Date: April 26, 2018
Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (USA)
Address: 2938 York Rd, 17325
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Unknown
Industry: Tile Manufacturer
Equipment: Dust Collector
Company: Dal-Tile
Previous Incidents: OSHA
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to their website, Dal-Tile is the number one ceramic tile producer in the United States and the country’s leading manufacturer and distributor of ceramic tile and natural stone. The company was founded in Dallas, Texas in the 1940’s and stress innovative technology and an extensive distribution network as two of the foundations of their success.
Dal-Tile is part of Mohawk Industries, the world’s largest ceramic tile manufacturer with 2017 sales of almost $10 billion. They manufacture in 17 countries, sell in 170 countries and have almost 40,000 employees worldwide.
Description of Dust Collector Fire, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:
A malfunction in a dust collector motor appears to be the cause of a small fire at a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania tile manufacturer following an incident late Thursday night, April 26, 2018. According to the Gettysburg Times, the Gettysburg Fire Chief stated that the dust collector’s motor caught fire and Dal-Tile employees attempted to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived on scene.
Upon their arrival, fire officials ensured that the electricity was turned off before hosing down the dust collector. There were no major concerns with respect to the fire spreading much beyond the dust collector itself as it was not connected to the rest of the building.
Multiple departments responded to the relatively small fire, however, officials state that the fire was “put out very quickly.”
The Gettysburg facility is the only one Dal-Tile has operated in the United States producing mosaic tile after they closed their plant in Olean, New York in December 2012. According to Olean Times Herald, the Olean plant has been producing tiles for a century and had a number of employees who’d worked at the plant for three to four decades, as well as some second-generation employees. A granddaughter of one of the plants’ original founders worked at the Olean’s site.
Sources:
Gettysburg Times
Olean Times Herald
