Fire rips through Tacoma foundry

TACOMA, Wash. — A roof collapse at a Tacoma foundry started a fire Thursday night, said officials with the Tacoma Fire Department.

The fire happened at the Atlas Foundry after 6 p.m.

According to fire officials, crews responded to the location after a report of a commercial structure fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found a fire burning in a section of a large commercial manufacturing building. Additional units were called to assist.

Employees inside the facility safely got out, and no injuries were reported.

According to fire officials, for an unknown reason, a portion of the roof above a molten metal castings operation collapsed onto the hot material and caught on fire.

Firefighters had the fire under control Thursday night to let it slowly continue to burn. The plan was to allow the collapsed roof to burn off and to allow the molten metal to cool down before the fire is fully extinguished.

As of 5 a.m. Friday, smoke could be seen coming from the building.

Fire officials told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News that it will probably be at least a few more days before a structural engineer can get into the facility and determine how the roof collapsed.

In 2007, there were multiple explosions at the same facility, which killed one person. Investigators determined a mechanical problem with a propane supply hose caused the blasts.

KIRO