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Oregon Employee Saves Coworkers in Ammunition Blast
BEND, Ore. - Employees evacuated a Bend bullet plant Wednesday minutes before an explosion leveled part of the building, shaking the ground and rattling windows several blocks away.
The Nosler Inc. plant, which manufactures hunting ammunition, was evacuated at about 2:15 p.m. after a worker saw smoke and pulled a fire alarm.
Witnesses said the blast occurred in an ammunition testing area, but authorities were still investigating its cause, KTVZ-TV reported.
All 100 plant employees were accounted for, but at least one worker's car was buried in debris.
"From the information we have, everyone was out of the building at the time," Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Bond said.
About 10 percent of the 80,000-square-foot building collapsed, Bond said. The one-floor structure has a test shooting range in the basement, but Bond said he didn't know where the fire began. He said an extensive investigation will be conducted by the fire department, law enforcement agencies, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Witnesses said work was under way in the ballistics tunnel, a testing area for ammunition, when there was a flash, followed by an explosion, the television station reported.
Barb Gonzalez, who lives near the plant, said the blast was like "feeling a bomb inside your house." Gonzalez said she saw dense plumes of orange smoke above the plant.
Bend resident Bella Blackney said the explosion was "really intense."
"All of a sudden the house shakes, and the glass is rumbling in all the windows, visibly _ all the glass shook," Blackney told KTVZ-TV.
Nosler is a small-arms ammunition manufacturer founded in the late 1940s by John Nosler. It reported annual sales in 2008 between $20 million and $50 million.
The company's website says it manufactures rifles as well as ammunition. Attempts to reach a company spokesman Wednesday evening by The Associated Press were unsuccessful.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Witnesses said the blast occurred in an ammunition testing area, but authorities were still investigating its cause, KTVZ-TV reported.
All 100 plant employees were accounted for, but at least one worker's car was buried in debris.
"From the information we have, everyone was out of the building at the time," Bend Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Bond said.
About 10 percent of the 80,000-square-foot building collapsed, Bond said. The one-floor structure has a test shooting range in the basement, but Bond said he didn't know where the fire began. He said an extensive investigation will be conducted by the fire department, law enforcement agencies, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Witnesses said work was under way in the ballistics tunnel, a testing area for ammunition, when there was a flash, followed by an explosion, the television station reported.
Barb Gonzalez, who lives near the plant, said the blast was like "feeling a bomb inside your house." Gonzalez said she saw dense plumes of orange smoke above the plant.
Bend resident Bella Blackney said the explosion was "really intense."
"All of a sudden the house shakes, and the glass is rumbling in all the windows, visibly _ all the glass shook," Blackney told KTVZ-TV.
Nosler is a small-arms ammunition manufacturer founded in the late 1940s by John Nosler. It reported annual sales in 2008 between $20 million and $50 million.
The company's website says it manufactures rifles as well as ammunition. Attempts to reach a company spokesman Wednesday evening by The Associated Press were unsuccessful.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric Laroche on
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I guess they will make that guy employee of the month...
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