Emergency crews responded to Templeton Friday afternoon following a small grain dust explosion at the Landus Cooperative location. At approximately 12:03 p.m., the Templeton, Dedham, Halbur and Manning Fire Departments responded to the 300 block of Railway Street. Templeton Fire Chief, Duane Irlbeck, says they were fortunate the blast was relatively minor.
Witnesses reported hearing the sound several blocks away. Authorities believe that a bearing went out and ignited the highly flammable grain dust. Irlbeck says it does appears that workers are not at fault for the incident.
Irlbeck emphasized they are lucky that no injuries were reported. A train was in the process of being loaded when the explosion occurred, and grain trucks waiting to unload were diverted to nearby Landus Cooperative facilities. It is unclear how long operations at the Templeton location will be impacted.
