Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302445481 - Amick Broilers, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Sc Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation

Investigation Summary

Employees #1 through #10, and a coworker, were removing burning corn feed from a 46 ft wide by 116 ft tall concrete silo in which a fire had been discovered four days earlier. The 287,000 bushel capacity silo contained 13,000 bushels of corn feed at the time. The local fire department aborted its attempt to combat the blaze after noticing cracks in the silo's structure. The workers were using a portable auger, shovels, and a small front end loader to remove the corn through a 3 ft square opening at the base of the silo. They had removed approximately 3,000 bushels of burned corn in approximately four hours when there was an explosion inside the silo that blew the top off the structure. Several workers who were standing in front and to the side of the silo opening sustained injuries when they were thrown backward. Employees #1 through #4 were hospitalized with third-degree burns over between 9 and 42 percent of their bodies. Employees #5 through #10 sustained first-, second-, and third-degree burns; Employees #5 through #8 were hospitalized while Employees #9 and #10 were treated and released. The silo had four 1 ft by 2 ft vents--three of them on the top--that were closed during the fire. The cause of the fire was not determined.

Keywords: BURN, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, FIRE, CORN, EXPLOSION, COMBUSTIBLE DUST, SILO