by Jeff Tang
GALLATIN, Tenn. - An apparent dust explosion inside a Sumner County Steel Plant left two men critically burned on Monday morning.
Emergency vehicles swarmed the Hoeganaes Plant just after 5 a.m. on Monday after reports of a fire. But crews didn't have to do much.
"Basically it was a flash fire, it flashed and went out. We just made sure it didn't happen again," said Billy Crook, Gallatin Fire Chief.
Unfortunately the fire, though brief, badly burned two workers before extinguishing itself. EMS rushed both to Vanderbilt Hospital where they remain in critical condition, with burns over much of their bodies.
The Hoeganaes Plant in Gallatin makes a special kind of powdered steel used for gears in cars, off road vehicles, and power tools. But the manufacturing process for that steel is a complex- and potentially hazardous one.
Workers at Hoeganaes have to man an arc furnace that is used to manufacture powdered metal. Temperatures in the furnace can reach 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. It turns out this is not the first time a flash fire has occurred inside the Gallatin plant.
"Basically the same thing happened four years ago, but no one was hurt in that one," said Crook.
In 1996, two workers were changing doors on a furnace when it exploded. Both men sustained broken bones and cuts.
Officials suspect a metallic dust explosion caused the most recent fire, but said the tragic accident is not a result of negligence, but simply the by product of a dangerous job.
"It's the nature of the business," said Crook.
Investigators with the Gallatin Fire Department are still looking into what exactly caused the fire.
Hoeganaes has not released a comment on the incident.
Email: jtang@newschannel5.com
