Incident at aluminum facility in Columbiana County was steam flash, not explosion
We're slowly learning more details about an incident at an aluminum extrusion plant in Columbiana County that sent three people to the hospital Thursday night.
The incident happened at Zarbana Aluminum Extrusions on Esterly Drive in Columbiana shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday.
While the incident was initially reported to be an explosion, Columbiana fire officials now tell us the incident was actually a steam flash.
Columbiana Fire Chief Jim Douglas tells us some type of leak during the pouring of aluminum billets caused at least one employee to be covered in molten metal. That person had to be airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, while the other two victims had to be transported to St. Elizabeth downtown.
Nearby pallets and other flammable materials then ignited, but firefighters extinguished the flames fairly quickly. There were no concerns of reignition or rekindling.
A 21 News crew on scene reported smoke rising in one of the warehouses in the area.
No deaths have been reported.
Chief Douglas told 21 News OSHA visited the site on Friday, but information on what they found in their investigation is not known yet.
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.