Workers Escape Explosion At Redford Business
A hole can be seen through the roof of a Redford Township business following an explosion Tuesday.
Fire Chief Jim Gomulka says there was no fire at the DuraTech Systems building, but a large tank being serviced and became over-pressurized before it exploded.
He says workers were warned, and able to get out before the blast.
"As they headed the interior lining of the tank, heat causes pressure within the tank to expand. So, as that pressure expanded, the employees cleaning the tank heard a whistling and recognized that as a sign of an imminent explosion, so they got out of there quickly," Gomulka said.
No injuries were reported, though two employees were sent to a local clinic as a precaution. Damage was reported to the tank and the structure holding it.
"There were no hazardous substances in the vessel, but because of the nature of the explosion and some dust that occurred, we just want to err on the side of caution and have some air monitoring performed to protect the safety of our residents," Gomulka said.
WWJ spoke with Dennis Maer who works at Argus Corporation next door. He says he felt the force of the explosion in his company's basement.
"We heard a loud bang and the roof shook. And, we're on the lower floor of the facility, and we thought racks with some tooling had fallen down. Until about ten seconds later, we saw ten to fifteen employees from the building next door running through the parking lot," Maer said.
Argus Corporation owner Fred Ransford, was at the scene.
"It blew the back of their building right off. And it knocked some ceiling tile down in our building. We have a small garage out there, it blew it off its foundation," he said.
Ransford said the explosion also destroyed two trucks in the parking lot.
Dura Tech provides tank lining services to industries.
