GREENVILLE, Mich. — The employee hurt in an explosion and fire at a Greenville plant last week is improving at the hospital, public safety officials said. Authorities also believe they figured out how it all started.
Friday evening, firefighters were sent to Dicastal North America, a manufacturer that makes aluminum alloy wheels for the auto industry.
On the back side of the building, paneling had been completely blown out. Callers miles away from the plant say they heard their homes shake from the explosion.
"This area of the building is, I understand the concern of their furnace room," said Sergeant Steve DeWitt with the Greenville Department of Public Safety, "This is where they take large blocks of solid aluminum or magnesium. They melt it down in blast furnaces, and then they use that liquid metal for the rest of the process. So this area with the furnace has a tremendous heat."
The Greenville Department of Public Safety (GDPS) Fire Investigation Unit, with help from the ATF, determined an employee was repairing a piece of machinery in the plant.
Sparks from the hand grinder inadvertently ignited some aluminum dust in the area, setting off the explosion.
Authorities said the employee continues to recover and shared his condition is improving daily.
Firefighters from three different departments worked together to extinguish the fire, which was contained in the foundry area of the plant.
“Having a comprehensive, independent investigation by the outside parties yielded the determination of an accidental incident on Friday night,” said Interim Director Brian Blomstrom. “We appreciate the partnerships involved as we moved forward with the origin and cause examination and determination, and the collaboration between everyone assisting with determining what happened in a very quick, professional manner.”
Based on the metal and dust in the area, firefighters used on-site dry chemical powder extinguishers to mitigate the incident. Suppression crews extinguished the fires within the plant and on the roof area, which lasted a few hours. The incident was declared under control about four hours after the initial call.
“I want to stress that the response from all emergency services personnel dispatched to the incident was outstanding. Sgt. Steve DeWitt did an excellent job as the incident commander that night, both with being situationally aware of decisions that needed to be made, and coordinating the workings of fire suppression personnel. The previous training received and employed by this agency for these types of incidents definitely assisted with working to mitigate the emergency issue in a safe manner,” said Interim Director Brian Blomstrom.
There were no injuries to any first responders on the scene.
This is the second fire in two months at Dicastal. There was another explosion and fire near a dust-collecting unit on the roof in January.
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