Fire Forces Plant Evacuation

Danville Register & Bee
Published: February 2, 2008

A paper jam in a piece of equipment is being blamed for an explosion Friday at the Shorewood Packaging plant off U.S. 58.
Employees working inside the Shorewood Packaging plant Friday afternoon said they heard a loud boom outside and just started running.
“We didn’t wait to see what it was,” MurRay Jefferies, a Shorewood employee who works near the equipment, said.
“We just ran.”
Danville fire crews responded to reports of a fire at the Shorewood plant in Airside Industrial Park around noon. More than 20 firefighters and several ambulance crews responded to the blaze.
Plant officials said no one was injured in the explosion or resulting fire and evacuation.
“The alarms went off in the building and the house that contains the shredded paper off of our process apparently ignited in flames,” General Manager Mike Fenton said. “The systems shut down and everybody evacuated.
“Other than some smoke that’s pouring into the plant, there’s no involvement in the plant.”
No one was outside or near the bailer when the explosion occurred, according to employees who said they were inside the building at the time.
“We just heard the boom, you know,” Jefferies said of the dozen employees working near the back of the plant.
Danville Fire Chief David Eagle said a piece of equipment that disposes of paper and cardboard byproducts was partly to blame.
The equipment, which grinds waste into a powder and sends it to a dust collection bin, apparently malfunctioned causing it to heat up, jam and send a spark through the ductwork, he said.
That, in turn, caused a “paper dust explosion” inside the bin, Eagle said.
There were no fireballs, no shrapnel, and the fire was contained inside a large metal dust collection bin located outside the plant, the fire marshal added.
The safety measures worked just like they were supposed to, he said.
Eagle said firefighters had to cut a hole in the bin to put water and foam on the tightly packed dust.
That then had to be turned to ensure that all the fire was extinguished, Fenton said.
The plant’s general manager said he was unsure how the plant’s operation would be affected.
“We work 7 to 7,” Fenton said. “Our shifts go round the clock, so we may be down for awhile.
“I don’t know how long it’ll be,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”