Employees at Bremen Castings, Inc., (BCI) were evacuated around 8:33 a.m., Thursday morning, after an explosion in a cupola, or furnace, according to a press release from the Bremen Police Department (BPD). Around that time, the Bremen Fire Department, along with the EMS and BPD, were dispatched to 500 N. Baltimore St., in response to what BPD is calling an explosion.
Upon arriving on the scene, emergency personnel evacuated employees from the area near the building and blocked off the immediate streets leading to the factory. No injuries were sustained. Houses in the area were not evacuated. Around 10:30, employees were allowed to return to work. Additionally, the BPD press release stated that another explosion is likely to occur, but did not elaborate on a possible size or time.
Unsuccessful attempts were made to obtain an official statement from BCI. However, a statement was posted on the company’s Facebook page a few hours later. According to the post, “lost water to a section of the cupola melter,” caused the incident. The post stated that BCI followed protocol for containing the situation and proceeded to evacuate personnel. It further stated that emergency responders remained on standby as BCI quickly contained the matter. Conflicting with the press release by BPD, BCI’s post states that there “was no explosion.”
Provided by the Pilot News
