http://www.pjstar.com/stories/030508/RE ... U8.033.php
Wells Pet Food Factory evacuated after explosion
Grain dust explosion in storage tank causes about $60,000 damage
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
BY JODI POSPESCHIL
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
MONMOUTH - The Wells Pet Food factory in Monmouth was evacuated Tuesday after a grain dust explosion in a large storage tank.
The Monmouth Fire Department was called to the factory on South D Street at 4:16 p.m. Tuesday. Assistant Chief Pat Spears said smoke was filling a storage tower and the lower level of the adjoining factory.
Spears said one person was injured in the explosion and was taken to a local hospital. The person was later airlifted to another hospital, although he wasn't sure which one.
Because of concerns the 200- to 250-foot tower could collapse, the technical rescue team made up of firefighters from Macomb, Canton, and Galesburg was put on stand-by.
Spears said the tower had to be unloaded to check for fire, and there was concern of a secondary explosion. There were also "two major cracks" on the top one-third of the concrete storage tank, which added to the collapse concerns.
The plant was evacuated for a time, but Spears said he believed employees were allowed in to work in a separate part of the building Tuesday night.
The portion of the factory affected by the explosion was on the other side of the compound from that destroyed by a massive 2006 fire that caused an estimated $10 million in damages. That building has since been rebuilt on the same site.
The concrete tower contained a mix of three materials used in the manufacture of pet food by the company. Spears said Tuesday he wasn't sure exactly what those materials were.
Spears said the "significant" damage to the tower was estimated at about $60,000.
Firefighters were at the factory for about 2 1/2 hours. Kirkwood firefighters staffed Monmouth's fire station in case calls came in during that time.
Jodi Pospeschil can be reached at 686-3041 or
state@pjstar.com.
