Tank erupts at Owens-Illinois glass plant

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- A tank ruptured at the Owens-Illinois Glass Manufacturer, formerly known as Brockway Glass Company, Monday afternoon.

South Zanesville Fire Chief Russell Taylor, said the bottom of the tank ruptured just after 2:00 p.m. leaving approximately a 10-foot-by-10-foot hole in the tank. He said the tank was used to melt large quantities of the molten glass material used to make alcohol bottles.

Taylor described the 300-ton material consistency ‘like lava, basically like a volcano erupted.’

Firefighters were working to cool the molten glass to keep the structure from collapsing as they feared it would melt the beams. Crews had to work in shifts to avoid heat exhaustion.

“They’re rotating in and out every 10 to 15 minutes because they heat is unbearable,” said Taylor.

But, this was an outcome they had anticipated. The tank was being monitored and surrounding fire departments had been preparing for the past two weeks.

“They were predicting it would rupture, but it was a guessing game. They had engineers here once a week from out of town [and] out of state, checking it and nobody said shut it down,” said Taylor.

Taylor said he anticipated crews would be working on the scene until midnight.

No injuries were reported.