Brent Industries Explosions Kill 2 in Toledo, Injuring Several as Fire Burns On
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 18
Brent Industries Explosions Kill 2 in Toledo, Injuring Several as Fire Burns On
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 18
Summary
Two workers—a man and a woman—were found dead inside Brent Industries after twin explosions ripped through the Toledo recycling plant shortly before 5 a.m. during a shift change.
Several other workers suffered minor injuries, and firefighters spent hours searching the heavily damaged building while facing hazardous materials, runoff and the risk of more explosions.
Aerial images showed most of the roof destroyed and walls blown out, while the fire kept burning into Tuesday afternoon and residents near the smoke were told to stay indoors and keep windows closed.
Environmental officials said air monitoring found no hazardous threat, but authorities still had no preliminary cause for the blasts and said tanks of mineral spirits at the site may or may not have played a role.
Brent Industries, an Alabama-based textile reconditioning and recycling company, has a history of safety problems; a 2015 explosion at its Alabama plant killed 1 worker and led OSHA to fine it $27,000.
With two workers still missing, did improper storage of highly flammable mineral spirits turn a routine shift change into a deadly industrial disaster?
How did a textile recycling facility become a 100-foot chemical inferno, and what critical safety warnings were missed before the devastating blast?