No one has determined the cause of the Swanson fire.
Accumulation of sawdust and other wood particles in a mill is a huge risk for fire and explosions, he stressed. Any exposed horizontal beam more than 4 inches wide has 45-degree-angled sheet metal on it that causes sawdust and other wood particles to slide off, Swanson said. The sheathing minimizes exposed horizontal areas in the framework where sawdust can accumulate, he said. CEO Steve Swanson said the new mill is all steel, lined with steel sheathing inside and out. Swanson rebuilt and opened the mill in 2016. Then, on July 17, 2014, a massive fire gutted the old 210,000-square-foot wooden bow-truss structure and ignited adjacent stacks of wood products. Wooten said new wood products mills these days typically are built of steel, making them far more resistant to fire.įor years, the Swanson veneer and plywood in Springfield was one of the county's largest wood products facilities. If so, he'll have to meet tougher codes than those in place when the facility was built decades ago by previous owners. Owner Walter Whitsell has vowed to rebuild. Some rapidly spin out of control.ĭuring the past 10 years, eight major fires have destroyed or damaged wood products facilities in and around Eugene-Springfield. Most of the blazes are quickly suppressed and cause only minor damage. That's no surprise, given that the facilities typically are built of wood, are thick with sawdust and wood waste, likely have piles of wood inside and out, and contain machinery that often runs very hot.
Fires are common at the wood products industry's stock of aged mills in Lane County and around the state.
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