Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
ENLARGE
|
ENLARGE
|
Firefighters finish cleaning up after a fire and explosion at the Roseburg Forest Products Dillard plant Friday. Two firefighters were injured in the blast.
|
Firefighters from two Douglas County stations were injured Friday night after a blaze inside Roseburg Forest Product's powerhouse caused an explosion which erupted into a 75-foot tall fireball.
Stations were alerted at 6:17 p.m. to a fire inside the building the Dillard facility uses to generate electricity. The multilevel structure at 10599 S. Highway 99 was filled with chipped wood used for fuel, Winston-Dillard Fire Captain Rand Dickson said.
Upon arrival at 6:25 p.m., firefighters were told the sprinkler system, called a deluge, was not working to douse the flames. The large amount of sawdust in the air ignited with explosive force, Dickson said, causing the fire ball at 6:55 p.m.
“The nature of this facility creates a lot of sawdust that ends up settling on everything,” Dickson said. “In these situations there is always a hazard of a dust explosion which is what happened. Without the (deluge) in operation we were forced to go into a more dangerous situation than we normally expose ourselves to.”
At least two firefighters were inside the building during the explosion while four others were just outside or on the metal stairwells on the outside of the powerhouse. The building had been evacuated except for two RFP employees on the top of the structure who were unharmed, Dickson said.
Winston-Dillard Firefighter Rusty Young and an unidentified employee of Douglas County Fire District No. 2 received burns in the fire.
Young was able to finish fighting the fire and was treated and released from Mercy Medical Center Friday night for burns to his face and wrist, his captain said. The second firefighter was transferred to the burn center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with first and second degree burns to his face, Fire District No. 2 Division Chief Greg Marlar said.
The man, who wished not to be identified, was talking and in good spirits Saturday, Marlar said.
“Any time (you have burns) on the face it could impact your airway, respiratory system, eyes and stuff like that, you take a little more precaution and go to the specialty unit,” Marlar added.
Several walls were blown out of at least one story of the powerhouse, Dickson said. Burning sawdust landed on adjacent buildings and had to be extinguished but didn't amount to serious damage, he added.
Crews from the Roseburg Fire Department, Douglas County Fire District No. 2, Myrtle Creek, Lookingglass and the Winston-Dillard Fire District all responded. The blaze was contained and firefighters began leaving the scene at about 9:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“It was (dangerous). It always is when we are down there. There is always a hazard of dust exploding but it doesn't happen too often,” Dickson said. “You don't expect it but you know it is a possibility.”
• You can reach reporter Heather Morse at 541-957-4208 or by e-mail at hmorse@nrtoday.com.
Stations were alerted at 6:17 p.m. to a fire inside the building the Dillard facility uses to generate electricity. The multilevel structure at 10599 S. Highway 99 was filled with chipped wood used for fuel, Winston-Dillard Fire Captain Rand Dickson said.
Upon arrival at 6:25 p.m., firefighters were told the sprinkler system, called a deluge, was not working to douse the flames. The large amount of sawdust in the air ignited with explosive force, Dickson said, causing the fire ball at 6:55 p.m.
“The nature of this facility creates a lot of sawdust that ends up settling on everything,” Dickson said. “In these situations there is always a hazard of a dust explosion which is what happened. Without the (deluge) in operation we were forced to go into a more dangerous situation than we normally expose ourselves to.”
At least two firefighters were inside the building during the explosion while four others were just outside or on the metal stairwells on the outside of the powerhouse. The building had been evacuated except for two RFP employees on the top of the structure who were unharmed, Dickson said.
Winston-Dillard Firefighter Rusty Young and an unidentified employee of Douglas County Fire District No. 2 received burns in the fire.
Young was able to finish fighting the fire and was treated and released from Mercy Medical Center Friday night for burns to his face and wrist, his captain said. The second firefighter was transferred to the burn center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with first and second degree burns to his face, Fire District No. 2 Division Chief Greg Marlar said.
The man, who wished not to be identified, was talking and in good spirits Saturday, Marlar said.
“Any time (you have burns) on the face it could impact your airway, respiratory system, eyes and stuff like that, you take a little more precaution and go to the specialty unit,” Marlar added.
Several walls were blown out of at least one story of the powerhouse, Dickson said. Burning sawdust landed on adjacent buildings and had to be extinguished but didn't amount to serious damage, he added.
Crews from the Roseburg Fire Department, Douglas County Fire District No. 2, Myrtle Creek, Lookingglass and the Winston-Dillard Fire District all responded. The blaze was contained and firefighters began leaving the scene at about 9:30 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“It was (dangerous). It always is when we are down there. There is always a hazard of dust exploding but it doesn't happen too often,” Dickson said. “You don't expect it but you know it is a possibility.”
• You can reach reporter Heather Morse at 541-957-4208 or by e-mail at hmorse@nrtoday.com.
