ANDERSON, Indiana (AP) — A magnesium recycling plant’s sprinkler system helped turn a small fire in a scrap bin into a toxic inferno that forced thousands of people from their homes, fire investigators said.
After magnesium in a scrap bin caught fire Friday evening, plant workers immediately tried to put it out with dry material, Anderson Deputy Fire Chief Mike McKinley said.
“Before they could put it out, the sprinkler went off,” he said Saturday.
Who’s the genious who put H20 Sprinklers in a place called Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp!
Also featured on CompletelyRetarded.com
Officials are trying to determine why the Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. plant had a working sprinkler system in the same area where the metal is stored. Water causes burning magnesium to flare up and explode.
After magnesium in a scrap bin caught fire Friday evening, plant workers immediately tried to put it out with dry material, Anderson Deputy Fire Chief Mike McKinley said.
“Before they could put it out, the sprinkler went off,” he said Saturday.
The water helped fuel the burning magnesium, which by Friday evening forced the evacuation of about 5,000 nearby residents because of hazardous fumes. Those residents were allowed to return home Saturday after the fire subsided.
Officials said the plant’s sprinkler system was installed when the building was the General Motors Delphi Engine and Energy Facility.
Connie Smith, a spokeswoman for Anderson Mayor Kevin Smith, said fire officials told plant officials 18 months ago to cap the sprinklers. Capping the sprinkler would have been easier than removing it, which would have required a zoning variance, she said.
No one answered the company’s phone Sunday.
Detective Terry Sollars of the Anderson Police Department said fire investigators continued their work Sunday to assess the sprinkler system’s role in the fire. They were also trying to determine how the fire began.
He said the fire continued to smolder Sunday but was essentially out.
Officials were uncertain how much of the 300,000 pounds of magnesium stored in the plant for recycling burned in the fire.
McKinley said that before officials do anything else, they will remove 800,000 pounds of already recycled magnesium slabs from the burned building.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was at the site to try to determine the fire’s cause and origin, agent Mike Vergon said.
Anderson is about 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
How do you nominate for the Darwin Awards?
Have the firefighters or police officers found out the cause of this fire yet?
It was determined to be arson at the end of January. No arrests have been made as of today. There was water adding to the fire but it likely came from broken pipes as no sprinklers were in service in this part of the plant. Why it took almost a day to turn off all the incoming water supplies remains to be answered.