Incident date: 2023-04-27
NAICS industry code: 112112

Two employees were participating in a training in the main control room and were tasked with turning on an electric motor that was located in the adjacent steam flake room. The pull switch was engaged and a soft start initialized but failed. An employee pushed the reset button and performed the start sequence again. When the machine spooled up to full speed, a flame shot out of the electric cabinet and an explosion blew the concrete roof off the building. Employee 1 went for the north door and became trapped under an electrical cabinet that fell over. Employee 2 exited through the south door. One employee sustained a fracture. Both employees sustained burns and were hospitalized.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Explosion, n.e.c.
code_source: title: Machinery, unspecified
code_nature: title: Fractures and burns
code_body: title: Nonclassifiable
severity: low