No injuries were reported Tuesday after an explosion was reported at the POET biorefining facility near Leipsic.
Photo courtesy of poet.com/leipsic
LEIPSIC — No injuries were reported in an explosion Tuesday at the POET Biorefining facility in Leipsic.
A statement on the Leipsic Fire Department’s Facebook page states that shortly before 11 a.m., an explosion occurred at the plant, located at 3875 state Route 65, Leipsic. Leipsic firefighters responded and departments from Ottawa and Miller City were immediately called for mutual aid.
Upon their arrival, firefighters discovered no smoke or fire and quickly learned that all POET employees and contractors were safe and accounted for. It was determined the explosion had damaged the interior fire protection plumbing at the plant, according to the Facebook post.
POET sent a statement to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office acknowledging an “event in the distillation unit.”
“Safety is our top priority at POET,” according to the release. “We are proud of our team members who acted quickly to ensure the safety of their coworkers and notified emergency responders.”
Officials from the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency requested a response from Allen County Hazmat for the purpose of monitoring air around and inside the building. Once no explosive limits were determined to exist, interior crews, with the help of POET maintenance employees, entered the control rooms to turn off electrical power to selected areas of the facility so as to not disturb the cooling process of the rest of the facility.
Once the situation was contained and deemed safe, POET employees took over operations and secured the rest of the facility, according to the report.
Assisting the Leipsic Fire Department were the Ottawa, Miller City and Gilboa fire departments; the Putnam County EMA, Leipsic, Continental and Ottawa EMS, Putnam and Allen County Hazmat, Allen County EMA, Leipsic Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, ODOT, the village of Leipsic water department and the Ohio EPA.
According to the company’s website, the Leipsic plant produces 90 million gallons of bioethanol annually.
