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Entries for March 1999
Wednesday
Mar 31 |
Batavia, N.Y.: Industrial firefighters assisted municipal crews in battling a 19-hour plastics factory fire. Much of the factory was destroyed. More information |
Sunday
Mar 28 |
Boston, MA: A fire caused heavy damage to a power station providing electricity to much of the city. However, electricity production was not affected. Some workers were treated for eye injuries. More information |
Saturday
Mar 27 |
Nelson, U.K.: Firefighters worked 12 hours to bring a fire in the roof of a weaving mill under control. Cotton waste in the attic caught fire in several locations. More information |
Saturday
Mar 27 |
Sioux City, IO: Only minutes after an ammonia leak was reported at an ice cream factory, an explosion rocked the facility. More information |
Saturday
Mar 27 |
Tipton, U.K.: A crane operating above an industrial furnace caught fire when a gas line ruptured. The risk of explosion from the furnace made it difficult for firefighters to apply water to the fire. More information |
Friday
Mar 26 |
Milwaukee, WI: Two workers were hospitalized after a fire and explosion at a manufacturing plant. The fire broke out in a paint booth. More information |
Friday
Mar 26 |
Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Serbian auto workers occupied their factory as a human shield against NATO attack. The plant also makes weapons. More information |
Friday
Mar 26 |
Olney, IL: An explosion in a magnesium dust collection system at a bicycle plant injured one worker. More information |
Thursday
Mar 25 |
Richmond, CA: An explosion and fire in a heat exchanger rocked an oil refinery. Although the fire was quickly dealt with, more than 1,200 area residents flooded local emergency rooms claiming breathing difficulties and eye irritations. More information |
Thursday
Mar 25 |
Vulcan, Alberta: Shredded rubber at a tire recycling plant ignited and burned. Firefighters fought the blaze for three hours. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 24 |
Stanton, CA: Workers at a metals processing plant were evacuated when a 30-gallon tank of sodium hydrosulfite began to smolder. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 24 |
Long Beach, CA: A fire in a spray booth at a plant that makes truck beds resulted in a two-day shutdown at an assembly plant it supplies. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 23 |
Dallas, TX: A seven-alarm blaze at a factory that manufactures polyurethane goods destroyed nearly half a million pounds of plastics. Workers were using a blow torch to install a garage door when the fire broke out. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 23 |
Brazil, IN: High winds contributed to the spread of a fire that destroyed a 100,000 square-foot book-recycling plant and nearly 120 tons of books and paper. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 23 |
Sylacauga, AL: A fire broke out at a fertilizer plant, producing heavy smoke and forcing the evacuation of nearby homes. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 23 |
Momence, IL: Industrial firefighters were called out for the second time in one week to help area responders with a major train wreck. The earlier wreck in Bourbonnais, IL, involved an Amtrak train that collided with a truck carrying steel rods. See the -April issue of IFW.) More information |
Monday
Mar 22 |
Los Angeles, CA: Firefighters worked four hours to free a construction worker buried up to his chest in a trench collapse. Crews used a vacuum-like device to removed some of the dirt. More information |
Monday
Mar 22 |
St. Paul, MN: A chemical spill at a metal plating factory resulted in a vapor cloud that quickly dissipated. Area evacuations were ordered. More information |
Sunday
Mar 21 |
Boston, MA: A fully-loaded 10,700-gallon gasoline tanker overturned on a major expressway, bursting into flames. About 3,000 gallons of unburned fuel was recovered from storm drains. More information |
Sunday
Mar 21 |
Alburquerque, N.M.: Seven freight cars of a train that was loading at an area factory somehow disconnected and rolled down the tracks to crash through the wall of another business. More information |
Sunday
Mar 21 |
Akron, OH: Trailers used as administrative offices at a steel plant caught fire, producing heavy smoke but no injuries. More information |
Saturday
Mar 20 |
Las Vegas, NV: A fire at a recycling plant was spread by high winds until several nearby buildings were threatened. More information |
Saturday
Mar 20 |
Cleveland, OH: A fire at a steel plant sent smoke through the downtown area. The fire was confined to administrative trailers. More information |
Friday
Mar 19 |
Manila, Philippines: A tanker carrying nearly 110,000 gallons of oil crashed into the breakwater in Manila Bay and sank, spilling much of its cargo. More information |
Friday
Mar 19 |
Bedford, VA: A meat distribution plant was forced to shut down when a leak in the refrigeration system began releasing anhydrous ammonia. Response teams were unable to immediately stop the leak. More information |
Friday
Mar 19 |
Janesville, WI: The threat of explosion from an overturned LPG tanker forced businesses along the towns busiest commercial street to close for nearly seven hours. More information |
Friday
Mar 19 |
Dunnet Head, Scotland: Fire broke out aboard a tanker carrying 1,700 tons of vinyl acetate, leaving the vessel adrift in rough seas. Residents along the shoreline were evacuated in case the tanker ran ashore. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
Denver, CO: A 2,000 gallon chemical spill at a local plant that involved hydrochloric acid forced a brief evacuation of area homes and businesses. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
North Haven, CT: Firefighters worked nearly six hours to bring a fire at a scrap metal plant under control. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
Doraville, GA: Thirteen workers at an auto plant were arrested for allegedly selling drugs to an undercover police officer posing as a co-worker. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
Kampala, Uganda: Fire destroyed a milk cooling plant owned by a local cooperative. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
Salem Township, PA: A worker injured at a machine company was transferred by helicopter to a hospital in Pittsburgh. More information |
Thursday
Mar 18 |
Waynesburo, PA: Firefighters checked homes for signs of fire after an explosion at a foundry rained small pieces of debris across a wide area. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 17 |
Ico Rivera, CA:A 24-year-old worker collapsed and died while sandblasting parts at an airplane plant. The worker was wearing protective clothing and a breathing apparatus. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 17 |
Comkenova, W.V.: Families living near the Ohio River were forced to shelter-in-place when a fire involving chemicals destroyed a major baker and storage facility. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 16 |
Aiken, GA: A worker using a blow torch was badly burned when the chemical inside a 55-gallon drum ignited. Co-workers smothered the injured mans burning clothes. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 16 |
Houston, TX:Three people died when a small tanker truck jumped a freeway divider, collided with oncoming traffic and exploded. Three others were injured. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 16 |
Cherryvale, OK: A fiberglass manufacturing plant was heavily damaged by fire. The blaze had already broken through the roof before the first firefighters arrived. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 16 |
Swansea, U.K.: A chemical spill at a food processing plant sent 50 workers to the hospital for treatment. The spill was sodium hydroxide, used as a cleaning solution. More information |
Monday
Mar 15 |
Bourbonnais, IL: Industrial firefighters played a big role in rescue efforts after an Amtrak train collided with a semi-trailer near a steel plant. The wreck killed 11 passengers and injured 117 others. (For details, check the -April 1999 edition of IFW.) More information |
Monday
Mar 15 |
Union, N.Y.: Fourteen people were sent to area hospitals after chemical fumes entered a computer chip manufacturing plant. More information |
Monday
Mar 15 |
Lancaster, N.C.: A fabrication plant sent 500 workers home early when a fire produced heavy smoke inside the plants warehouse. More information |
Sunday
Mar 14 |
Fullerton, CA:A tanker loaded with 8,000 gallons of fuel overturned and burst into flames on a freeway, killing one motorist. The tanker driver was seriously burned. More information |
Sunday
Mar 14 |
South Shields, U.K.: A shipyard crane operator leapt to safety moments before the eight-ton machine toppled 50 feet to the bottom of a dry dock. More information |
Sunday
Mar 14 |
Chagrin Falls, OH: A heavy fire in an electrical room caused damage to a local paper mill. More information |
Saturday
Mar 13 |
Marengo, IL: Nearly 25 percent of a meat packing plant was destroyed by fire. Eleven fire departments responded to the blaze. More information |
Thursday
Mar 11 |
Totowa, N.J.: A pharmaceutical plant was evacuated when a highly volatile liquid known as diethylamine was spilled in a laboratory. The spill was handled by responders without incident. More information |
Thursday
Mar 11 |
Dewitt, IO: A fire at a plant that uses recycled textiles to make pads was expected to shut down production for at least three weeks. Losses included inventory at the plant. More information |
Thursday
Mar 11 |
Middleton, OH: A fire in a front end loader spread to the roof of a paper plant causing major damage. Workers tried to fight the blaze with extinguishers for 15 minutes before calling firefighters. More information |
Thursday
Mar 11 |
Philadelphia, PA: A three-alarm fire broke out in a compressor room at a meat processing plant. Firefighters brought the fire under control within 20 minutes. More information |
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