SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – An explosion rocked an aerospace plant in northeast Washington, toppling large pieces of machinery, lifting an entire floor off its foundation and seriously injuring five people, authorities said Wednesday.
The sheer power of the blast Tuesday night and the shrapnel it created caused the majority of the damage, and little to no fire ignited at Zodiac Aerospace in the small town of Newport, said Brian Schaeffer, assistant chief of the Spokane Fire Department who responded to the scene.
“The energy from that explosion went through that building almost like a tidal wave and destroyed or impacted everything in its path,” he said.
Schaeffer said the blast peeled open huge metal roll-up doors and led multiple places to collapse in the large commercial building in the town 50 miles north of Spokane, along the Idaho border.
Thirty people were inside the plant, but most escaped with help from emergency systems that worked properly, including a sprinkler system, Schaeffer said. Two people were critically injured and three were seriously injured, whether from the pressure of the blast or penetrating injuries from shrapnel, Schaeffer said.