ALICEVILLE, Ala. — A baghouse dust collector exploded on March 5 during repair operations at the Buchanan Lumber Company in Aliceville. The explosion, which injured one person, happened a few months after the same dust collector caught fire and was shut down for repairs.
The Aliceville Fire Department said the lumber company had a crew finishing those repairs to the dust collector that connects two silos at the company's operations.
According to the fire department’s Facebook page, the original fire occurred on Dec. 14, 2021. The cause of that fire was not reported. On March 5, maintenance crews finished repairs on the equipment and were cleaning up tools when they turned the equipment on for a test run and the dust collector exploded.
According to the fire department, firefighters arrived on the scene to find the equipment engulfed in flames. Fire fighting crews from two nearby communities helped to put out the fire.
The injured worker was treated at the scene and transported to the Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, Mississippi. His condition was not reported.
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