Warehouse Fire and Explosion Investigation

An explosion occurred as fire operations were beginning at a pesticides repackaging facility. Four fire fighters were struck and buried by debris. One of the fire fighters was rescued, but seriously injured. The other three died before they could be rescued. The building was destroyed by the fire and explosion. A main issue concerned the information given to fire fighters when they arrived on the scene by facility personnel. That information consisted of an MSDS and verbal communication that there was nothing that could explode in the building.

The investigation focused on the nature of the chemicals and whether or not it was (or should have been) know that certain chemicals could explode. Both literature and experimental research were used to answer these questions.

Dr. Fox is a fire expert, explosion expert and chemical expert with extensive experience in OSHA, EPA and DOT chemical regulations and chemical safety.