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No Fatalities
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Wednesday
Mar 10 |
Miami Township, OH: A half-gallon container of nitric acid exploded with force sufficient to blow the doors off a safety cabinet at a paper mill. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 09 |
New Bedford, MA: At least one worker was injured when equipment exploded at a company that makes dye. More information |
Sunday
Mar 07 |
Philadelphia, PA: Firefighters dealt with icy conditions in battling a five-alarm fire in a vacant four-story factory. It took nearly two hours to bring the fire under control. Five teenagers were later charged with reckless endangerment in connection with the fire. More information |
Sunday
Mar 07 |
Plainwell, MI: An explosion caused by a ruptured natural gas line ignited a fire that could be seen 20 miles away. More information |
Sunday
Mar 07 |
Lockland, OH: A warehouse at a vacant 80-year-old paper factory was gutted by fire. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
Penrose, CO: A controlled burn to clear weeds got out of hand, resulting in an explosion that destroyed a model rocket plant. About 1,000 nearby residents were evacuated out of concern for toxic fumes. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
Hutchinson, KS: A fire at a plant that makes wheat-straw particle board destroyed two warehouses. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
San Onofre, CA: An emergency alert was called at a nuclear power plant when a worker found an object that looked like a pipe bomb. It was later determined that the pipe was left behind after recent maintenance work. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
Smithfield, R.I.: Firefighters were concerned about runoff from a two-alarm fire at a plant that reconditions industrial barrels and drums. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
LaRouche, IN: Firefighters were called in after workers failed to bring a fire at a three-story fertilizer plant under control. More information |
Friday
Mar 05 |
New Haven, CT: An explosion triggered a fire in the ductwork in the roof of a factory. No injuries were reported. More information |
Thursday
Mar 04 |
Anacortes, WA: Five contract workers were injured in an explosion in a polymerization unit at an oil refinery. Six workers died in an explosion at the same plant last November. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 03 |
Dinwiddie, VA: Sixteen people at a steel plant construction site were injured when a tornado struck without warning. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 03 |
Phoenix, AZ: A three-alarm fire broke out in a paper recycling plant, causing a major traffic jam at rush hour. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 03 |
Azusa, CA: An overturned tanker leaking liquid oxygen closed an interstate highway for nearly eight hours. More information |
Wednesday
Mar 03 |
Potosi, MO: Fire damaged the packaging area of an egg processing plant. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 02 |
Circleville, OH: Three workers at a lamp plant were treated after becoming ill. Unidentified fumes were suspected but could not be confirmed. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 02 |
River Edge, N.J.: Firefighters dangled upside down from ropes to rescue a construction worker trapped in mud when a trench collapsed. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 02 |
Pendleton, Ontario: Swift winds made fire fighting difficult in a blaze that destroyed a manufacturing plant. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 02 |
Baton Rouge, LA: A power outage triggered a hydrogen chloride leak at a manufacturing plant. A community alert system automatically telephoned 500 residences to tell people to shelter in place. More information |
Tuesday
Mar 02 |
Hartford, CT: Firefighters used dry chemical extinguishers to battle a combustible metal fire at a local plant. More information |
Sunday
Feb 28 |
St. Clair, IL: A major fire broke out in a local factory and warehouse. More information |
Friday
Feb 26 |
Daggett, CA: A 900,000-gallon storage tank containing hydraulic fluid located at a solar power plant exploded. No injuries were reported. More information |
Friday
Feb 26 |
West Whiteland, PA: An explosion involving chemicals injured two workers at a local plant. More information |
Friday
Feb 26 |
Southfield, MI: A utility worker suffered burns when a power surge unexpectedly charged an underground cable. The accident resulted in a small power blackout. More information |
Friday
Feb 26 |
Arlington, TX: Firefighters rescued a construction worker buried under hundreds of pounds of dirt and clay at the bottom of a 30-foot hole. The worker was outside a trench safety box when loose shale knocked him down. More information |
Friday
Feb 26 |
North Bonneville, WA: A natural gas pipeline exploded, causing a spectacular fire ball but no extensive damage on the ground. More information |
Thursday
Feb 25 |
Grand Rapids, MI: A 30-foot fall at a chair plant left one worker paralyzed from a severe neck injury. A hook from an overhead conveyor belt snagged a hydraulic work platform, pulling it over. More information |
Thursday
Feb 25 |
Houston, TX: A three-alarm fire triggered dozens of small explosions at a chemical plant. One person was injured. More information |
Wednesday
Feb 24 |
Lemont, IN: A worker was listed in critical condition after being sprayed with hot oil during a fire in the crude oil unit of a local refinery. The worker had to be evacuated by helicopter. More information |
Wednesday
Feb 24 |
Broward County, FL: A three-alarm fire spread through a transformer at a 850-megawatt municipal power plant. No power outages were reported. More information |
Wednesday
Feb 24 |
Manitowoc, WI: A sulfuric acid spill shut down an auto parts plant for nearly four hours and sent several employees to the hospital with breathing problems. More information |
Tuesday
Feb 23 |
Franklin, OH: One worker was seriously injured in an explosion at a paper company that was followed by a chemical release into the air. About nine hours later an unrelated fire broke out on the roof of the plant. More information |
Tuesday
Feb 23 |
Crestwood, IL: Two workers were injured when a cylinder of pressurized air exploded at a machine shop in an industrial park. More information |
Tuesday
Feb 23 |
Wapda, Pakistan: A fire broke out in a transformer at a power plant, injuring three workers. More information |
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