Plum Creek MDF explosion rocks town

Even residents east of Nucleus Avenue heard it.

A dust explosion rocked the first line of Plum Creek's medium density fiberboard plant early Friday morning (Nov. 19).

The fire occurred about 3:30 a.m. No one was injured in the blaze, but it damaged the mat forming and fiber in-feed sections of the line, said Hank Ricklefs, Plum Creek's president of Manufactured Products.

"It was a dust explosion," he said.

But how and why the dust exploded and caught fire is still under investigation. MDF is made by pressing and gluing together what amounts to finely ground wood dust.

The plant has two lines. The second line was shut down as a precaution, Ricklefs said, but it was restarted later in the day. The second line is the newer of the two lines.

Columbia Falls firefighters responded to the scene and battled the blaze until about 6 a.m. Fire containment took about two hours.

Columbia Falls Fire Chief Joe Tamburelli, the incident commander, said "flames were showing" and the building was filled with thick smoke when firefighters arrived at the scene.

Columbia Falls sent three engines, Rescue 57 and 15 firefighters; Whitefish sent one engine and four firefighters; and Badrock sent an engine, a tender and a van with 12 firefighters.

"Badrock really gave us lots of help," Tamburelli said.

Firefighters began at the east end of the building and fought the fire about halfway down the building, a distance of about 300 feet. The building's sprinkler system was operating as firefighters worked to extinguish stubborn dust piles amidst stairways and catwalks.

The plant has a vast array of fire control devices and firefighters drill for a fire at the Plum Creek on an annual basis. Still, fires at Plum Creek's complex of plants here are not uncommon.

"You breathe a sigh of relief when no one is injured and when folks responded so well," Ricklefs said.