Aluminum Dust Fire Hits Valley

Smoke from a Thursday morning fire at a Spokane Valley metal products manufacturing plant chased workers out of the building and cleared nearby houses.

Two bags of aluminum dust caught fire about 10:20 a.m. scattering 26 workers at Spur Industries. Fearing the white smoke billowing from the warehouse was toxic, Valley Fire District officials also evacuated three houses, said Dave Lobdell, assistant chief.

Spur Industries primarily manufactures aluminum metal products, Lobdell said. The 2,000-pound bags of aluminum dust were two of about 30 stacked inside a warehouse at 17404 E. Euclid.Firefighters attacked the area surrounding the fire with water, but were unable to spray water on the actual fire.”(Aluminum dust) burns at a very high temperature and if you apply water to it, it explodes,” Lobdell said.

Firefighters used a dry powder designed to snuff out fires involving flammable metals to smother the majority of the fire. They doused the few remaining flames with water.

Workers were allowed to return to the plant and residents to their homes about 1 p.m. No one was injured.

, DataTimes