A pair of explosions tore through an industrial laundry facility in South Toledo before dawn today, sending flames and thick black smoke over the neighborhood and leaving at least two employees unaccounted for as firefighters battled the blaze. The blast struck Brent Industries at 2924 South Avenue, near Airport Highway and Detroit Avenue, a plant that cleans shop towels, gloves, and absorbent pads for industrial customers.
Toledo Fire & Rescue crews responded to the scene shortly before 5 a.m., after an initial explosion was quickly followed by a secondary blast that produced heavy flames and smoke visible across the city, according to CBS News. Multiple area fire departments were called in as explosions continued inside the burning structure, per CBS News Detroit.
Two Employees Still Unaccounted For
Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said later Tuesday morning that at least two employees remained unaccounted for, following witness reports and social media posts indicating workers were inside the facility when it exploded, as reported by The Mirror. Early accounts from witnesses and local news outlets suggested chemical tanks ignited while employees were present, though the search for the missing workers was still underway as crews worked to knock down the fire.
Brent Industries was founded in Alabama in 1977 and specializes in industrial recycling and textile reconditioning, cleaning shop towels, gloves, and absorbent pads to cut down on waste. The company's primary operations sit in Brent, Alabama, and Toledo, Ohio, and it serves industrial customers across 26 states, according to a report from WDRB.
A Facility Storing Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds of Solvent
The Toledo plant is no stranger to hazardous chemicals. Lucas County Emergency Management planning records updated in April 2025 show the site holds up to 499,999 pounds of Stoddard solvent, a flammable petroleum distillate used in dry cleaning, along with up to 4,999 pounds of sulfuric acid. Those same county records established a 1.0-mile vulnerability zone around the site covering 3,098 housing units and 6,463 residents, along with 15 sensitive facilities including local schools, daycares, and the University of Toledo Health Science Campus.
The plant's history with fire and hazardous waste regulators stretches back more than a decade. In November 2015, the Ohio EPA issued Director's Final Findings and Orders against Brent Industries for hazardous waste violations at the Toledo site, finding the facility generated roughly 6,000 gallons per month of ignitable hazardous waste from its solvent refining process. That administrative settlement required tank upgrades to hazardous waste standards along with civil penalties.
A Pattern of Fires at the Same Site
Tuesday's explosion is far from the plant's first brush with fire. WTOL 11 has reported on multiple prior incidents at the Toledo facility, including an April 2025 machinery fire that spread into the ceiling roof, an October 2024 dryer-area fire, an August 2017 blaze, and a May 2011 incident in which a small fire prompted a hazmat response for a leaking chemical drum. Earlier incidents were extinguished without reported major casualties, according to the outlet's coverage.
The company's history with flammable solvent hazards extends beyond Ohio. In March 2015, a fatal explosion and fire struck Brent Industries' commercial dry cleaning plant in Brent, Alabama, when flammable petroleum solvent vapors ignited during a washer cycle, killing one operator and hospitalizing another with severe burns, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records of the federal investigation.
Another Heavy Overnight Blaze for Toledo Crews
Tuesday's response adds to a busy stretch for Toledo Fire & Rescue. Just two weeks earlier, on August 5, firefighters battled a two-alarm commercial building fire at Blucher and Buckingham streets that destroyed a structure and injured one firefighter, according to WTOL 11. The Brent Industries explosion marks the second major commercial fire response for the department this month, and with two employees still unaccounted for, the scale of Tuesday's disaster appears far greater than the incidents that came before it.
