None Hurt In Explosion At Shakopee Glass Manufacturer
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a building to explode in Shakopee.
It happened just after 9 a.m. Friday at Anchor Glass, located near Highway 101.
There were 170 workers on site, but none of them were in the outbuilding where the explosion happened.
A spokesman for Anchor Glass said the company makes glass beverage and food containers.
CenterPoint Energy has confirmed that natural gas was a factor.
"What we do know is natural gas was involved in this incident," said Rebecca Virden, a CenterPoint spokesperson. "As to the exact cause that happened, the investigation will show that."
The outbuilding is located a quarter mile from Valley Fair.
A road crew working nearby was one of the first to call 911.
"We heard the explosion and through my head I started thinking, how many are injured? Where is everyone at? Are they trapped? So that's why we started the second alarm right away," said Ryan Yttreness, the assistant chief with the Shakopee Fire Department.
Five departments responded.
When they learned that everyone was accounted for, they worked to minimize the damage.
The building that exploded contained a diesel tank that runs a fire suppression system. Thankfully, it didn't catch fire.
"Anchor Glass has kettles of hot glass so we had to make sure those weren't leaking," Yttreness said. "They have two main gas lines that run in so try and make sure that was taken care of."
By late Friday morning, the state fire marshal had arrived.
Still, it will take time, possibly weeks, before investigators determine what happened.