the corporation holds fire drills on a regular basis to ensure employees are prepared to leave the building quickly in an emergency. When construction on the Washington Boulevard building is completed, UBS Warburg will have the largest securities trading floor in the world. The fire remains under investigation by the city fire marshal's office.

Blowtorch sets salvage-yard fire

BITHLO -- A worker using a blowtorch accidentally started a salvage-yard fire Friday, but the quick actions of the employees and firefighters got the blaze under control. "It scared the hell out of me," said Jason Hutchison, 20, a worker at J&B Auto Parts in Bithlo. "Somebody yelled 'fire' and everybody started running for the fire extinguishers." The fire whooshed into the roof of the J&B dismantling shed at about 10:30 a.m. after a worker accidentially ignited a van's gas tank with the torch, a company official said. One worker received minor injuries in the blaze. J&B, which sprawls across 11 acres and keeps an inventory of thousands of salvaged windshields, transmissions and other parts, has taken in many wrecked cars over the years. A worker using a forklift moved the van aside to give his colleagues a better angle at dousing the flames before they reached highly flammable tires and fuel tanks. One after another, they emptied extinguishers into the fire. "Everybody showed a lot of heart," Hutchison said. "Nobody ran. They were out there trying to put it out." Tom Horton, J&B's vice president, said he and another worker called 911 and grabbed computer tapes and cash from the register. Meanwhile, Gary Bowers, acting lieutenant at Orange County's Fire Rescue station in Bithlo, said someone raced to the station in a pickup, yelling about the fire. "When that happens, I usually know it means it could be something," Bowers said. Smoke towered over unincorporated Bithlo, which has several auto salvage yards along its main drag of Colonial Drive. A chief declared the blaze a two-alarm fire, bringing engines from as far as Seminole County and west Orlando. When firefighters arrived, flames had engulfed a stack of car seats piled next to several tanks of torch fuel. Flames also had climbed 20 feet into the rafters of the shed's roof. J&B workers credited firefighters with showing up quickly to halt the inferno. But their thoughts fixed on the fate of the salvage yard, where nearly 40 workers take in 100 wrecks a month, turning them into $3 million in annual parts sales. "My boys got to have paychecks just like everybody else," yard foreman Gary Gayton, 47, said. Salvage worker Lonnie Reese, 44, was treated and released from Orlando Regional Medical Center for burns to his hands and wrists. Several other workers were checked for smoke inhalation. The road to recovery for the business wasn't clear late Friday. Horton, whose father opened J&B in 1974, said damage won't be determined until some demolition is done. Still, the company planned to reopen today. Workers scrambled to get power and phones restored and to find space to dismantle wrecks. "We should be up and running," Horton said.

Dairy gutted by fire

The Associated Press, 8/01 4:16 PM

MANCHESTER, Vt. (AP) -- A welding torch may have caused the fire that destroyed a barn and milking plant at a well-known dairy Monday.

More than 100 firefighters from around Bennington County and nearby New York responded to the blaze around 3:43 p.m. While most of the herd owned by the Wilcox Dairy was saved, a handful of calves died in the blaze. No people were injured in the fire. The main buildings were destroyed within minutes, though firefighters managed to save a nearby clapboard house that serves as an office and home. An ammonia leak made fighting the blaze more difficult, Manchester Capt. Richard Holmes said. "Everything is tinder dry. It's hard to believe how fast something goes," said Howard Wilcox, the company president. "It's just sad. It's a real tragedy," said Jamieson Harkins of Arlington, a former Wilcox employee. "It's a symbol of Manchester, really." A mainstay of Bennington County's agricultural scene, the Wilcox family began farming in Manchester in 1898 and moved to their present location on Route 7A in 1902. The dairy ran into financial trouble last year when a Superior Court judge approved a Texas company's bid to foreclose on the 400-acre farm. A local land trust helped the farm to negotiate a deal with the Texas creditor. "We have settled on an amount with them and we're in the final stages of resolving the issue. That was getting behind us," Wilcox said. "Now this." Wilcox said that the dairy was insured against fire damage and said the business would rebuild. Stanley Zecher, a retired farmer and friend of the Wilcoxes, said the fire began when a member of the Wilcox family was using a welding torch outside the main barn. The torch may have sparked and ignited the interior, he said. Fire officials said they had not determined the cause of the blaze. "We're going to have to investigate. We'll probably have the fire marshal look at it," Holmes said. He said there was no reason to think the fire was suspicious.

Fire finishes off 10 junked cars at Corona yard

BY JAMES NASH, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE CORONA

Flames burned through 10 junked cars at a Magnolia Avenue auto-parts yard Monday, filling the sky with billowy gray smoke. A regular customer at Corona Auto Parts Recycling apparently ignited the blaze by using a blowtorch to try to remove a part from a truck, said Steven Ferrara, manager of the business at Magnolia Avenue and All American Way. The fire was reported about 1:15 p.m.  Flames consumed rubber, upholstery and some nearby weeds for about 20 minutes before three Corona Fire Department engines extinguished the fire, Battalion Chief Ted Yancu said. "There was a lot of heat, but this type of fire does tend to burn slowly." Police closed off Magnolia Avenue between Sixth Street and All American Way while firefighters battled the fire. Smoke from the oil-fed blaze was visible over much of eastern Corona. The burned vehicles had recently been moved to a corner of the auto yard to be taken away and disposed, Ferrara said. "It was pretty much scrap," he said. "(The fire) actually helped us by making (the vehicles) smaller to take out."

The three workers were killed and another injured when an acetylene container exploded during welding work at the Stakhanov plant in Luhansk, 518 miles (836 km) east of the capital Kiev, the Emergency Situations Ministry reported. The explosion occurred one day after a methane gas explosion killed eight coal miners in eastern Ukraine, in the coal industry's gravest accident so far this year. The Associated Press reported that job accidents occur frequently in the ex-Soviet republic's industrial sector, where safety rules are often violated due to neglect or lack of funds to improve labor standards.

Welder's spark ignites fire at Milford power plant

MILFORD - More than 100 workers were forced to evacuate the Milford power plant on Bic Drive when a welding procedure sparked a fire inside a wall, fire officials said.

Fire Capt. Richard Mohr said no injuries were reported as a result of the blaze, which took firefighters nearly two hours to douse because the flames were inside a wall made of 10-inch-thick steel. Milford Power Co. reported the fire at 11:27 a.m., Mohr said, and more than 10 emergency vehicles and fire trucks were dispatched to the plant, parts of which remain under construction. The power plant was the site of a deadly accident a little more than a year ago, when tons of construction equipment plunged to the ground. Two men were killed and a third man lost his leg after being pinned under debris for nearly eight hours. Mohr said the fire was under control by 1 p.m., but workers were not permitted back into the building until after 3 p.m. "It wasn't a big fire, but they did lose (about) four hours," Mohr said. "All work stopped and everyone was evacuated. There were well over a 100 people." Mohr said dousing the blaze was time consuming because firefighters had to saw through the steel walls to get at the fire. The inside of the plant is a large steel structure, with pipes running through the building. Mohr said the fire started when workers performed some type of welding that produced sparks, which ignited insulation, he said. Mohr said the fire damage to the power plant, in terms of cost, was "minimal." Milford Power Co. officials could not be reached for comment. The earlier accident on Feb. 2, 2000 was blamed on the premature removal of temporary bracing that was securing the structure, thus leaving it vulnerable to collapse, the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration found. Black & Veatch Construction Inc. was fined $7,000. Robert Fitch, 63, of North Branford, the crane operator who lost his leg in the collapse, went back to work a year after the accident. Boilermakers Kevin Winslow of Newington and Wayne Most of West Hartford were killed in the accident.

Garage fire damages car

May 2, 2001

Herald Staff Writer

Construction workers may be responsible for a garage fire Tuesday that damaged a car and caused smoke damage to parts of a home in Durango, fire officials said. Workers were using a saw to cut metal, and sparks are believed to have caught a chair on fire, said Capt. Cris Garcia, of the Durango Fire Department. The house was in the 100 block of Montezuma Place, on the west side of Durango, Garcia said. A neighbor and construction workers tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose but were unsuccessful, he said. The Fire Department arrived five minutes after receiving the call at 1:53 p.m., Garcia said. Garcia said a rough estimate of damage was $10,000 or more.

NTSB releases Ecstasy fire findings
The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday issued a preliminary report on the July 1998 fire on the Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On the afternoon of July 20, 1998, the Liberian passenger ship Ecstasy had departed the Port of Miami, Florida, en route to Key West, Florida, with 2,565 passengers and 916 crewmembers on board when a fire started in the main laundry shortly after 1700. The fire migrated through the ventilation system to the aft mooring deck where mooring lines ignited, creating intense heat and large amounts of smoke. As the Ecstasy was attempting to reach an anchorage north of the Miami sea buoy, the vessel lost propulsion power and steering and began to drift. The master then radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance. A total of six tugboats responded to help fight the fire and to tow the Ecstasy. The fire was brought under control by onboard firefighters and was officially declared extinguished about 2109. Fourteen crewmembers and eight passengers suffered minor injuries. One passenger who required medical treatment as a result of a pre-existing condition was categorized as a serious injury victim because of the length of her hospital stay. Carnival Corporation, Inc., the owner of the Ecstasy, estimated that losses from the fire and associated damages exceeded $17 million.

The major safety issues discussed in this report are as follows:

* Adequacy of management safety oversight;
* Adequacy of the fire protection systems;
* Adequacy of passenger and crew safety; and
* Adequacy of engineering system design.

As result of its investigation of this accident, the Safety Board adopted safsety recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard, Carnival Corporation, Inc., Carnival Cruise Lines, cruise ship operating companies, Asea Brown Boveri Marine Group, AG, and the International Association of Classification Societies.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Although the Ecstasy's mooring deck sustained the heaviest fire damage, it was not the point of origin for the fire.

2. The fire on board the Ecstasy started in the main laundry and was ignited by an arc from a welding machine.

3. The fitters' (welders') lack of full compliance with the "hot work" permit procedures in Carnival Cruise Lines' safety management system manual increased the risks of fire in the main laundry.

4. The lint that accumulated in the ventilation duct of the main laundry created a serious fire hazard on the Ecstasy.

5. The procedures and standards for inspecting and maintaining laundry ventilation systems adopted by the marine industry and government agencies following the Ecstasy fire will improve safety on cruise ships.

6. If an automatic fire suppression system had been installed on the mooring deck, the fire on the Ecstasy would have been located and extinguished much sooner, thereby minimizing the extent of fire damage on the vessel and aft mooring deck.

7. The vessel's automatic fire sprinkler system effectively limited the spread of fire from the mooring station to adjoining decks, thereby preventing a significantly worse fire that would have caused greater damage and perhaps additional injuries.

8. If the main laundry's fire dampers had been equipped with a passive means of closure, such as a fusible link, the heat from the fire would have caused the dampers to shut sooner, which, in turn, might have prevented the spread of fire beyond the laundry area.

9. The fire detection system performed properly by providing an early indicator of a fire.

10. Although most survey respondents indicated that the Ecstasy practice drill adequately prepared them for the actual fire emergency, the drill lacked information about actions to take if you see smoke or if your muster station is unavailable that might have assisted passengers who encountered conditions or situations contrary to those during the drill.

11. Although the noise from the news helicopters may have interfered somewhat with the communications with passengers on the outside deck, crewmembers were able to effectively communicate with the mustered people and manage the emergency.

12. The procedures used by the Ecstasy's shipboard personnel to account for passengers and crewmembers during the emergency were not accurate.

13. The lack of consistency between the information provided at the practice drill about the provision of lifejackets and the procedures that crewmembers followed in distributing lifejackets during the actual emergency created unnecessary confusion among some passengers on the Ecstasy.

14. The lack of a means to call for help from the crew cabins delayed the rescue of two crewmembers and contributed to the severity of their smoke inhalation injuries.

15. The emergency response by shipboard and shoreside firefighters to the fire was timely and appropriate, resulting in the fire being properly contained and extinguished.

16. The failure to separate the power circuitry in the design arrangement of the auxiliary voltage supply to the high-speed breakers of the propulsion systems resulted in inadequate isolation of essential system components, which, in turn, resulted in the shutdown of both propulsion systems when a single distribution panel was damaged.

17. To ensure the highest levels of safety and reliability, ship owners should require the use of qualitative failure analysis techniques in the design and construction of their vessels.

PROBABLE CAUSE

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of fire aboard the Ecstasy was the unauthorized welding by crewmembers in the main laundry that ignited a large accumulation of lint in the ventilation system and the failure of Carnival Cruise Lines to maintain the laundry exhaust ducts in a fire-safe condition. Contributing to the extensive fire damage on the ship was the lack of an automatic fire suppression system on the aft mooring deck and the lack of an automatic means of mitigating the spread of smoke and fire through the ventilation ducts.

Fire Hits Nebraska Recycling Company

The combination of shredded newspaper and sparks proved costly for Midlands Recycling Company in Lincoln, Nebraska. No damage figure had been made on Saturday's blaze, but Bill Moody, a fire inspector, said it would be more than $100,000. A grinding tool was in use to loosen metal safety plates on a conveyor belt when sparks ignited mounds of newspaper inside a pit, Acting Deputy Fire Chief Bret Davis said. Workers drained four fire extinguishers trying to put out the fire before it was reported around 7 a.m., Davis said. Flames spread to the conveyor belt and the top of the machine, which picks paper out of the pit. The machine sends the paper up the conveyor belt to a shredder and baler, then down another conveyor belt. Bales of paper were stacked under the machine. Support structures were burned as the fire spread to the building's ceiling. Firefighters needed nearly an hour to bring the fire under control, Davis said. Considering the building was filled with shredded newspaper, it could have been worse, Davis said. A sprinkler system also helped contain the blaze. "It could have been a nightmare," Davis said.

Roof fire prompts brief closure at D.C. museum

By DERRILL HOLLY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A small fire on the roof of the National Museum of Natural History prompted the evacuation of all guests yesterday, but visitors were allowed to return about 90 minutes later.  ``We probably evacuated about 5,000 people in 15 minutes,'' said Randall Kremer, a museum spokesman.  ``We're just happy that there was no more damage,'' said Kremer, noting that an 18- square-foot section of drywall that was singed would be replaced, possibly overnight.  Firefighters from the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department spent about 15 minutes extinguishing the flames over the covered atrium of the museum's Discovery Center.  An investigation determined the fire was caused by welding or soldering materials being used by workers on the roof of the building.  ``Some sparks got underneath the metal and into the wood and started to smolder,'' said Alan Etter, a fire department spokesman.  As firefighters battled the blaze, a construction worker fell through a glass panel under the museum's rotunda and suffered injuries when he struck the floor of a service area at least 15 feet below.  The man, identified as Spurgeon Carter, 30, was taken to George Washington University Hospital for treatment of back injuries and minor cuts, Etter said. He was in stable but fair condition yesterday evening.  Although the fire was minor, Etter said the department mobilized a lot of equipment and personnel because of the location of the building and the value of its contents.  ``This is the largest collection of natural history exhibits in the world; if it ever lived we probably have one as a specimen,'' said Kremer. Only a portion of the museum's 124 million specimens and artifacts are on exhibit at any given time. Many other collections are stored at the Smithsonian Institution warehouses in Suitland while others are on loan or displayed in touring exhibitions.  This time of year the museum is visited by about 20,000 people each day. About 9.4 million guests who typically visit annually make it the busiest museum in the world, Kremer said.

Worker Killed in Explosion at Fuel Tank Repair Company, Another Severely Burned

The worker, Andrew Giordano, was killed when his welding torch apparently ignited fuel oil fumes, triggering an explosion and fire that rocked Paterson's Lakeview section.  Immediately after the explosion, witness saw smoke billowing into the sky and flames rolling out of the large garage front.  Flaming oil flowed down the street in streams of water from fire hoses, setting two cars on fire 50 feet away.  Firefighters put out the blaze within 20 minutes.

Reporter: Ashanti M. Alvarez, Bergen Record

CITY HALL FIRE BRIEFLY CLOSES LASALLE ST.

April 17, 2001

CHICAGO -- A welder's torch set off a small fire at City Hall on Monday that caused only minor damage but closed LaSalle Street for an hour.  The wood core of a window frame on the 121 N. LaSalle St. building's ninth floor was ignited about noon, fire officials said. The area is being renovated for the Buildings Department.  The welders attempted to extinguish the fire and then called for emergency help. About 40 Fire Department personnel responded, and firefighters hosed down the area.  LaSalle north of Washington Street to north of the Chicago River was closed for more than an hour, and elevators in City Hall were stopped.  No injuries were reported.

Fire causes minimal damages

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Features Editor

A spark from an acetylene torch ignited a pile of insulation about 25 feet in diameter at Ellis Metal shortly before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, but was quickly brought under control by firefighters from the Brundidge and Hamilton Crossroads volunteer fire departments.

House fire appears to be accidental

DIGHTON -- A fire that ravaged a Maple Street home Monday night appears to have been caused accidentally as a result of some home improvement work, a Dighton fire official said yesterday.

No one was home at the time of the fire, which broke out about 8 p.m. at 1733 Maple St., the home of Albert and Claire Berube.  Before going bowling, Albert Berube was using a propane torch to install a water heater in the basement, underneath the living room. As a result of the heat from the torch, an area of the underside of the living room floor became hot enough to ignite, which it did after Berube left the house, Dighton Fire Lt. Chris Ready said.  "The area he was working in got too hot. It doesn’t immediately cool down. There was a lot of heat in a concentrated area," said Ready, adding that it’s important to use a heat shield when working with a propane torch. The fire had already done extensive damage before anyone became aware of it, Ready said.  "The house sits way back off the road, so you can’t see it and the neighbors didn’t know anything was going on until they smelled smoke," Ready said, adding that the windows and doors were closed, holding in the heat and intensifying the blaze.  The house will probably have to be re-built, Ready said. There was heat and smoke damage throughout the structure and fire damage in the living room and a second floor bedroom.

©The Taunton Gazette 2001

Fires damage home

Columbia firefighters yesterday extinguished blazes at a southwest Columbia residence and a northeast Columbia manufacturing plant. No one was injured.  About 2:50 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire reported in a basement wall at a home at 2420 Cimarron Drive, owned by Phil Lapkin and Rebecca McTugh, according to division chief Nathan Williams of the Columbia Fire Department.  Investigators found that a torch used by a plumber to repair an outdoor faucet had ignited insulation in the wall. The fire spread into the wall and the basement ceiling and caused an estimated $25,000 in damage.

Gas tanker starts fire in Grand Island

Capt. Todd Morgan of the Grand Island Fire Department saw some action his first day as captain when a gasoline tanker caught fire in the back shop of Yant Equipment on West Highway 30.  Morgan said the employees were eating lunch in the front of the building when they smelled smoke coming from the shop and called 911. The fire started when excess oil and grease on an empty gasoline tank that employees had been welding that morning ignited.   All units were needed to contain the blaze, leading to a recall of off-duty officers. Crews were able to contain the fire to just the one tanker and extinguish the flames in about 15 minutes.   "We don't like having to have a recall," Morgan said, "but we're not going to send units back when we really need them either."   "What a way to start off a new career!"   The building suffered extensive smoke damage, insulation and ceiling fans were melted, and the tanker was a complete loss. Damage was estimated at $12,000 to $15,000.  No one was injured in the blaze, Morgan said. If the fire hadn't been contained, there was a propane tank next to the tanker that could have posed a serious threat, he said. And while this particular tank was empty, Morgan said empty tanks can often be more hazardous than full ones if the fumes haven't been completely purged.   Yant Equipment employee Les Buschow said the tank posed no threat because it was thoroughly emptied and cleaned out, as all tanks are before they're ever brought into the shop.

2 killed in oilfield explosion

By Scott Freeman

Odessa American

PYOTE — Two Midland men died about 10 miles northwest of here Friday afternoon when the oilfield storage tank they were working on exploded. Norman Perea Pallanes, 32, and Gilberto Urias, 27, both of Midland, were pronounced dead at the scene of the oilfield accident, which occurred at 3:15 p.m. approximately 10 miles northwest of Pyote along Farm-to-Market Road 2355. The mangled catwalk and the tank’s charred steel shell led officials to offer a quick explanation of what they believed happened. "They were working with a cutting torch on a storage tank when the gas inside ignited, causing the explosion," said Ward County Sheriff Mikel Strickland. The storage tank was part of a tank battery at a new well site in an area dotted with oil rigs, pump jacks, natural gas well fields and gas plants located about 35 miles west of Monahans in the midst of sand dunes and salt flats on the way to Pecos. "It was a new tank. They probably just kicked it on (Friday) afternoon," Strickland said. The men were standing on top of the tank when it exploded, throwing them off and down to the ground, Strickland said. Ward County Justice of the Peace ordered autopsies for the two men, and the bodies were taken to Lubbock after being transported to a Monahans funeral home by hearse. Investigators at the scene from the Ward County Sheriff’s Department were hampered by high winds and blowing sand that limited visibility in the area to anywhere from 50 feet to a quarter of a mile. "We had a cold front move through that created a tight pressure gradient, resulting in high winds throughout the Permian Basin," said Dan Koch, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Midland. Koch said winds attained sustained speeds of 30 miles per hour throughout the afternoon and early evening, with gusts approaching 50 mph.

SAFETY ALERT
(Workers Killed While Welding on Tank Containing Flammable Material)

March 1988

A worker attempted to do some welding on a tanker truck that had contained 'emulsion' from an oilfield battery. An explosion resulted that wrecked the truck and the building in which the welding was taking place. The welder was killed and another worker in the building injured. No precautions had been taken to ensure that the tank was free from explosive vapors.

December 1988

A worker attempted to do some welding on a taker truck that had contained 'emulsion' from an oilfield battery. An explosion resulted that wrecked the truck and the building in which the welding was taking place. The welder was killed. Although the tank had been steam cleaned in an attempt to purge vapors, there were still sufficient residues to create an explosive atmosphere. The tank should have been tested for flammable vapors before and during the welding operations.

Prevention

Had Occupational Health and Safety Regulations been followed, it is unlikely that an explosion would have occurred in either instance. Section 272(2) of the regulations requires that:

An employer shall ensure that no hot work is performed where a flammable liquid or explosive substance is or may be present until:

suitable tests properly conducted have been made that indicate the work may be safely performed; and

suitable procedures, including testing, have been adopted and implemented to ensure continuous safe performance of the work.

Hot work defined in section 272(1) includes welding.

Section 272(3) requires that:

When testing procedures are required during hot work, and employer shall have tests made at intervals appropriate to the work being performed and the results recorded.

Finally, section 272(5) requires that:

An employer shall ensure that every tanker, tank, vessel or piping that contains or has contained any combustible liquid, flammable liquid or explosive substance is purged before any hot work is commenced on that tanker, tank, vessel or piping.

Requirements for Welding on Tanks Containing Explosive

Substances

Any welding on tankers, tanks or vessels that contain or have contained any combustible liquid, flammable liquid or explosive substance is considered to present an imminent risk to the welder. Before the Occupational Health and Safety Branch will permit any employer to engage in this type of welding, he or she must arrange to have the tank purged. In addition, the employer must have and use appropriate equipment and competent employees at the worksite to test the atmosphere in any tank-both before and during welding operations.

Contact:
Occupational Health & Safety
Regina Enquiry:(306) 787-4496
6th Floor, 1870 Albert Street
S4P 3V7

Saskatoon Enquiry:(306) 933-5052
8th Floor, 12 - 3rd Avenue North
S7K 2H6

Toll Free Line
1 - 800 - 567 - SAFE (7233)

Explosion in Paterson kills New Milford man

Saturday, March 31, 2001

By ASHANTI M. ALVAREZ

Staff Writer

PATERSON -- A worker for a fuel tank repair company was killed Friday when his welding torch apparently ignited fuel oil fumes, triggering an explosion and fire that rocked the city's Lakeview section. The blast Friday afternoon gutted the Eastern Tank Corp. garage at 290 Pennsylvania Ave., shaking the industrial neighborhood and drawing crowds onto the street to view the destruction. Andrew Giordano, a laborer from New Milford, was killed in the explosion. Severely burned Paterson resident and laborer Harry Kunze, 44, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital's burn unit in Livingston, where he was in critical condition. "It was a big, powerful explosion," said Lynn Pappas, a worker for the Passaic County Health Department, whose office is down the street from the explosion site. "I can't even explain it. It was weird. You just knew something was wrong." Imad Naser, who owns a body shop adjacent to the Eastern Tank garage, ran outside and saw a screaming Kunze running from the shop, his body burned from head to toe. "It was terrible," Naser said. Immediately after the explosion, witnesses saw smoke billowing into the sky and flames rolling out of the large garage front. Flaming oil flowed down the street in streams of water from fire hoses, setting two cars on fire 50 feet away. One of them, a Mercedes-Benz that reportedly belonged to the owner of the garage, was destroyed. Paterson firefighters put out the blaze out within 20 minutes. "There were continuous minor explosions [caused by the ignition of other combustible materials in the garage] . . . after the fire was knocked down," said Fire Chief James Pasquariello. Eastern Tank assembles and repairs large tank trucks, the kind that transport heating oil, motor fuels, and other corrosive volatile liquids. Acting Prosecutor Boris Moczula said investigators think Giordano was working on a tank with a welding instrument just before the explosion. "Typically there are three compartments in a tanker," Moczula said. "Two hold the fuel oil, and one is for vapor recovery." Authorities think Giordano may have cut through the vapor compartment or somehow heated it, igniting the fumes and setting off the explosion. Authorities said Giordano was 51, but property records showed he was born in 1941. A person answering the phone at Giordano's home Friday night declined to comment. Moczula said eight people worked in the shop. Two employees, 26-year-old Hank Weaver and Fernando Guzman, whose age was unknown Friday, were treated for shock at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. Business records list Keith Ora as the company's manager. Minutes after Paterson firefighters put out the blaze, a small tanker truck sat where Giordano had been working, its front completely charred. The back half of the tanker was blown away. His body lay in front of the garage, covered with white plastic. City officials worried that the oil-tainted water had seeped into sewers. At the scene, Mayor Marty Barnes said Friday's rain might have been a blessing. "The rain will run through the sewers and flush the oil out. [The weather] is good for this emergency," Barnes said. He recalled that Eastern Tank had been in business for at least 25 years. Barnes said workers from the Paterson and Passaic County Health Departments were not sure how much oil flowed into the sewers. Repairing and manufacturing the large metal tanks that travel back and forth along interstate highways requires welding large pieces of metal, said a spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The use of welding instruments creates large amounts of friction, heat, and sparks -- particularly dangerous in a setting with extremely flammable and combustible materials, such as Eastern Tank. "When you're melting metal to metal, you do produce quite a bit of heat," said OSHA Assistant Area Director Ron Frye at the agency's Hasbrouck Heights office. The fatal accident is the second in Paterson in as many days. On Thursday morning, a house fire swept through a two-family home in the Riverside section, killing a 30-year-old mother who had just immigrated to the United States.

Employees flee steel plant fire

Michael Rutledge, Post staff reporter

MONROE, Ohio - A fast-spreading fire at the Worthington Steel Co. plant destroyed the factory's pickling bay and left officials uncertain how quickly the employees can return to work.  ''Flames were just shooting at us. They were right on us,'' said Jason Poter who was in the next bay over from the pickling area when the fire began.  ''We ran to the other end of the building,'' he said. ''It was moving as fast as we were. It was right on our butts. We ran as hard as we could. I thought my butt was gone.''  The fire was reported at 5:04 p.m. and quickly went to seven alarms.  ''It happened very fast,'' said Monroe Fire Chief Mark Neu. ''They said they called first thing. I looked out my window and saw lots of smoke.''  Up to 60 workers had to flee the smoke-filled plant, located in Monroe, 25 miles north of Cincinnati. Thick black smoke poured from the plant and could be seen 10 miles away.  ''We are going to ask employees to stay home,'' said Jim Ballard, the plant's manager, who was in Columbus when fire broke out.  Employees will be called by company officials. They also can call the plant's main number for more information, Ballard said.  The company hoped to be operating again within weeks, he said, but: ''Right now, we're really not that sure. We've got to assess.''  ''Worthington's always been good to their people,'' he said.

The plant, which produces flat-rolled steel, employs 220 persons. It is a division of Worthington Industries, based in the Columbus suburb of Worthington.  Worthington Industries is the country's largest flat-rolled steel processor.  One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation while an employee suffered burns. Both were treated and released at Middletown Regional Hospital.  Neu said today the fire was sparked by an employee who was using a cutting torch to remove the south wall of the plant. That building was left without a roof and walls, and other buildings had smoke damage.  Firefighters planned to meet with company officials today to put a dollar estimate on the loss.  Towers of dark smoke - fueled partly by chemicals emergency crews feared combined to create highly toxic chlorine gas - prompted crews to evacuate neighboring businesses a half mile to the northwest. No residences were within that range.

The fire devastated one of the plant's four connected buildings, including the pickling bay, at the plant which slits and cuts steel for use by the automotive industry. A pickling bay is where iron oxide is removed from steel surfaces before further processing.  Smoke damage was severe throughout the other buildings, but William Murphy, area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, credited employees' familiarity with evacuation plans for the lack of worker injuries.  About 50 people were working when the fire started.   Neu said it was extinguished at 8:45, although his crews were looking for hot spots.  Neu and Butler County Emergency Management Director Mark Baden said highly acidic runoff from the plant killed fish nearby. The runoff raised the pH level to 13.5. Fish die in levels as low as 7.5, Baden said.  ''It is in Shaker Creek,'' Neu said. ''Nothing has reached Dick's Creek'' because crews built temporary dams to stop the water flow.  The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was summoned to the scene. Murphy said OSHA would visit the plant again today.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Publication date: 08-15-97

© Copyright 1997, The Cincinnati Post. All Rights Reserved.

Notice No. 004

January 9, 1973

OCS Operations Safety Alert Flash Fire--Cutting and Welding

Two flash fires occurred recently on OCS installations. Both fires originated from welding operations.

One of these fires resulted when welding sparks and slag ignited control supply gas which was leaking from an O-ring seal on the actuator of a surface safety valve. The other fire resulted when welding sparks and slag ignited a partially filled drum of methanol. Both fires were controlled immediately by use of portable dry chemical extinguishers. Even though these fires were of short duration and property damage was not significant, there were personnel injuries involved.

The below listed recommendations which resulted from the investigation should be reviewed by all operators for applicability to their particular OCS installations and operational procedures.

1. These documents should be consulted in order to establish procedures and precautions which are necessary in the performance of safe cutting and welding operations. (1) API RP 2009 "Safe Practices in Gas and Electric Cutting and Welding," (2) National Fire Protection Association Bulletin No. 51B "Cutting and Welding Processes 1971," (3) Offshore Operators Committee, "Manual of Safe Practices in Offshore Operations."

2. Prior to performing any cutting or welding outside of an approved fire safe area, a work permit should be obtained from the individual responsible for authorizing the work. Prior to issuing this permit, the work location should be inspected by the responsible individual to insure that the area is safe for cutting and welding operations. Detailed information on the scope of the area inspection may be obtained from the above listed documents.

3. All equipment used in the operation, cutting and welding apparatus, gas and vapor detection equipment, and fire extinguishing equipment, should be maintained in good operating condition.

4. A periodic review of safety precautions relating to cutting and welding operations and a review of firefighting techniques are necessary training for field personnel.

5. Fire extinguishing equipment must be inspected frequently and completely to insure that it will be in working condition when needed.

[signed]Robert F. Evans

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Notice No. 017

November 27, 1974

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Fire--Men Burned

A fire on an offshore production platform recently resulted in serious burns to two men.

The low-pressure system had been taken out of service and the connecting line to the high-pressure system had been left open-ended. The system was being placed back in service when gas flowing from the open-ended line was ignited by welding operations. The two men performing the welding were seriously burned. The fire was extinguished immediately.

To prevent recurrence of this accident, the operator has taken the following action:

1. All open piping, regardless of type, is blind flanged or plugged.

2. All valves not used on a day-to-day basis are locked.

3. Proper planning with a written detail of the work plans is formulated prior to commencing operations.

4. It is ascertained that personnel have proper knowledge of piping and flow schematics before operating the facilities.

5. The appropriate portion of the company operating instruction letter or manual is reviewed.

6. All wells are shut in during welding operations, except those supplying generator gas.

7. All personnel not involved in the welding or cutting are to stay out of the work area.

[signature] D.W. Solanas

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Field Operations

Gulf of Mexico Area

Notice No. 032

November 14, 1975

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Welding Operation Ignites Condensate

A fire recently occurred on an offshore production platform during welding operations.

The living quarters of a workover rig were being prepared for removal by cutting the holdown welds with a burning torch. Simultaneous with the burning operation water from the living quarters storage tank was being drained into the drain pan under the gas separator on the cellar deck. Condensate in the pan lines was displaced by the water and accumulated in the pan. Slag from the burning operation fell into the drain pan and ignited the condensate. The fire was quickly extinguished, resulting in only minor damage to the platform and no injuries to personnel.

To prevent the recurrence of this type of accident the operator is taking the following action prior to welding operations in addition to following safer welding procedures:

1. Clean all pans and take the blowcase out of service.

2. Recheck all pans for flammable accumulations after draining any fluids into the pan system.

[signed] D.J. Bourgeois for

D.W. Solanas

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Field Operations

Gulf of Mexico Area

Notice No. 050

November 5, 1976

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Flash Fire -- Man Burned

A flash fire recently occurred on an offshore production platform when gas was ignited by a welding lead.

A welder and his helper were preparing to install a flange and personnel walk around on a riser pipe on the side of the structure at the first level above the water. The welding leads had fallen off a cross brace and were being pulled back up by the welder when the electrode arced against the structure. An accumulation of gas coming from a nearby stock tank vent line ignited causing a large flash fire. The helper received third-degree burns on the face and leg. A small residual flame at the vent line opening was quickly extinguished.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident the operator has taken the following action:

All company and contract personnel have been instructed that no welding machines will be started until the supervisor in charge has determined that the area is safe for conducting welding operations.

[signed] Jack Hendricks

for D.W. Solanas

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Field Operations

Gulf of Mexico Area

Notice No. 054

January 13, 1977

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Welding Fire

A fire occurred recently on an offshore production facilities platform resulting in burns to a welder.

Modifications were underway to a liquid dump line which had been disconnected from an LTX unit and a high-pressure separator. The welder cut into a low portion of the line where condensate fluids had collected. The cutting torch ignited the condensate and the burning fluid fell on the welder's shirt. The fire was extinguished immediately and the welder received only superficial burns on his chest and stomach.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident the operator has taken the following action:

All field personnel have been instructed to flush thoroughly with water all lines to be cut regardless of whether the cutting is done with pipe cutters, hack saw or welding torches.

[signed] D.J. Bourgeois

for D.W. Solanas

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Field Operations

Gulf of Mexico Area

Notice No. 078

October 27, 1978

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Explosion and Fire

A welder was using a cutting torch to cut a hole in the top deck of a production platform. The resulting sparks ignited hydrocarbons which had accumulated on the lower deck. The initial flames caused a drum partially filled with paint solvent to explode, thereby spreading the fire rapidly.

Construction was in progress at the time of the incident, so the production operation had previously been shut in. The welder had resumed cutting the deck plate after his lunch break, but failed to notice that the fire watchers had not returned to their stations. If the fire watchers had been on duty, the initial fire would have been routinely extinguished without mishap. The explosion alerted the work crew, and the fire was extinguished with only minor damage to the production deck.

Corrective actions taken by the operator to prevent a recurrence of this type event were:

1. Remove all drums containing flammables from any area, or underneath any area where welding and cutting will be conducted.

2. Remind welders to check and see that fire watchers are on the job.

3. Foreman will check the work area prior to commencing any cutting or welding operations.

As noted in National Fire Prevention Association Bulletin No. 51 B, cutting and welding operations are a major cause of industrial fires. Molten metal and sparks can scatter as far as 35 feet, setting fire to all kinds of combustible materials. It is important that personnel involved in these operations are aware of all established safety precautions.

[signed] H. G. Frizzell

for D.W. Solanas Oil and Gas Supervisor

Operations Support

Gulf of Mexico Area

Notice No. 088

September 10, 1979

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Fire -- Men Burned

A flash fire occurred recently on an offshore drilling tender when gas escaped in the cementing room and was ignited by a person lighting a cigarette.

A kill line from the cementing pump was connected to a well on the platform in order to pump into the well and equalize the pressure across a closed sub-surface safety valve. Two men in the cementing room were filling a pump tank when the choke and wing valve on the well were opened. This permitted gas pressure from the well to flow through the kill line to the pump and out an open pump bleed-off valve into the room. One of the men lit a cigarette and a flash fire occurred.

The two men received burns on 20% to 30% of their bodies. There was only minor damage to the cementing room.

To prevent a recurrence of the accident the operator is taking the following action:

1. Rig pump rooms will be posted to prohibit smoking.

2. Gas detectors will be installed in enclosed pump rooms.

3. The cementing system manifold on the rig floor will be modified by adding a block valve with gauges on either side to permit positive control for equalizing when pumping into a well.

4. A check valve will be required in the system when pumping into a live well.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Oil and Gas Supervisor

Operations Support

Notice No. 097

June 22, 1980

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Welding -- Fire

A fire recently occurred on an offshore production platform during welding operations. Hot slag from a piece of pipe fell through a small opening two feet from the welding operation into the top of an open skimmer tank igniting oil in the tank.

The fire was extinguished quickly. There was no injury to personnel and only slight damage to the platform.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident, the operator is taking the following action:

All deck openings in the vicinity of the welding or cutting operations will be temporarily sealed until operations have been completed.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Deputy Conservation Manager

Offshore Operations Support

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Notice No. 098

June 20, 1980

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Flash Fire

An air impact wrench was attached by a quick-connect fitting to an instrument gas header on an offshore production platform. The connection previously supplied air before gas production was initiated on the platform. The exhausting gas from the wrench was ignited by a nearby portable grinder and extinguished when the tool trigger was released.

The roustabout received slight burns and there was no damage.

To eliminate a recurrence of this incident, the quick-connect fittings have been removed from the gas header and signs will be installed identifying air and gas lines.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Deputy Conservation Manager

Offshore Operations Support

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Notice No. 105

July 28, 1981

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Welding Accident

Hot slag from a welder's torch on an upper deck was blown by the wind into a 2-inch opening in the top of a 500 bbl. capacity stock tank resulting in an explosion and a small fire.

As part of a platform modification process, the 2-inch sump pump discharge line on top of the tank had been disconnected and left open to the atmosphere. When the explosion occurred, the tank's top section exploded, peeling back more than half of the section. There was damage to the electrical cables and support tray above the tank. There was no injury to personnel. The fire was confined to the tank drip pan and was immediately extinguished.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident, the operator will emphasize the following to its personnel:

1. The importance of communication, work planning, and supervisory control when more than one job is in progress.

2. The importance and sole duty of a fire watch.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Deputy Conservation Manager

Offshore Operations Support

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Notice No. 110

March 24, 1983

Fire

In the course of running 9-inch casing, a welder on the rig floor started to cut a casing box thread protector out of a joint of casing lying in the V-door. The welder's torch ignited gas which was migrating from the bell nipple, causing a flash fire which injured a casing crew member who was filling the hole with mud. The annular BOP was closed, and the fire was extinguished with the rig wash down hose.

To prevent recurrence of this type of accident, the operator has strongly re-emphasized to drilling personnel those safety procedures which strictly forbid carrying on hot work in the vicinity of an open well. Additionally, it is recommended that gas sniffers be utilized to properly check hot work areas for combustible gases.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Regional Supervisor

Offshore Operations Support

Notice No.114

July 18, 1983

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Fire

Two contract personnel were cleaning out a plugged drain line to a production platform sump casing using an electric motor driven roto rooter-type device. Fluids which normally flowed through the vertical section of the drain line had been rerouted into the sump casing through an inspection opening normally covered by an inspection plate. Natural gas fumes from within the sump migrated through the open drain line and inspection opening and drifted across the nonexplosion proof electric motor, causing a flash fire and second-degree burns to both personnel.

To prevent a recurrence of this type accident, the operator will use only explosion proof electrical equipment in areas where hydrocarbons may be present.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Regional Supervisor

Offshore Operations Support

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Notice No. 126

March 27, 1984

Welding/Burning Accidents

The Risk and Safety Analysis Unit of Minerals Management Service's (MMS) Regional Office for Rules and Production in Metairie, Louisiana, has completed a review and analysis of 90 welding/burning related accidents. These accidents occurred in the Gulf of Mexico between January 1, 1968, and September 30, 1983, and resulted in 18 fatalities and 64 injuries. The major findings of the MMS review are as follows:

1. Welding/burning accidents are more likely to take place on a production platform than on a drilling facility.

2. The welding operations, as opposed to burning operations, pose a greater risk to human life.

3. The two main causes of welding/burning related accidents are: (1) lack of proper site preparation, coordination, and supervision (29 percent), and (2) failure to properly isolate potential sources of fuel and maintain a hazard-free work area (41 percent).

To reduce the risks and hazards associated with welding/burning operations, lessees, operators, and contractors should review their General Welding, Burning, and Hot Tapping Plan and the requirements of OCS Order No. 5, Section 5.4, "Welding and Burning Practices and Procedures."

All personnel in charge of welding/burning operations, and all personnel performing these operations should be thoroughly familiar with and follow the above plan and requirements.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Regional Supervisor

Rules and Production

Notice No. 129

June 15, 1984

OCS Operations Safety Alert

Welding Explosion and Injury

An all too common human error occurred on the Gulf of Mexico OCS recently causing an injury and some damage.

The accident was caused by a welder attempting to cut the top out of a drum without flushing and filling the drum properly. The drum had warning labels on its side indicating flammable liquid. The drum exploded and threw the welder against the wall of the welding shack.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident, the operation will again stress the company's welding procedures and instructions. Drums should be flushed with water and left full of water when cutting is necessary.

[signed] D.W. Solanas

Regional Supervisor

Rules and Production

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region

Fire Occurs During Cutting Operation to Install Casing Head

A fire occurred on a production platform during drilling operations while drive pipe and 13 3/8-inch casing were being cut to install the casing head. Slag fell to the lower deck, igniting gas emitting from the level controller on the sump tank. Using a portable dry chemical extinguisher, the fire watch quickly extinguished the fire.

The gas flow to the level controller was cut off, the area was checked with a gas detector, and the sump tank was covered with a wet tarp before the cutting operation was resumed.

No injuries, damage, or pollution occurred.

To prevent a recurrence of this type of accident, the operator will bleed down all equipment in the vicinity and closely monitor the welding and cutting operation.

Welder Burned in Pipeline Accident

In repairing a pipeline, a welder was using a torch to cut a bevel on a 6-inch riser section of pipe. A handset pipe stopple (plumber's plug) was inserted and vented prior to the cutting procedure. With 1 inch remaining on the cut, the pipe stopple blew out and a flash fire occurred. The welder received third-degree burns to his face and arms.

This accident, along with many others in which a pipe stopple was used to isolate hydrocarbons during a cutting or welding procedure, has come to the attention of the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The MMS recommends the following practices and procedures be enacted during repairs of pipelines and process piping:

1. Piping must be purged with water prior to performing repairs. Special attention should be paid in order to effect the complete displacement of hydrocarbons in the line.

2. A handset pipe stopple is only to be utilized on water or air service pipelines or piping. Consideration should also be given to pressure limitations of this type of plug.

3. Repairs conducted on piping that is or has been in hydrocarbon service and that require pipe plugs should utilize a mechanically set (hydraulic, pneumatic, etc.) plug to effect a more positive seal. These plugs should also be vented to a safe location.

-MMS-

Fire with Fatality and Injury

As part of the deactivation of a platform’s process drain line system, a construction employee was in the process of cutting a separator’s drain line with an electric band saw when condensate sprayed from the cut onto the employee and was ignited by the saw. The employee died days later from the resultant burns. Another employee was injured in his attempts to assist the fatally burned employee. The source of the condensate was the platform’s fuel gas scrubber whose drain line’s manual block valve was opened during the referenced construction operations. The opening of the valve and the decision of the construction employees to use the saw after previous attempts by the same employees to cut the line resulted in the spraying of condensate from the cut are considered major causes of the accident. Contributing in part to the accident were (1) a lack of procedural guidelines for the construction work to be performed, (2) misunderstandings and erroneous assumptions regarding the hot work permit, (3) a lack of adequate communication between designated operator and contractor personnel and among contractor personnel themselves, and (4) a relative unfamiliarity with the platform process equipment on the part of a contractor employee.

Therefore, from this information and information contained in the MMS report on the subject accident, the following are recommended:

Operators review their established procedure for coordinating proposed multiple work assignments for any facility. Operators should establish such a procedure, as described above, if one does not exist.

Operators provide general written procedures for all construction projects, including an emphasis on safety issues. The procedures should address all aspects of the job that have been identified, through the results of a job safety analysis, as being potentially hazardous. For example, in the case of construction work to be performed on process piping, the procedures should address, but certainly not be limited to, the isolation of all relevant energy sources by, at a minimum, blinding, disconnecting, or double block and bleeding, and the purging of all involved lines prior to cutting.

Operators review the method by which they monitor their contractors’ adherence to all agreed upon safety standards and requisite Federal regulations.

For details of the accident, see OCS Report MMS 2000-029. Copies of the report may be obtained from the MMS Public Information Office located at 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70123 (1-800-200-GULF or local 504-736-2519).

Sparks ignited insulation in an already-damaged portion of a Riverside Manufacturing building at mid-afternoon Wednesday, Huron fire chief Doug Rahder said.   (3/1/01)

A worker was using a cut-off saw to cut a piece of iron when sparks caught downed insulation on fire. The ceiling in the storage area on the south side of the building had collapsed earlier due to the weight of the snow.  The area that was burned was less than 10 feet square, Rahder said. Workers were doing cleanup operations when the incident occurred. ©Huron Plainsman 2001

Three Men Seriously Hurt in Plant Explosion (2/28/01)

MESA, Ariz. - An explosion in an automotive airbag factory building being prepared for demolition injured three men critically, fire officials said.  Fire officials said sodium azide, a powdery, volatile chemical used to deploy airbags, ignited and exploded Tuesday night at one of TRW Inc.'s Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. factories.  At the time, the three TRW workers were using a blowtorch to cut pipes in a room in which sodium azide once had been stored, authorities said. The blast blew walls outward and hurled bits of debris at the men but didn't produce a continuing fire, firefighters said.  "Sodium azide is very, very explosive," Deputy Mesa Fire Chief Mary Cammelli said, "and (it can be set off) if it's handled in any way that is different than how it's supposed to be handled or if there's too much in the mix or anything.  "Maybe there was some residual sodium azide that no one saw," Cammelli added. "It just doesn't take much of sodium azide to get an explosion."  The workers' names and towns of residence weren't released, but authorities said their ages ranged from 24 to 41. A 35-year-old was reported in extremely critical condition.  Officials say sodium azide is known to break down quickly into nontoxic substances when exposed to air, and they did not order evacuation of surrounding homes.  TRW's two Mesa plants have been plagued with problems repeatedly over the last decade. Firefighters were called to the operations numerous times for fires and explosions mainly related to sodium azide.  Neighbors filed a class-action lawsuit in April against TRW, the world's second-largest airbag maker. The suit claims that from 1991 to 1999, fires and explosions at the plants exposed residents to sodium azide, hydrazoic acid, ammonia, chromium and nickel, harming their health and killing their pets.  Overall, 16 workers were injured in 32 fires from 1993 to 1995, prompting the Mesa Fire Department to shut down one plant for a day in September 1995 to secure improved safety regulations.  In April 1998, fire officials said, 1,400 pounds of sodium azide exploded in a smoke plume, but no one was hurt.  In September 1994, a construction worker was killed and six employees were injured at one of the Mesa plants when ignited airbag propellant residue exploded.  Cleveland, Ohio-based TRW later paid a $1.75 million fine in a plea bargain with the Arizona Attorney General's Office to avoid a manslaughter charge.  The company also agreed in January to pay nearly $25 million to settle criminal allegations that it illegally stored and dumped the toxic chemical. Investigators said TRW was shipping tons of wastewater containing sodium azide to landfills in Arizona, Utah and California.  The settlement included $12 million in state and federal fines.  To settle civil complaints, TRW agreed to pay a $5.67 million fine, to perform more than $5.7 million worth of projects to enhance the environment and to pay $1.5 million for cleanup of a contaminated landfill southwest of Phoenix.

Man Killed as Tank Explodes During Welding Operation; Gulfport, MS, United States; 1/17/2001- 12:00 PM

A welder working on a tank at Blacklidge Emulsion Inc. died when the tank exploded.  No other injuries were reported. 
The contents of the tank were not known.  Larry Madison, Jr., 33, of Gulfport died as he was using a cutting torch near a tank at the company.  No other details were available.

Two Workers Injured in Flash Fire at Oil Refinery; Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada; 11/1/2000- 1:00 PM

The incident occurred at the Irving Oil Refinery, the site of a billion-dollar upgrade that will significantly increase production at the plant.  The facility is surrounded by homes, schools and businesses.  A vacuum truck was collecting gases when some of the fumes drifted over to where a couple of welders were working.  Their torches ignited the gas.  The area was cordoned off and the workers were taken to the hospital.   Sgt. Pat Bonner of the city police said one worker was treated and released.  The other was admitted to the burn unit at the regional hospital.

Four Firefighters Injured Fighting Chemical Blaze at Plastic Hose Manufacturer; Ridgefield, NJ, United States; 10/21/2000

The fire started at the Colorite plant here when a spark from a welder's torch ignited some chemicals at teh plant, which manufactures plastic garden hoses.  Maintenance people tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze, but were forced to call firefighters when they failed.  Ridgefield Fire Chief John Hoffman said four firefighters were injured when water used to battle the blaze caused a chemical reaction.  The four did not require hospitalization.  Hoffman said there was heavy black soot and smoke in the plant when firefighters arrived.  Recognizing the potential danger of a chemical fire, Hoffman called for fire companies in Cliffside Park, Leonia, Edgewater, Fort Lee and Teaneck to stand by.  "It wasn't a huge fire, but it was a dangerous fire," he said.

Man Found Dead After Explosion Behind Drywall Company Facility; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 4/17/2000- 5:00 AM

An explosion behind a west Edmonton, Alberta drywall maker has claimed the life of a worker.  Ed Sager, a spokesman for Occupation Health and Safety, said investigators believe the man's cutting torch triggered the explosion.  "We know the worker was cutting a piece of steel using a 45-gallon drum of asphalt primer as a work table," Sager said.  "The worker burned a hole in the top of the drum and there was an explosion.  he was found buried under a pile of pallets and the ambulance crew determined he was dead at the scene," Sager said.  Jean Kirkman, spokesman for the emergency response department, said when fire officers arrived they cleared people away because the pallet fire was close to bottles of oxygen and acetylene.  "Our investigators have written order to the company over safety issues but no charges have been laid yet."

81 Miners Killed in Methane Explosion; Three Mine Officials Charged; Krasnodon, Ukraine; 3/11/2000

Three mine officials were charged with violating safety rules in connection with this incident.  The state prosecutor's office said today that former Karakova mine director Leonid Kolesnikov, chief mechanic Oleksandr Bedlovskyi and conveyor foreman Oleksandr Kryvoruchko were charged with violations of safety that led to human casualties.  The three face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.  Earlier, a government commission ordered the mine director and several other officials dismissed from their jobs because of the explosion.  According to the commission, the blast was caused by gross neglect.  It said a faulty cutting torch released a stream of oxygen and caused coal dust to explode.  Contrary to safety rules, worker access to the area where the cutting work took place was not restricted, investigators said.  They also said experts were not present, the area was not saturated with water as required and fire extinguishers were not at hand.  
-----
Information Added: Monday, March 13, 2000 - 12:25 PM
-----
Rescue crews on Sunday dragged up the last of 81 people killed in a methane explosion in an eastern Ukrainian coal mine, the former Soviet republic's worst mine disaster in decades.  A preliminary investigation suggested that safety violations led to the accident Saturday at the Barakova mine in Krasnodon, about 425 miles east of Kiev, the Interfax news agency quoted President Leonid Kuchma as saying.  Kuchma criticized the irresponsibility and neglect that has caused many job-related disasters in Ukraine in recent years.  ``If we do not finish with this (irresponsibility), how will we dare to look in the eyes of the victims' families,'' Kuchma said during a visit to Ukraine's western city of Lviv, according to Interfax.  Ukraine has the world's highest coal industry death rate, blamed largely on outdated and badly functioning equipment and miners' neglect of safety rules. Its mine accidents are often caused by methane, a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless and highly explosive gas that seeps out of coal seams and can build up easily in poorly ventilated mine shafts.  At least eight miners were taken alive from the shaft after Saturday's blast and hospitalized with burns. One died of injuries Sunday, hospital officials said.  Nearly 200 miners escaped the shaft safely after the explosion, which happened at a depth of 2,191 feet. The 80 other workers in the mine at the time were killed immediately, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.  Thirty-three rescue units worked through the night at the site, and dragged up the last of the bodies Sunday.  Relatives and colleagues milled about the mine through the night, embracing and weeping in a light snow. Ashen-faced workers lined up to read a handwritten list of those killed posted on a wall in the mine's offices.  Ukraine's mine elevators are made of rickety wooden planks and rusty wheels, and tattered ropes that struggle to haul workers up and down several times a day.  A special government commission, which included Labor Minister Ivan Sakhan, Energy Minister Serhiy Tulub and local authorities representatives, started investigation Sunday on possible causes of the accident.  Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who heads the commission, will arrive in the region on Monday, Interfax said.
-----
Information Added: Monday, March 13, 2000 - 11:49 AM
-----
Ashen-faced relatives stood in silence beneath a light snow, watching rescuers coated in coal dust drag up the bodies of 81 people killed in a Ukrainian mine explosion and load them onto refrigerator trucks Sunday.  Survivors of the former Soviet republic's worst mine disaster in decades described a confusing burst, a suffocating cloud of coal dust and the sickening smell of smoke before they were brought to the surface.  A preliminary investigation suggested that Saturday's accident was a methane explosion caused by a violation of safety regulations, the Interfax news agency quoted President Leonid Kuchma as saying. It occurred at the Barakova mine near the eastern town of Krasnodon.  While Ukraine has the world's highest coal industry death rate, the Barakova mine hadn't seen major accidents before. Instead, it was known for the passion of its 3,000 workers, ever-ready to launch a strike to demand back wages and stand up for their rights in one of Ukraine's poorest industries.  On Sunday, that enthusiasm was nowhere to be found. A few grief-stricken miners wandered aimlessly among the crumbling premises of the mine, whose rusty, creaky elevators stand against the dark pyramids of coal rock.  Several rescue workers in dirty orange overalls were packing their gear, the last of the 33 teams who worked since Saturday to pull the dead up from the rubble, at a depth of 664 meters (2,191 feet).  Officials said 80 of the 277 miners who were underground at the time of the explosion died on the spot. Most of the others escaped safely. One died Sunday in the hospital. Seven coal workers remained hospitalized with wounds.  One of them, interviewed in his hospital bed, described the moment of the blast on Russia's NTV television.  ``I heard a burst, then saw cloudy coal dust, there was the smell of fire,'' the survivor said through glazed eyes. His name was not given.  ``I called the dispatcher, and she said, 'There's been an explosion, you guys are the only ones left, hurry and come back up.'''  A hand-written list of the victims' names hung on a bulletin board at the entrance to the mine's administration building. Next to the list were two red carnations, a notice about volleyball practice, and a note advertising a country cabin for sale.  ``My son, my blood!'' wailed one woman wrapped in a shawl, whose 21-year-old son Andriy Li-Chan-Yuk was on the list.  Three young men stopped next to the list, and one started crying, touching the written names.  ``Five friends at once, just like that. Friends, schoolmates,'' he said, turning away.  Later Sunday, many of the victims' relatives gathered in the yard of the Krasnodon hospital. Their feet sinking into the mud, they watched as medics pulled out stretchers loaded with bodies from three large refrigerator trucks.  Inside the hospital, the floor was covered with a carpet of bodies. Forensic experts stepped over the corpses, most of them naked, trying to identify them. One miner was laying fully dressed, his hands resting peacefully on his chest.  The accident underlined the messy state of Ukraine's coal industry.  Equipment is outdated and treacherous, and most of Ukraine's more than 400,000 coal workers do not receive their wages on time. Much of eastern Ukraine, once proud of its coal riches, has turned into a wasteland of poverty and environmental destruction.   The average monthly wage of Barakova miners is 920 hryvna (about dlrs 170), said Ukraine's Energy Minister Serhiy Tulub.  Tulub, who was at the accident site Sunday, also said safety violations were likely at fault, according by Interfax.  But miners usually blame accidents on officials' unwillingness to spend money on maintaining or upgrading equipment.  Kuchma declared Monday and Tuesday days of national mourning. Many of the funerals were scheduled for Monday.  Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko was to visit the disaster site _ about 680 kilometers (420 miles) east of Ukraine's capital, Kiev _ Monday as head of the government investigative commission.  The president said the government has sent 10 million hryvna (about dlrs 1.8 million) to help the victims' families.  The number of people killed Saturday was the highest since at least 1980, when 68 people died at the Gorskaya mine in then-Soviet Ukraine.  At least 274 miners died in mine accidents in Ukraine last year, down from about 360 in 1998.  Ukraine's mine accidents are often caused by methane, a naturally occurring, odorless and highly explosive gas that seeps out of coal seams and can build up easily in poorly ventilated mine shafts.

One Killed, Three Injured in Welding Incident Involving Oil Field Truck Repair; Kilgore, TX, United States; 10/17/2000- 7:00 AM

The explosion occurred at Key Energy, Inc., a New Jersey-based company.  Shop foreman Ted Upmeyer, 52, was trying to weld a ball valve on the back of the oil field tanker truck when residue from a gaseous hydrocarbon ignited at Key. The blast blew a hole in the shop's metal roof and sent pieces flying across the yard, Kilgore Assistant Chief Maxey Cerliano said.  He said the explosion was felt a mile away.  The three injured workers were treated and release from Laird Memorial Hospital.  Key Energy employees are thoroughly trained in how to clean truck before they are returned to shops for maintenance, said Jack Loftis, the company's general counsel.  "But there must have been a flammable gas on the truck," Loftis told the Tyler Morning Telegraph.  "We are very safety conscious and if someone did not do something in the procedure, we need to find out and do our best to correct it."  He said Key Energy sent teams of safety investigators from Reno, Okla., and Kilgore to the explosion scene, where an inquiry will continue until a cause is determined.  Key Energy recently purchased the Kilgore facility, which was previously supervised by Dawson Productions adn Mobley Oilfield Services and has been in operation about 20 years.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation was in the preliminary stages, according to Kathryn Delaney, area director the OSHA's Dallas office.

Worker Killed, Two Injured When Tanker Truck Explodes During Welding Operation; Taylor, MI, United States; 10/2/2000- 3:45 PM

Police in Taylor, which is 10 miles southwest of Detroit, responded to Quality Truck and Trailer about 3:45 p.m. after an explosion that could be heard for miles. The employees were welding on the empty semitrailer when fumes apparently ignited, police said.  The names of the workers and the conditions of the two people injured were not immediately available.  Company officials could not be reached for comment Monday evening (10/2/2000).

Repair Shop Damaged from Welding Incident; Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada; 3/20/2000- 11:00 AM

A tanker truck under repair at Northern Truck Services Limited exploded when sparks from a welder ignited leftover fumes after it had been emptied of its load of flammable oil well service water, according to sources.  The blast blew a hole 8 meters in diameter through the sheet metal roof, dented three overhead garage doors, and caused three bay doors to bulge outwards.  Neighboring businesses felt the impact of the explosion and said at first they thought that a truck had crashed into their buildings.  The worker heard a "strange" noise just before the explosion and dove to safety before the tank erupted.  He is reportedly unharmed.  Authorities estimate damage at $350,000 to the building and about $70,000 to the truck.  This was the second welding accident in Grand Prairie in a week.

Tanks at Trucking Company Explode, Injuring Two; Rosepine, LA, United States; 3/15/2000- 3:00 PM

The two men were thought to be welding when the explosions occurred.  The men were putting diesel tanks and a gasoline air compressor on a 2000 model logging truck at the time of the expolsion, according to Vernon Parish Deputy Sherrif Larry Smith.  Both men were employees of Jimmy Shell's Trucking Company.  The firm conducts repairs and maintenance on logging trucks and sells truck parts.  An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to the incident.

Two Killed, Two Injured In Explosion at Paper Plant; Company Says No Welding Permit Issued; Rock Hill, SC, United States; 3/14/2000- 11:30 AM

Bowater, Inc. never gave contractors SW&B the go-ahead to weld on equipment that led to this incident last month, company officials said last Friday (4/21/00).  "They should not have been welding without a (Bowater) welding permit," said Barre Mitchell, the director of technology at the Bowater plant.  The company's comments come after the York County Coroner issued a report  saying inaction by both Bowater and SW&B contributed to the explosion. (see below)

As one of five factors that contributed to the accident, Bowater failed to meet general regulations for welding because it failed to physically inspect the site before issuing an in-house permit for the welding work to be done, York County Coroner Dough McKown's report said.   That allegation is "blatantly wrong," because Bowater never have any approval for the welding that lead to the explosion, Mitchell said.  "We did not know they (SW&B employees) were going to weld there," Mitchell said.  "That's why a welding permit was not issued."  
SW&B President Scott Searway said Friday that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on Bowater's allegation that no permit was issued, while internal and state Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigations are ongoing.  McKown said Friday he stands by his report, prepared by Bill Finch of Rock Hill-based Occupational Safety Consultants, a company that often investigates work-related accidents.   "It is our understanding, based on the information we have, that Bowater issued welding authoritzation," McKown said.  "If the information is incorrect, we'll stand corrected, but I don't know that'll change anything.  The bottom line is the work site was unsafe."  "Finger-pointing is going to go on from this point out.  Someone's gotta be the bad guy," McKown said.  But, he said, "The reason we did that report was not to lay fault with Bowater or SW&B.  It's to determin the contributing factors in those mens' deaths."  (Source: The Herald, Rock Hill, S.C. 4/24/2000)

Blast at Furniture Plant Kills Owner; Richwood, WV, United States; 3/14/2000

A California furniture-maker who came to West Virginia to start a new business was killed Tuesday in an explosion at his company's Richwood plant. Mark Newman, 55, of San Bernardino, Calif., was doing welding work on a discarded 55-gallon barrel when an explosion rattled Cherry Valley Furniture Co.'s warehouse.  Newman was pronounced dead at the scene, Richwood Police Chief Larry Tinney said.  About 13 other workers were in the factory at the time of the explosion, but they were not injured, he said.  An official from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. The exact cause of the blast is unknown.  Richwood Mayor Jeromy Rose said the town is devastated at the loss.   ``A lot of people are shook up,'' Rose said Wednesday. ``He came to our town to help our town out (economically), and he loses his life doing it. That's an awful big price to pay for doing something good.''  Cherry Valley produces solid hardwood living room and bedroom furniture geared toward high-end buyers.

Four Recycling Workers Killed Following Gas Explosion; Hangzhou, China, Peoples Republic of; 3/14/2000

The four were sent to Dengta Village in the suburbs to cut the steel structure over an abandoned biogas generating pit.  Their arc welding-cutting device ignited the remaining gas in the pit, resulting in the explosion.  Local police said the men were employees of Hangzhou Materials and Wastes Recycling Company.  Hangzhou is the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

Firefighters Battle Fire at Fertilizer Plant; Lake Alfred, FL, United States; 3/7/2000- 10:00 AM

Plant workers at Growers Fertilizer Corporation were welding a large metal bin when chemicals inside caught fire.  Workers noticed smoke about noon.  The fire began inside a 12 foot by 30 foot hopper.  It contained a mixture of sludge, or sewage, and ammonium nitrate used to make the fertilizer.  Lake Alfred Fire Department Lt. Jeff Allen said ammonium nitrate burns quickly and is explosive.  Firefighters evacuated 15 workers and were preparing to evacuate nearby buildings when they brought the fire under control, Allen said.  Mutual aid was provided by Winter Haven and Polk County fire departments.  Nearly 40 firefighters battled the fire.  The Environmental Protection Agency and the Polk County Hazardous Materials Team were notified, and sand was placed around a nearby storm drain to contain the chemicals.  There were no injuries reported.  The plant is expected to be closed for several days while workers repair damage and clean up after the fire.

Man Killed While Welding Vent line on Top of Large Wastewater Tank; Anchorage, AK, United States; 2/18/2000- 2:00 PM

The man worked at Energy Recovery Services, Inc., which cleans contaminated jet fuel so it can be reused.  The explosion ripped a 20-foot-by-15-foot hole in the roof and tossed several large steel support beams into the air.  The Anchorage Fire Department said Dale Stetler, 44, of Palmer was welding a ventline on top of a large wastewater tank when it blew up.  Investigators said Stetler was blown through the roof of the building and killed instantly, while two men welding on the side of the tank were not hurt.  A police spokesman said it was amazining the other two men were not hurt.  Investigators believe the tank was contaminated with some kind of combustible or flammable fumes, which possibly caused the blast.  "You can drain a tank completely and even put water in there, but there's still fumes in the metal itself and all it takes is a slight strike to blow that thing right open," said welder Bill Triplett.  Firefighters said welding on tanks can be very dangerous.  "We've had several fatalities in Anchorage when cutting and welding has ocurred on tanks," said Bridget Bushue of the Fire Department.

Three Die in Explosion at Hong Kong Construction Site; Hong Kong, China, Peoples Republic of; 2/12/2000

The explosion killed three and injured four others.  The workers were welding near pipes containing highly flammable (unidentified) gases.  The pipes exploded and sent metal flying into the air, a spokesman for the police said.  The three men, aged 43, 50, and 66 died after being hit by metal plates they were working with when the explosion occurred.  The conditions of the injured men were not known.  Fire officials were investigating what caused the gas leak.

Welder Seriously Injured When 55-Gallon Drum Explodes; Fargo, ND, United States; 2/9/2000- 3:00 PM

The 42-year old man was welding a pipe onto the 55-gallon drum when oil vapors ignited, causing the explosion.  The drum had been used to store waste oil, Maj. Mike Fonder, a Grand Forks deputy said. 
The man was reported in serious condition Thursday, with head trauma and cuts to the face and neck.  The incident happened in the Opp Construction shop on U.S. Highway 81.  The man had been working there for about 10 days.

Plumber Working in Hospital Injured When Welding Tank Explodes; Garrison, ND, United States; 1/19/2000

The plumber was welding pipes at the Garrison hospital when the acetylene tank he was using blew up.  He was doing maintenance work in a tunnel system under the building at the time of the explosion.  He suffered only minor injuries and the explosion, although felt on the first floor of the hospital,  caused only limited damage.  The man was flown to a burn center in Minnesota.

Two Killed in Blast at Nebraska Power Plant; Hallam, NE, United States; 12/29/1999

The explosion rocked the top of the 100-foot-tall silo used to store ash from a power plant today (12/29/1999), killing two workers who were hurled to the ground more than 80 feet below.  A third employee who was working with the other two was treated in a hospital for cuts and bruises.  He survived because he was not standing near the door, and was instead thrown to the floor.  The cause of the incident is being investigated.  The three men were welding throughout the morning, and when they stopped the explosion happened, the Lancaster County sheriff, Terry Wagner, was quoted as saying.  A small fire was ignited by the explosion.  It burned for about an hour. The silo is used to store flying ash captured from the plant's burning area.  It is relatively new and the crew was making some modifications in its operations room.  The plant is operated by the Nebraska Public Power District.  The plant was shut down to allow counselors to meet with employees.  83 people work at the plant.

Three Killed, One Injured in Fuel Cistern Explosion; Zhovtneve, Ukraine; 12/24/1999

The explosion occurred while workers at a tractor depot in central Ukraine were welding the 30-ton cistern.  The cistern was empty of fuel, but was full of diesel fumes.  The welding ignited the fumes, according to the Emergency Situations Ministry

Explosion Destroys Oslo Theater; Oslo, Norway; 12/23/1999- 5:00 AM

The explosion at the ABC Theater blew a 30-foot hole in one wall, blew out most windows in the first two floors and reduced the theater's furnishings to kindling.  Debris was strewn on the street and even stuck on the walls of nearby buildings after the explosion, which occurred just after 5 a.m. meaning there was no one in the building and few nearby.  The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Fire officials said it probably was due to gas leaking from welding tanks used in remodeling the six-story building.  The small theater was on the first floor. The other five were being turned into a hotel that had been due to open in April.

Gas Leak, Welding Spark Suspected in Hong Kong Tunnel Explosion; Hong Kong, China, Peoples Republic of; 12/13/1999- 2:52 PM

Investigators believe a "flash over" --- a concentrated cloud of flammable gas --- caused Monday's Chai Wan tunnel explosion that injured eight construction workers. Five of the eight are still hospitalized, two in critical condition, two serious and one stable.  Because the tanks were intact, investigators believe that a welder's spark ignited gas that had leaked into the tunnel.  Experts conducting the investigation found evidence that a gas leak had occurred just before the explosion.  The explosion occurred in a sweage tunnel being drilled 130 meters underground in Chai Wan.  A spokesman for the drainage service department (DSD) said that they had told the three main contractors to pay close attention to industrial safety.  The contractors conformed to safety standards by using fireproof materials for the project, which explained why damage to equipment and the number of casualties were minimal.  There were 32 workers in the tunnel at the time of the blast.  A witness said the explosion occurred as a technician was igniting a torch of mixed gas to cut an iron bar.

Small Explosion at Canadian Auto Plant Injures Two; London, Ontario, Canada; 11/27/1999- 7:30 AM

Two General Motors workers were taken to hospital to after a small explosion at the automotive plant Saturday morning.(11/27/99)  The pair were welding and grinding a machine when a spark ignited a gas leak, causing the blast and a small fire, said Denny Lang, director of human resources and public relations for GM Diesel Division.  ``Our fire department had it out before the London fire department arrived,'' Lang said.   The two workers were given a clean bill of health at the hospital and by the company's medical staff. They returned to work within a few hours of the blast after 7:30 a.m.  There were about 100 employees working but most weren't affected. Only the area near the incident was evacuated, Lang said. There was no impact on production and everything was back to normal by early afternoon, he said.  It was not clear from the report whether natural gas or gasoline was involved in the explosion.

Explosion at Iowa Chemical Plant, Three Workers Hospitalized, 5 Others Hurt; Clinton, IA, United States; 10/28/1999- 9:10 AM

One of the workers was welding near a tank about 8 feet long and 3 feet in circumference when a flash fire, lasting only a second or two, occurred inside the tank, according to Tom Nunheimer, spokesman for Equistar Chemicals, where the incident occurred.  The tank normally contains ethylene gas, but had been purged with nitrogen to ensure that none of the flammable gas remained.  The concussion from the flash fire went in all directions from the tank, Nunheimer said.  Company officials said investigators were interviewing witnesses to determine the cause of the blast.  The tank was not damaged.   Three maintenance workers remained hospitalized today (10/29).  Lonnie Boerma was in serious condition at University Hospital in Iowa City.  Dan Carlson was in fair condition, while Russell Mussman was in good condition.  Injuries included burns, and one of the men was knocked off a platform.  Five other workers wee treated at Mercy Medical Center for cuts, bruises and minor burns and sent home.  Texas-based Equistar Chemicals, with 18 factories in the Midwest and Gulf Coast, is owned by Lyondell Chemicals, Millennium Chemicals and Occidental Petroleum.  The company produces ethylene, propylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, petrochemicals, wire and cable compounds, color and additive concentrates.

Welding Incident Claims Father and Son; Redcliff, Alberta, Canada; 10/27/1999- 5:30 PM

A 48 year-old man was killed instantly from an explosion that occurred inside a workshop at an industrial strip mall while he was welding the roof of a water-tanker.  His 19 year-old son died in the hospital. Authorities believe that hydro-carbon fumes emanating from a combination of distillate, gaseous substances and hydro-carbons in the tank may have ignited to cause the blast.  It appeared that the tank, which was used for picking up water around oil well sites, had not been purged prior to welding.

Information Added: Monday, November 1, 1999 - 4:34 PM
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say it appears that welding sparks caused the explosion.

Nine killed, four burned at Plastics Warehouse South of Moscow, Russia; Moscow, Russia; 9/25/1999

Faulty welding equipment is reported to have sparked the fire at Khimpolimer's (Moscow) plastics warehouse south of the capital.  No other details were available.  The exact date of the incident is not known.

Explosion at Polyester Plant Kills Two, Injures Two; Grover, NC, United States; 9/14/1999- 4:30 PM

Two maintenance workers welding on an outdoor chemical tank were killed, and two others injured.  The employees worked for a company called Becon, a maintenance company.  A company known as Ticona also operates at the same facility as KoSa, a polyester fiber manufacturer and Cleveland County's second largest industrial employer.

Russian Chemical Plant Fire Kills Nine, Injures 4; Mytischi, Russia; 9/10/1999

What was described as a "large" fire burned through a chemical plant just north of Moscow, claiming the lives of nine workers and injuring four others.  The fire was repored at the Khimpolimer plant.  It was reportedly started by faulty welding equipment, according to the Interfax news agency.  No other details were made available.  The condition of the injured workers was not known, except that they all suffered burns of varying degrees.

Three Welders Injured In Natural Gas Pipeline Fire; El Paso, TX, United States; 9/1/1999- 3:45 PM

Three welders were injured while working on an above ground natural gas pipeline 25 miles east of El Paso, Texas.   A release reportedly occurred from a 6 inch blow off line that comes off of a 26 inch line.  The "puff" release ignited into a small fire while the workers were welding near the pipeline.  The three workers were taken to a hospital.  
The pipeline is regulated by the Department of Transportation

Oil Tank Explodes, Two Miners Injured; Thorburn, Nova Scotia, Canada; 8/16/1999- 1:00 PM

Two men were rushed to a hospital after the oil tank on which they were using a welding torch exploded. The Labour Department is investigating the cause of the incident.  The men worked at a strip mine operating under the name Thorburn Mining Ltd., a subsidiary of Pioneer Coal.

Oil Tank Explosion kills 2, Injures 1; Livingston, TN, United States; 6/30/1999- 7:30 AM

A 25-year old Overton County man (Jack Daniels of Allon) has died from his injuries suffered in the blast.  The total number of fatalities in this incident now stands at three.
-----
Information Added: Friday, July 9, 1999 - 12:02 PM
-----
During the repair of an oil storage tank, a spark from a grinder, used to prepare the tank for welding, ignited gas that had built up in the tank overnight.  It had been vented of gas the day before.

Fire and Explosion in Norwegian Highway Tunnel Kill Two, Injure 15; Drammen, Norway; 6/29/1999

Officials speculate that a spark from welding activity may have started this fire in a highway tunnel under construction.  The fire spread to dynamite used to blast the tunnel causing an explosion that resulted in the deaths of two fire fighters and injury to fifteen other fire fighters and construction workers.  Two people were also still missing at the time of the news report.

2 Killed 2 Injured When Pipe Explodes at Coal Tar Distillation Plant; Clairton, PA, United States; 12/4/1998
Information Added: Thursday, July 29, 1999 - 11:53 AM
Two workers were killed and two injured after an explosion at Koppers Industries in Clairton, PA.  The explosion occurred during welding work on a pipe connected to a coal tar distallation tank.  See http://www.chemsafety.gov for additional information.

1 Killed, 2 Injured in ARCO Oil Refinery Explosion; Carson, CA, United States; 8/19/1998

A contract worker was killed and two employees were injured after a small explosion occurred during routine maintenance welding on a tank in a Cogeneration facility located on the grounds of ARCO’s Los Angeles area refinery. The welder worked for Total Western, a California firm. The two injuries were reported to be minor.

3 Killed in Explosion at Florida Trucking Co.; Brooker, FL, United States; 8/18/1998
Three people were killed in a explosion at a Crawford Trucking in Brooker, Fla. According to the Bradford County Sheriff’s department vapors ignited during a welding procedure.  The CSB closed the review for this incident without issuing any findings.  See http://www.chemsafety.gov for additional information.

Louisiana Worker Injured in Explosion, Fire at Oil Collection Facility; Lake Rosemound, LA, United States; 10/18/1999- 8:00 AM

A worker salvaging pipe from an abandoned gas and oil collection facility in rural West Feliciana Parish was injured after he was engulfed in a fireball that erupted after an initial explosion blew the top off a 1,000-barrell crude oil storage tank.  The man, Herbert Isidore, was in stable condition Monday (10/18) afternoon at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center's Burn Unit.  Sgt. Chirs Viator of the State Police Hazaradous Materials- Explosives Unit, said the crew had worked on the site for about an hour before a torch was used to cut a pipe connected to the tank that exploded.  Detective Randy Holden said Isidore's co-workers reported that the victim ran from the scene with his clothing on fire and they wrestled him to the ground and extinguished the flames.  Viator and Fire Chief Tommy Boyett said the fire spred to two more tanks, including a large fiberglass unit that the heat reduced to a huge lump.  
The material left in the tanks burned for about 45 minutes before firefighters moved in with chemical foam and water to cool the debris and extinguish the remaining flames.  Firefighters chose not to attack the blaze because there was nothing at the abandoned site to save.  The last well in production at the location was shut down about seven or eight months ago.

Torch Ignites Leaking Propane, Arizona Businesses Evacuated; Tuscon, AZ, United States; 10/4/1999
A workman's torch ignited propane leaking from a metal cylinder causing an explosion at a storage yard.  One of the tanks was ripped apart and few "like a torpedo".  It hit a building 40 feet away at a height of 15 feet, according to fire department spokesman Brian Delfs.

Woman Dies After Flash Fire; Mauldin, SC, United States; 9/2/1999

The three workers (women) were using acetone to clean a 55-gallon drum when chemical vapors apparently were ignited by the spark of a welder's torch, fire officials said.  The flames were extinguished by other employees before firefighters arrived.  The incident occurred at Russell-Stanley Container Management Services plant.  The other women suffered burns over 20 to 30 percent of their bodies, according to authorities.  The 22-year old female victim, Catalina Munoz, succumbed after being burned on more than 80 percent of her body.    The company at which she worked cleans industrial containers.

Underground Tank Explodes, One Killed, Two Injured; Wind Gap, PA, United States; 8/2/1999- 2:50 PM

A Garfield, Penn. man was killed and two workers injured when an explosion tore through an storage tank at a tire recycling facility (Tire Energy Corp.).  The men were apparently inside the tank performing maintenance.  One of the injured men suffered burns over 85 percent of his body.  According to the Bergen Record, the men have been using a torch in the tank, which was believed to be used to store fuel derived from the recycling of tires.

Cutting Torch Sets Off Warehouse Fire; Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States; 7/6/1999- 1:00 PM

Two men trying to take apart a spray paint machine, accidentally set it on fire when they turned on an oxy-acetylene cutting torch.  One of the men suffered second-degree burns.  The fire inflicted about $20,000 in property damage.

Bin Welding Causes Fire. Plant workers at Growers Fertilizer Corporation were welding a large metal bin when chemicals inside caught fire. The fire began inside a 12 foot by 30 foot hopper. It contained a mixture of sludge, or sewage, and ammonium nitrate used to make the fertilizer.  Ammonium nitrate burns quickly and is explosive. Firefighters evacuated 15 workers and nearby buildings.  Nearly 40 firefighters battled the fire.

Tanks at Trucking Company Explode, Injuring Two. The two men were thought to be welding when the explosions occurred. The men were putting diesel tanks and a gasoline air compressor on a 2000 model logging truck at the time of the explosion.

MINOR EXPLOSION DURING WELDING ACTIVITIES

On August 13, 1999, at the Sandia National Laboratory-Albuquerque, a subcontractor welder was welding materials for an elevator at the Process Environmental Technology Laboratory construction site when a minor explosion occurred. Emergency personnel, including the Kirtland Air Force Base Fire Department, an ambulance, and the site incident commander, responded to the scene. They determined that the blast was limited to the immediate area of the welding activity. Only the welder was injured, and ambulance personnel treated him for minor injuries, and transported him to a hospital. A Sandia representative issued a stop work order, established an exclusion zone around the elevator, and monitored the area for levels of volatile organic compounds. Sandia managers immediately initiated an investigation of the explosion. DOE representatives will closely monitor the investigation. OEAF engineers will provide additional information about the investigation as it becomes available. (ORPS Report ALO-KO-SNL-NMFAC-1999-0013)

FLASHBACK IN OXY-GASOLINE CUTTING SYSTEM RUPTURES OXYGEN LINE

On May 19, 1999, at the Hanford Site Inactive Facilities Surveillance and Maintenance Facility, a flashback occurred in the oxygen line for an oxy-gasoline cutting system when a decommissioning and decontamination (D&D) worker ignited the torch. The flashback ruptured and separated the oxygen hose at a point approximately 10 ft from the D&D worker and 50 ft from the gasoline tank. The worker was cutting on the north side of a 6-ft diameter, 5/8-in. steel pipe, and the rupture occurred on the south side of the pipe. A D&D worker who was on the south side of the pipe heard a loud crack and observed a road-flare-sized flame at the rupture. He quickly shut off the oxygen supply. No other personnel were within 10 ft of the burst, and no personnel were injured; however, a rupture closer to the D&D worker using the torch could have caused burns or other injury. (ORPS Report RL--BHI-IFSM-1999-0004)

The oxy-gasoline cutting system (Figure 4-1) consists of a standard oxygen cylinder, a pressurized 3-gal tank of unleaded gasoline, hoses, and a cutting torch. The tank delivers gasoline to the torch in liquid form, where it vaporizes and mixes with oxygen at the torch tip. Flashbacks on the fuel side are not possible because of the liquid state in the line. Also, a quick-close, high-flow valve at the gasoline tank immediately shuts off fuel if a line ruptures. The oxy-gasoline system offers several advantages over the standard oxy-acetylene cutting system, including safety, economy in fuel and labor-hours, longer tip life, faster burning, and little or no slag production.

The D&D workers immediately stopped work and notified their job supervisor. Investigators consulted the manufacturer's technical manual. The manual recognizes that backflow of fuel into the oxygen line is possible under some circumstances. It recommends purging the oxygen line before igniting the torch and installing an additional flashback arrestor in the oxygen line at the torch. A field engineer received the same recommendations orally from a representative of the manufacturer, who also said that an incomplete purge of the oxygen line could cause a flashback. The system in use already had a flashback arrestor at the oxygen cylinder, as required by the manufacturer. Facility personnel installed a flashback arrestor on the torch and tested the system successfully. Additional corrective actions include incorporating the additional flashback arrestor into training and preparing a lessons learned bulletin for distribution to potentially affected sites.

This occurrence has been posted on the DOE Lessons Learned List Server. Visit http://www.tis.eh.doe.gov/ll/listserv.html for information on Lessons Learned List Server membership and access. Additional information on the oxy-gasoline system is available on the Web at http://www.fernald.gov/Technology%20Programs/lstd/oxy.htm, which describes the results of a technology demonstration conducted in 1996 by the DOE Fernald Environmental Management Project and Fluor Daniel Fernald.

PIPEFITTER CUTS STEAM LINE CHARGED WITH COMPRESSED AIR

On August 31, 1999, at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a pipefitter cut into a 3-inch carbon steel steam line that was pressurized with 100-psig compressed air. He immediately stopped cutting when he heard a hissing noise. The pipefitter, using a portable band saw, was performing demolition work on what he believed was an abandoned steam line. The pipefitter and his supervisor determined that the steam line was charged with compressed air. No one on the building core team, which consisted of the building manager, the facility project manager, and a work control specialist, knew that another organization had modified the abandoned steam line for use as an air supply line. Also, no one on the core team verified the status of the line before performing work. System modifications that are not adequately communicated to affected facilities may result in workers being exposed to unanticipated hazardous energy sources. (ORPS Report RL--PNNL-PNNLBOPER-1999-0027)