Huge Explosion Rocks Branchville

It occurred earlier this morning at Branchville Wood Products, a subsidiary of Cox Inc. of Orangeburg. My dad, Bobby Burleson, employed there as a custodian, said soon after he came to work, about 8:30 AM, an electrical fire broke out in an outside shed which collected wood shavings from the plant. The fire was soon contained but about a hour later, at 9:45, the explosion occurred.

My dad was cleaning next to a room filled with vacuum pipes leading from the previously mentioned shed, it was here that the explosion occurred. Raymond Martin, who works at Ott's Country Store about a mile distant said he heard a huge blast coming from that part of town. Local firefighters and police immediately reached the scene, and HWY 78 in town was briefly blocked.

No one was harmed, including Burleson, who was sent to Orangeburg Regional Hospital for care, and soon released. Billy Valentine, a fellow employee at Branchville Wood Products who witnessed the accident, admitted it was a "miracle" my dad escaped harm.

Update from the local paper. Note the "maintenance employee":

A spark in the Branchville Wood Products' system that collects
dust from the wood-shaving process caused a fire Friday morning.The blaze
destroyed a portion of the shaving-collection shed.One maintenance employee, who
was in the vicinity of the fire, was taken to the Regional Medical Center as a
precautionary measure, said Cox Industries President Mike Johnson, parent
company of BWP.

The intense heat of the fire caused the tires on two 18-wheel
shaving-shed vans to explode.Preliminary estimates put the damage to the shed
and trailers at about $25,000 to $30,000.The cause of the fire was still under
investigation Friday afternoon, but preliminary investigation points to a
possible small engine malfunction in the shaving blower, Johnson
said.Branchville Wood Products Administrative Assistant Amy Easterling, who was
at work at the time, said the fire began about 8:20 a.m. in the shaving
shed.

Read the rest. Apparently this was really a close call as my dad's co-workers and supervisors have been visiting all day. Never know who you friends are until...