explosion firegeezer on 30 Jul 2008 08:33 am
Deadly Explosion At Wisconsin Paper Mill
A PAPER MILL IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN suffered an explosion inside a storage tank yesterday, killing at least three workers and injuring another one.
The Packaging Corporation of America, owners of the Tomahawk paper mill, issued a brief statement that disclosed that the blast took place in a recycled fiber storage tank around 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. The three victims were standing on the top of the tank performing maintenance work at the time and the injured man was standing on a platform at a lower level. There were about 10 workers in the immediate area when the blast occurred.
Capt. Mike Drury, from the nearby Merrill Fire Department, said his department was called to help free the trapped employees about 1:40 p.m. but the FD was put back in service before it arrived. The plant’s own emergency service handled the incident. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
The plant was able to continue operating through the afternoon despite the incident. Packaging Corp. of America makes containerboard and corrugated packaging products, operating four paper mills and 67 corrugated product plants in 26 states.
