Date: January 13, 2020
Location: Port Arthur, Texas (USA)
Address: 498-A West Lakeshore Drive, 77640
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Wood Dust
Industry: Wood Pellet Production (Wood and Wood Products)
Equipment: Silo
Company: German Pellets
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company’s website, German Pellets is a wood pellet production company headquartered in Wismar, Germany, with locations in Austria and the U.S. It was founded in 2005. The Port Arthur location has a storage capacity of 75,000 tons of wood pellets and a loading device for loading and unloading of vessels up to Panamax size (about 60,000 tons).
Incident Description:
On January 15, 2020, Beaumont Enterprise reported a smoldering fire at a wood pellet facility in Port Arthur, Texas.
Officials located hot spots in a silo containing 10,000 tons of wood pellets on January 11. The next day, they ignited due to a temperature spike. City firefighters arrived on January 13 to put out the frames and cool the structure.
No injuries were reported.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced that it would vote on whether or not to assess a $12,000 penalty against the company.
Previous Incidents:
On February 27, 2017, Beaumont Enterprise reported that a conveyor belt loading a ship with several tons of wood pellets caught fire, igniting the wood and sending a huge cloud of black smoke into the air.
In April 2017, a fire started at one of the port’s silos leased by German Pellets. The Port Arthur Fire Department spent a total of 102 days at the site, carrying out regular air monitoring and spraying water to control hot spots. The silo collapsed in early June, and a second silo started heating up two weeks later. It was kept under control and didn’t evolve into a full fire.
OSHA Inspections:
An establishment search turned up four OSHA inspections for German Pellets in Port Arthur, Texas, two of which were flagged for combustible dust.
Sources:
Beaumont Enterprise (January 15, 2020)
Beaumont Enterprise (February 28, 2017)
