Nosler Ammunition Plant Explosion – No One Hurt
BEND, Ore. –-(Ammoland.com)- Investigators returned to Nosler Inc.’s southwest Bend bullet factory Thursday morning to begin looking for the cause of Wednesday’s large explosion and fire, which all 100 or so workers escaped just moments before. But first, authorities worked to make sure the building was safe to enter, and that no explosive materials inside posed a danger.
The massive explosion sent shock waves through southwest Bend Wednesday afternoon, but a quick evacuation helped save all 100 workers inside. Now, investigators are trying to figure out what happened?
The explosion took place around 2:15 p.m. inside the 22-year-old, 80,000-square-foot Nosler Inc. building on SW Columbia Street near Simpson Avenue.
Through Facebook updates Nosler had this to say, “Thanks to everyone who called, wrote, posted, twittered, googled… Everyone is okay and thanks to good planning nobody was hurt. I’ll keep posting when I get news and keep everyone informed. Thank you for thinking of us, it’s always nice to see how much support we have.”
“First off, I would like to thank everyone again for your concerns and well wishes. It has been overwhelming and is greatly appreciated. I just posted some photos of our warehouse where our inventory of products that is about to be shipped out is located. We will be shipping again very soon, maybe even tomorrow. As soon as I can get to my camera I will post more photos and keep everyone up to date.”
“Clean up at the building is going very well. As you can see from the photo it was pretty well confined to one area. Everyone working with us has been fantastic and we owe a lot of gratitude to the Bend Fire Department, Bend PD, Oregon State Police, and everyone else who has helped make this go so smoothly.”
Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with Oregon State Police and Bend fire investigators, gathered at the blast scene Thursday morning, working to figure out what triggered the explosion.
Bend Fire Inspector Jeff Bond said fire crews arrived to find extensive damage to the southeast corner of the building and brownish-yellow smoke pouring from the damaged area.
A fire special rescue operations team combed the wreckage to be sure all workers were accounted for, while city building officials helped evaluate the damage and hazards for crews performing mop-up and overhaul operations.
Bond also said the quick evacuation by workers was “instrumental in a safe and effective exit from the structure.”
“The company instituted and practiced building evacuations over the years, and this policy paid off today,” Bond said in a news release.
A damage figure still was being compiled for a facility valued at $2.8 million for the structure and $10 million worth of contents, but Bond said it clearly was “pretty extensive.”
Read More at KTVZ