An industrial incident at a Newburyport woodworking company led to an evacuation of approximately 100 employees after an explosion occurred this morning. The explosion, which took place at Mark Richey Woodworking, 40 Parker Street, was reported at around 8:51 a.m., and involved the building's sawdust-burning furnace, according to a statement obtained by JGPR.net.
The NBC Boston outlines the response from the Newburyport Fire Department which found light smoke emitting from the top of the silo, firefighters then entered the building after they arrived and encountered flames along the floor of the furnace they tackled the blaze and checked for possible lingering dangers. All 100 employees present during the incident were safely evacuated prior to the arrival of firefighting teams, and no injuries were fortunately reported.
Subsequent firefighting efforts focused on the containment of the fire which was successfully restricted to the furnace and hopper areas, ensuring no spread to the silo, as per JGPR.net. The collaboration with mutual aid provided by Salisbury, Newbury, and Amesbury Fire Departments, including station coverage by West Newbury and Amesbury Fire, was instrumental; Atlantic Ambulance was also at the scene, ready to assist as needed.
While the fire was subdued without substantial damage to the building or equipment, the circumstances that precipitated this event remain under the scrutiny of investigators from the Newburyport Fire Department, as reported by both NBC Boston and JGPR.net, who have yet to identify the cause of the explosion that led to a necessary but smoothly conducted evacuation of the premises, further updates will undoubtedly follow as the investigation progresses.
