Explosion at Ohio metal plant sends at least 13 to the hospital

An explosion at a metal plant in Ohio sparked a large fire and sent more than a dozen people to hospitals, authorities said.

Emergency crews were called to the I. Schumann & Co. copper alloy company in the Cleveland suburb of Oakwood Village shortly before 3 p.m. Monday. The blast shook the ground and scattered debris for a couple of hundred yards, damaging several vehicles, while the fire sent smoke billowing to the sky in a cloud visible for miles.

Oakwood Fire Captain Brian DiRocco told reporters that 13 people were transferred to several area hospitals and another patient was still being examined. One person had to be pulled from the debris and was being treated while being taken to a hospital by helicopter. At least one patient was critical, and a number of people had burn injuries, but all plant staff had been accounted for and the fire was under control with crews mopping up hot spots, DiRocco.

“An explosion of unknown origin struck our Bedford, Ohio, facility today resulting in injuries to employees and significant damage to the facility,” I. Schumann & Co. said in a statement, according to CBS affiliate WOIO-TV. “Our efforts now are focused on supporting the first responders who came on scene quickly to help our employees.”

An employee at Rose Colored Gaming, located across the street from the plant, told WOIO that debris from the blast damaged several cars and parts of the building structure.

“That other beam flew across the street and blew out our window over here. Knocked this guy’s car down,” the man said. “Horrible. Exciting, but horrible.”

He told the station that he saw “a plume of smoke and then the bigger explosion and then the wall of flame. And then it was on fire. It was just, it was on fire.”

I. Schumann & Co. “recycles and trades a wide variety of scrap and produces brass and bronze alloys in ingot and pellet forms,” the company said on its website. 

MetroHealth spokesperson Dorsena Koonce said several people were brought to the hospital and were being treated, but there was no immediate word on how many or their conditions. A University Hospitals official said seven patients were being treated at Ahuja Medical Center but there was no word on their conditions.