The fire burned a gaping hole on the upper most wall of the tall metal industrial bulding.
Industrial Fire at American Rail Car Industries, GOODRICH, August 28, 2008 - At approximately 11:45 am on August 28, 2008 a fire broke out at American Rail Car Industries. The company, headquartered in St. Charles, Missouri, suffered damage on a commercial sand blasting machine. The machine actually uses a sand-like substance called metal grit and is used for sand blasting train rail cars to remove their paint. The machine uses a lot of hydraulic fluids. Preliminarily, it is believed that the hydraulic fluid caught fire. The workers first noticed the fire shortly before noon and in a matter of seconds, the fire became huge. The fire was so big that it burned a massive hole in the upper wall of the tall industrial metal building. Livingston Volunteer Fire Department was Dispatched to the scene, in addition Onalaska VFD and Shepherd VFD dispatched trucks to the fire.
This burning machine costed around 1.5 million dollars in 1994.
Onalaska Fire Chief, Roy Newport
Flames and plumes of smoke billowed from the building until firemen were able to get the blaze under control. Onalaska Fire Chief Roy Newport was at the scene, Onalaska Police Chieft Ron Gilbert, Livingston Assistant Fire Chief John Haynes, Polk County Emergency Management Coordinator Ken Hambrick, and Plant Manager, Jerry Keeley. According to Keeley, the heavily damaged machine costed around 1.5 million dollars when it was purchased in 1994. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the fire and the entire industrial complex is insured. A Polk County Sheriff's Deputy and an Americare Ambulance stood by as emergency personnel handled the situation. By 1:30 pm firemen were able to leave the complex and the fire was completely out.
If you would like to comment on this story, we'd love to hear from you. Your name will be listed with your comment when it's posted in the comment section.
