FEBRUARY 26, 2015
EDGEMOOR, NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE
The fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. Thursday inside a
5-story asphalt tank at Iko Manufacturing Inc. at 120 Hay Road in Edgemoor,
county dispatchers tell NBC10. The plant
manufactures asphalt roofing shingles.
The
facility has two No. 2 fuel oil storage tanks, a 1,000-gallon tank that
supplies fuel oil to an emergency generator and a 4,000-gallon tank that
supplies fuel oil to the coating heater.
The plant also has several asphalt storage tanks, a truck scale, a stone
crusher, hot oil heating building, boiler, generator and associated infrastructure.
Flames could be seen coming from the top of the large silver
cylindrical tank.
The plant has been evacuated as a precaution, officials
said. No injuries have been reported.
It's unclear what may have sparked the fire. Asphalt storage tanks can be ignited in number of ways. See here one of our blogs dealing with the issue.
THE DANGERS OF ASPHALT PLANTS: ANOTHER ASPHALT PLANT ON FIRE
IN MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS, NOVEMBER 14 2014. AT LEAST 2 WORKERS INJURED IN
ASPHALT AND CONCRETE PLANT EXPLOSION AND FIRE
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-dangers-of-asphalt-plants-another.html
Here is another blog dealing with the explosive danger of asphalt fumes
THE
EXPLOSIVE DANGER OF THE ASPHALT FUMES – A REMINDER AFTER THE ASPHALT TANK
EXPLOSION AT LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN
Source:www.nbcphiladelphia.com