An explosion at a commercial building in Canby injured one employee and prompted officials to issue a Level 3 (Go Now!) evacuation order for the immediate area on Tuesday night, according to Canby Fire.
The explosion happened at 301 S. Redwood Street shortly after 3:30 p.m. The business there is Kittyhawk Products, which heat treats metal parts under high pressure.
Canby Fire Chief Matt Dale said one of the two tanks the company uses to do that exploded and blew the roof off the building.
He said there is a risk the other tank may explode as well, even though they do not expect that to happen. But the possibility of another explosion means fire officials will keep the evacuation order in place until at least 8 a.m. Wednesday because the second tank will take around 12 to 16 hours to cool. Dale said at that time, they will reevaluate the situation on whether they will lift the evacuation order.
Dale asked for the patience of the evacuated residents. The Red Cross will help those displaced.
Three employees were working at the time of the explosion. Dale said one of the employees suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.
The explosion heavily damaged the building and caused some damage to nearby buildings.
He said no hazardous materials were released into the environment.
“All and all, minor injuries, no loss of life, property damage can be fixed. This is a very successful outcome for a very devastating situation,” Dale said.
He said that everything worked as it should.
Video captures explosion
Video obtained by KATU News from a security camera of a nearby business showed the building’s roof erupting into a brown cloud like a volcano that sent debris flying into the air.
A large piece of what appeared to be metal clattered to the road outside the building. Other pieces could be seen landing in the immediate vicinity. The sound from the explosion was tremendous.
Moments later, people could be seen running toward the damaged building.
WATCH RECORDED VIDEO OF THE SCENE:
Dale said the tanks are placed in an underground pit and are enormous. They are two stories high and about 15 feet in diameter.
The explosion went straight up and caught things inside on fire. Dale said shortly before 7 p.m. that most of the fires had been extinguished.
