Date: August 27, 2019
Location: Columbia Falls, Montana (USA)
Address: 105 Mills Drive, 59912
Type: Dust Explosion
Fuel: Wood Dust
Industry: Fiberboard Production (Wood and Wood Products)
Equipment: Unknown
Company: Weyerhaeuser
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: Four Injured
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest sustainable forest products companies in the world. The company was founded in 1900 and is currently headquartered in Aberdeen, Washington, with locations across the United States.
Incident Description:
On August 29, 2019, Powder & Bulk Solids reported an August 27 fire at a fiberboard production facility in Columbia Falls, Montana.
The incident occurred at about 8:00 p.m. According to the Flathead Beacon, nearby residents reported hearing an explosion, but a Montana Region Resource Manager confirmed that the noise was actually caused by vents automatically opening to prevent an explosion.
Four workers were transported to an area hospital for smoke inhalation. They were later released. All workers present at the facility when the fire broke out were accounted for.
No information on the cause of the fire was available.
Previous Incidents:
The fiberboard plant had experienced three other incidents in the last six years. In June 2014, the Flathead Beacon reported an explosion that closed down operations for nearly a month. There were also two fires: one in August 2015, which broke out in the area where the fiber is held before it is fed into the processing line and another in May 2016, which started in the dust collector system.
Sources:
Powder & Bulk Solids
Flathead Beacon (August 29, 2019)
Flathead Beacon (May 7, 2016)
Flathead Beacon (August 20, 2015)
Flathead Beacon (July 9, 2014)
