Date: November 19, 2018
Location: Rockland, Maine (USA)
Address: 50 Gordon Drive, 04841
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Metal Dust
Industry: Snowplow Manufacturing
Equipment: Dust Collector
Company: Fisher Engineering
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Fisher Engineering manufactures snowplows and other professional snow removal equipment. It was established in 1948 in Rockland, Maine, and is a subsidiary of Douglas Dynamics, which also owns Western Products and Blizzard.
Incident Description:
On November 20, 2018, Powder & Bulk Solids reported a dust collector fire at a snowplow production plant in Rockland, Maine.
VillageSoup • Knox reported that internal sprinklers within the dust collector system kept the fire in check until fire crews from Thomaston, Rockland, and Camden arrived shortly after 9:00 a.m. to extinguish it.
The dust collection equipment at this location was a ‘shot blaster’ type, extends from the floor to the ceiling, and is about 6 feet by 8 feet wide. The firefighters had to enter it to put out the remaining flames and ensure that nothing continued to smoulder.
According to the Penobscot Bay Pilot, 24 filters had to be removed and doused individually. The cause of the incident was determined to be overheating in the dust collector system.
Workers were evacuated because there was light smoke in the building. No injuries were reported and property damage is still being assessed.
Previous Incidents:
On November 1, 2017, VillageSoup • Knox reported a fire in the insulation of the paint room at Fisher Engineering. Firefighters contained the flames to the insulation and put it out. Because of the electrical hazards in an industrial setting, water was applied carefully, with only 100 gallons used. There were no injuries.
A second incident occurred on January 19, 2018. WABI TV reported that a spark from a grinding wheel started a fire in some air handling equipment. The building was immediately evacuated due to heavy smoke. By the time fire crews arrived, smoke and flames were still issuing from the air handler, but they put the fire out before it could affect any other areas of the plant.
On January 29, 2018, WGME reported a three-alarm fire that started in the north end of the plant and made its way to the roof. Employees were evacuated for hours because Central Maine Power needed to restore power to the building after so much water was used to extinguish the fire. There were no injuries
Sources:
Powder & Bulk Solids
VillageSoup • Knox (November 2018)
Penobscot Bay Pilot
WGME
WABI TV
VillageSoup • Knox (November 2017)
