UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

A fire started in the dust collector which is connected to the wheelabrator (Goff airless shot blast equipment for polishing aluminum). The manufacturer of the machine believes gas from the fire built up in the wheelabrator and caused the third and biggest explosion; two smaller explosions took place in the dust collector. Employee #1, a maintenance worker on the third shift, was found about 7 ft from where he was standing before the explosion. A witness saw his head hit the furnace. Employee #2 was thrown to the floor about 5 ft from where he was standing, sustaining a cut on his upper left arm. The fire marshall officer listed the cause of the fire as static electricity. Neither the dust collector nor the wheelabrator had been used for over a week due to repairs. A stone grinder, which is attached to the dust collector by a duct, was run twice for 8/10 of an hour. A spark from the stone grinder, or heat build-up from newly collected dust, may have started the fire. There was no evidence of fire in any of the ducts.