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State fire marshal rules fire, explosion at Defiance facility last week accidental

Defiance Fire Chief Bill Wilkins said the roof and walls of Glycerin Traders on Greenler Street were damaged.

DEFIANCE, Ohio — UPDATE: According to the state fire marshal, the incident was ruled accidental and caused by "an unknown vapor release in the area of the bulk storage tanks ... [which] found an unknown ignition source."

An explosion caused a fire at Glycerin Traders in Defiance Wednesday afternoon and one person was injured, according to fire crews at the scene.

The injured person went to the local hospital to be treated and was later released, according to a press release from the City of Defiance.

Defiance Fire Department crews responded to the call at the facility on Greenler Street just before 4 p.m., according to Fire Chief Bill Wilkins.

"We heard a loud bang," said Aaron Johnson, who lives across the street from the facility. "We thought it was thunder at first. I turned around and I just see a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke and I see the building start to collapse, the roof caved in."

Wilkins said the roof and walls of the building were damaged, and there is no danger to the surrounding area. He also said all of the product in the building was contained.

Crews also put out a grass fire in a connected lot which started as a result of the explosion, the city said.

All streets that were closed during the incident have since reopened, Defiance police said.

Glycerin Traders processes raw glycerin to produce crude glycerin, reclaimed methanol and fatty acids, and provides other services, according to its website.

Wilkins said he's happy with how his team of seven responded to the fire and received help from other departments.

"This doesn't happen that often in the city of Defiance. But when it occurred, I think the staff did a great job of arriving on scene, establishing water supply, stretching a line, making entrance very quickly to search for the victim," Wilkins said.

Johnson said he's glad it wasn't worse, as he looks back on what he saw.

"I've never seen anything like it, not around here, not in Defiance," Johnson said. "It was a very crazy experience to witness."

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