OGDEN — A three-alarm fire at Western Zirconium Inc. Thursday caused an undetermined amount of damage.
The fire started in a furnace that used magnesium powder, said Weber County Fire District Chief Dave Austin. The magnesium caught fire and created a large explosion, he said.
"It was quite a ball of fire," said Austin.
The blast caused severe damage to the roof of the facility nearly seven stories up. No one was injured in the fire.
A company spokeswoman said that area of the plant would be closed for a few days but the rest of the facility is still in operation.
Austin said everyone got lucky. "We had a high potential for a lot higher loss," he said.
Western Zirconium processes of zirconium.