FEBRUARY 23, 2014
WEST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
The fire broke out Monday morning at the Meltec Foundry, 3444 113th Avenue Southwest, on Harbor Island, when a furnace blew up and burned a hole through the roof.
"This is a large-scale furnace. It's described to me as big as a small office," said Seattle fire spokesman Kyle Moore.
Witnesses said during the rush to put the fire out, a firefighter didn't notice boiling hot water and molten metal that had spewed onto the foundry floor.
"He jumped in there, and one of our guys tried to tell him not to, and he burned the bottom of his feet," said employee and witness Ivan Wicker.
The firefighter was pulled out with second-degree burns on his feet and taken to Harborview Medical Center. A mayday call was put out and more crews arrived at the building to find a worker who had also been injured.
"We found him in one of the break rooms. He suffered splatter injuries from the boiling water and metal landing on him," said Moore.
The employee, a man in his 30s, was also transported to Harborview with second-degree burns. Both men are expected to be OK.
All other workers were safely evacuated.
The fire has since been knocked down. Firefighters brought in a ventilation unit to draw out the smoke.
Wicker said in four years, the fire was the biggest he'd seen at the foundry.
"We've had one before, but this is probably the worst one we've ever seen," said Wicker.
Seattle fire is investigating what caused the blaze.