DES MOINES, Iowa — Since a massive explosion and fire destroyed an Iowa warehouse, and loading dock last Monday, chemical supplier Barton Solvents is focusing on recovery.
The fire took local firefighters 11 hours to contain last week, and debris was still smoldering several days later. A preliminary review indicates that static electricity sparked an explosion of ethyl acetate, which has an extremely low flashpoint. Barton’s Valley Center, Kan., fire earlier this year is thought to have been ignited by a drycleaning solvent.
