Huron County View

Cigarette suspected ignitor of factory fire




PIGEON – The Winsor Township Fire Department responds to a fire at Blue Diamond Steel Casting on Thursday, Oct. 18. By Ben Muir

PIGEON – The Winsor Township Fire Department responds to a fire at Blue Diamond Steel Casting on Thursday, Oct. 18. By Ben Muir

PIGEON – Multiple fire trucks recently responded to a smoldering blaze at a steel factory in Pigeon.

At around 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, a dust collector behind Blue Diamond Steel Casting in Pigeon caught on fire, said Daryl Mendrick, the factory’s director of environmental, health and safety.

Mendrick later said he suspects a cigarette was discarded near a bag that traps dust for the collectors.

“We can’t find anything else that would have caused the fire,” said Mendrick, adding that this isn’t the first time a fire has started like this at the plant.

Mendrick said there weren’t many flames, but the hot spots had moved from the bag at the bottom, upward to the dust collector. The plant decided to call the Winsor Township Fire Department.

Once it’s up inside it just smolders — burns really slow,” he said. “It burns hot, over time, if you just let it go, it will do damage to the dust collector itself.”

The fire department responded with about three trucks, including extra water from the Owendale Fire Department; the final truck left after nearly two hours, Mendrick said.

There fire caused no damage to any machinery, Mendrick said.

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