Chemical reaction ignites fire at Micron in Manassas

On Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 fire and rescue units from the City of Manassas, Manassas Park, and Prince William County responded to a fire in a storage building at Micron Technology, Inc.

According to Patty Prince, communications coordinator for the City of Manassas, Micron employees were preparing discarded materials for removal in the storage building, located on Nokesville Road near Technology Drive, when they noticed smoke and flames coming from a large pile of fiberglass and plastic inside the facility.

Prince said in press release that “first arriving units reported smoke coming from the building and encountered flames upon entering the structure.  They extinguished the fire and damage was contained to a rear area of the building.”

She also noted that the Hazardous Materials Response Team from Prince William County responded to the fire due to a possibility of chemicals being involved in the incident.

The Fire Marshal and Micron representatives determined that the fire was caused by a chemical reaction from a build-up of silane gas particles and ammonium nitrate inside of a discarded piece of pipe that was used in the manufacturing process at Micron and placed at the bottom of the debris pile, the press release went on to state.

There were no injuries reported and as of Friday afternoon, Jan. 11, a damage estimate had not been completed, according to Prince.