An explosion at a factory in Saegertown, Pennsylvania injured 13 people on 9 February. The incident happened at an industrial plant which manufactures adhesives and coatings for industrial, automotive, oil & gas, and aerospace customers.
Local officials said that emergency services were first notified of the incident at around 10:30 local time after firefighters were alerted by a fire alarm at the Parker LORD facility. LORD Corporation develops adhesives, coatings, thermal management materials, motion management devices and sensing technologies and was bought by Parker Hannifin in 2019.
As the firefighters entered the factory, an explosion occurred which left 13 people injured. Local news reported that at least four firefighters and five LORD employees were injured with several being taken to hospital for treatment.
A shelter-in-place order was issued to locals and nearby businesses as emergency services responded to the explosion. The order was lifted a few hours later after the fire was contained to the LORD site. The blaze was later fully extinguished with the facility having suffered significant damage.
An investigation is now underway to determine the cause of the initial fire as well as the explosion. In the meantime, operations at the facility have been suspended until further notice.
