COLUMBUS – Investigators have determined that a deadly blast at an East Side paint factory in April was accidental, the result of “a computer or equipment malfunction.”
One person was killed in the explosion and resulting fire at the Yenkin-Majestic plant, 1920 Leonard Avenue, just after midnight on April 8.
Evidence shows that an agitator that cools the contents of a 3,000-gallon kettle used to mix products stopped working, which resulted in a chemical reaction that created heat and pressure in the tank, which breached a gasket surrounding an observation port into the kettle, Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin said.
A highly flammable gas in the form of steam or vapor was released into the kettle room. filling the second floor and expand to the first floor, at some point contacting “an ignition source and the result was an explosion,” Martin said.
In the two minutes between when the gasket began leaking and the explosion, Martin says most of the employees were able to make their way out of the building but there were three people who did not escape
Two were rescued by firefighters but one employee died in the incident.
There was no evidence of any criminal or intentional act, Martin said.