Massive “HIP” Explosion at USA Commercial Heat Treater
“KATU2 News” in Oregon, USA is reporting a massive explosion at commercial heat treater “Kittyhawk Products” in Canby, Oregon, USA. (Editors note: “The Monty Heat Treat News” reports that Kittyhawk” is one of the “52 Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America”. The firm specializes in “Hipping” (Hot Isostatic Pressing) and it is our belief that the tanks referred to in this article are actually Hipping furnaces. Considering that “HIP” furnaces operate at pressure up to 30,000 PSI it is absolutely astounding that there was only one minor injury. More on this story later.)“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.”