Early on Tuesday, November 11, a Madison County plant manufacturing cedar
closet liners and cedar oil exploded. Per investigators from the Madison
County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call was received from the agency
at about 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday. At the time of the explosion, there were
20-25 employees at the plant. One man was killed in the blast; there are
no other injuries that have been reported.
By 9 a.m. on the day of the blast, a Haz-Mat crew was on the scene to clear
the facility. Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,
Huntsville Fire & Rescue, and the Alabama State Fire Marshal's
Office were all sent to look into the cause of the accident which is still unclear.
Firefighters were sent to the plant to battle a fire just last weekend.
On that day, it was reported that there were 5,000 gallons of cedar oil,
4,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and 10,000 square feet of cedar chips at
the plant. It is not currently known where the fire and the explosion
are connected.