A man is in hospital after being very seriously injured when a drum containing mini-portable butane torches exploded while being unloaded at the Snap-On-Tools plant in the Foothills Industrial area, located at 7503 – 48th Street SE. The Calgary Fire Deparment received the call at 3:20 p.m.
A 45 gallon drum was being moved by a pallet-jack within the warehouse. The container was jarred when the pallet-jack struck an obstruction. Fire investigators have determined the sudden movement caused a frictional spark inside the metal container, which ignited the flammable gases inside the drum.
Firefighters say the resulting explosion was a ”fireball” and the operator was seriously injured. EMS also assessed and treated two other individuals on scene.
Fire crews evacuated an additional 25 employees from the large warehouse. The firefighters and Hazardous Materials specialists deemed the situation “unstable” due to the presence of additional drums adjacent to the explosion site.
The Incident Commander requested the CPS bomb squad attend the scene to lend expertise on preventing subsequent explosions of the remaining drums.
Streets in the area were closed following the event, but were re-opened a short time later. Approximately 20 firefighters and fire personnel attended the incident. Fire crews, investigators, OH&S, and the Bomb Squad remained on the scene to completely stabilize the remaining containers of product.
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