Serious explosion at Arinco
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- 1 min
- Published:
- 19 July 2000
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Shortly after midnight on Saturday Arla Foods' milk powder plant, Arinco, in Videbæk in West Jutland was seriously damaged by an explosion in a drying chamber in one of the factory's spray towers.
No staff suffered injuries but Falck (the Danish emergency services) were called in to provided counselling assistance for two employees who had been in the chamber immediately prior to the explosion as well as for two colleagues from the adjacent plant.
Despite well-functioning safety equipment, the plant and machinery suffered considerable damage. On the fourth floor the west wall was blown out and several other walls were damaged. Part of the roof also collapsed causing damage to the spray tower's machine room and to the staff building.
The fire extinguishing system immediately put out the fire in the tower and the explosion-relief doors for pressure equalising and windows opened in accordance with regulations.
During the subsequent clear up operation, however, a minor fire broke out in one section of the tower when, as a damaged door was being removed, a spark ignited the wall lining. The fire services quickly got the fire under control.
The cause of the fire remains unclear. The time needed for repairs to the plant, which was due to close for holidays from July 24 until August 11, is not yet established. Fire experts are currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Arla Foods is an international dairy company owned by more than 8,400 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Arla Foods is one of the leading players in the international dairy arena with well-known brands like Arla®, Lurpak®, Puck® and Castello®. Arla Foods is focused on providing good dairy nourishment from sustainable farming and operations and is also the world's largest manufacturer of organic dairy products.
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