Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - One person was injured after a building exploded at Nuplex Resins in the 4700 block Crittenden Drive.
"I heard an explosion, which is not a sound you ever want to hear in our facility," says Mike Wright, Nuplex Safety and Environmental Manager.
That explosion left one worker with second and third degree burns over 20% of his body.
Fire fighters say the injured Nuplex worker was cleaning a kettle used to produce polymer resins, usually used in paints when the explosion occurred.
"There were vapors escaping from the kettle and they did go throughout the building into a couple of different rooms and found an ignition source and that caused the kettle to rupture and explode, followed by a small flash fire," says Major Carroll Haueter
The explosion blew out doors, shattered windows and caused the building's roof to collapse, which is exactly what is supposed to happen when any kind of fire or explosion occurs.
"The ceiling above these rooms is designed to give way in case of an explosion, which is exactly what we had today," says Haueter.
Letting all of the fumes, smoke and flames out quickly. No one else was hurt in the explosion. Until the defect in the kettle is discovered, this whole building of the plant will be closed.
