Taiwan Panasonic multi-layer material fire investigation reveals preliminary cause

A fire and explosion occurred at Panasonic Multilayer Materials Co., Ltd. in Hsinchu last Wednesday (4th) in Hsinchu Industrial Park, killing two and injuring five. Chen Zhongzhen, the county fire chief, said today that after a fire scene inspection, a preliminary investigation revealed that the cause of the incident was most likely due to a mechanical equipment failure on the site, which caused METH to leak from the temporary storage tank on the fourth floor to the third floor. It then caught fire and exploded after touching the fire source. The fire self-rescue equipment on the first floor of the same building was affected, causing the fire self-rescue capability of the factory to be disrupted. The fire caused a fire area of ​​22,000 square meters and caused financial losses of approximately NT$300 million.

County Mayor Yang Wenke asked the county's fire protection, environmental protection, industrial development and labor departments to form a joint inspection team to comprehensively strengthen inspections of similar factories that store large amounts of flammable and explosive raw materials.

Chen Zhongzhen said that many factories have firefighting teams and equipment that can immediately initiate self-rescue when an accident occurs. But in this fire, Taiwan Panasonic's own fire safety equipment, including various fire pumps, water injection systems and emergency generators, were all located in the explosion zone on the first floor of the same building as the fire scene.

He also said that usually when a fire occurs, the fire department will notify Taipower of a power outage at the same time to facilitate rescue operations. The building where the fire is located now has a generator, so after Taipower is cut off, the generator set will be started to assist the factory's own fire-fighting equipment. However, as mentioned above, Taiwan Panasonic's emergency generator was located in the explosion area. After Taiwan's power was cut off, the factory's self-rescue equipment was also affected and damaged, causing the fire to get out of control.

Chen Zhongzhen said that after three days of preliminary fire investigation at the scene, they found that the cause of the incident was an explosion caused by the leakage of MEK from mechanical equipment. The reason is that the MEK on the 1st floor was pressurized and transported to the temporary storage tank on the 4th floor. The temporary storage tank was full but did not stop, causing the MEK to overflow and flow to the 3rd floor where there was a heat source. It caught fire and exploded instantly. This is the highest possibility identified by the Bureau so far.

In accordance with the instructions of the county magistrate, they will form an audit team together with the Labor Department, Environmental Protection Bureau, and Industrial Development Department to strengthen audits and inspections of the fire-fighting equipment, hazardous materials or labor safety, and safety management of factory buildings of relevant businesses.