MONROE - Flames gutted a sprawling Butler County steel-processing plant Thursday, sending workers scrambling for safety and forcing the evacuation of nearby businesses. A worker and a firefighter were slightly injured.
Smoke filled the sky during the afternoon rush hour on nearby Interstate 75 as fire consumed a loading and storage area at Worthington Steel, 350 Lawton Ave., in a Monroe industrial park.
No workers were seriously injured, but one employee was taken to Middletown Regional Hospital for treatment for minor burns, and a firefighter was treated for minor injuries. Both were released, a spokeswoman said.
Damage at the plant, which has undergone numerous expansions since opening in 1976, was estimated at several million dollars, Monroe Police Chief Ernest Howard said.
The blaze started shortly after 5 p.m. in the south end of the 165,000-square-foot plant. Its cause was under investigation late Thursday, but city officials said it may have been sparked by a welder's torch.
Workers triggered alarms as flames spread through a section of the plant where trucks deliver flammable gases and corrosives are stored. Worthington provides materials to the automobile industry.
Relieved workers crossed Lawton Avenue to neighboring Chrome Deposit Corp. to make phone calls.
"The flames were 30 feet over the roof of the building," said Pat Von Holle of Franklin, a truck driver for Chrome Deposit Corp. "And there was an explosion, but not until after the fire had started." Ken Zeigler, general manager at Chrome Deposit, said, "It was very fortunate that everyone got out alive. It just started so fast."
He said that within five minutes of when he noticed smoke at Worthington, company officials there had workers outside for a head count.
The Monroe plant employs 180 workers, plant manager Mike Albers said. About 50 to 60 were inside at the time of the fire, Mr. Albers said. The plant is a division of Worthington Industries - based in the Columbus suburb of Worthington - the country's largest flat-rolled steel processor.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will sendin a team of investigators Friday, said William Murphy, head of the agency's Cincinnati office.
Workers at nearby factories were evacuated because of the potential for toxic fumes. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was responding to reports of a fish kill in nearby Dick's Creek.
The chemical runoff had caused the creek to be highly acidic, Mr. Albers said. He said the EPA will try to determine how far downstream the chemicals went.
Fire crews from six departments were on the scene in Monroe, 25 miles north of Cincinnati.
Middletown's Hazardous Materials Response Team also was called.
Julie Ralston and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
