Crime & Safety
Wood Pellet Firm Dubbed 'Crime Scene' After 'Dust Fire' Caused by Explosion
Two federal agencies were investigating the Inferno Wood Pellet building on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The fire at the East Providence wood pellet manufacturer on Tuesday, Aug. 20, that burned one worker from an explosion is being treated as a crime scene by two federal agencies that were investigating the blaze on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) went back into the Inferno Wood Pellet building yesterday, according to a story in the Providence Journal.
The building at 275 Ferris Ave. was being described as a crime scene even though East Providence fire department investigators believe a spark caused the explosion and subsequent “dust fire” that burned for about four hours and caused a partial roof collapse.
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The building is a former paper company that now manufactures wood pellets for residential and commercial wood stoves. OSHA’s area director, Patrick Griffin, said the company has no prior complaints against it, but East Providence firefighters have had to visit it frequently, according to the newspaper story.
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