Fire crews called in over Bridgnorth factory explosion scare
Staff were evacuated from a Bridgnorth factory today while firefighters worked to prevent a potential chemical explosion.
Workers at Grainger and Worrall called in the fire service after accidentally mixed two dangerous chemicals.
The castings, engineering and machining company, one of the town's largest employers, had been monitoring the barrel for 12 hours.
Firefighters were called at 10am along with a specialist hazard officer.
The area was cordoned off and two nearby buildings were also cleared as a precaution.
Ian George, crew manager at Bridgnorth fire station, said: "Two chemicals had been mixed in a plastic container.
"After reacting with each other the container kept expanding.
"We ventilated the area to reduce the pressure in the container and to stop potential explosion.
"It had been expanding for about 12 hours and at that point no one was sure what to do."
A fire crew from Bridgnorth and a hazmat officer spent two-and-a-half hours controlling the chemicals.
Mr George said: "We had a chemical expert on hand with us, just to oversee everything, because there was the potential for it to explode."
