By Ben Benton
Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Two people have been hospitalized following what has been described as an industrial explosion at Amaero Advanced Materials and Manufacturing in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Authorities got the initial call about 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Cleveland Police Department spokesperson Capt. Evie West. Cleveland firefighters were first on the scene, followed by police, emergency medical services and support agencies. One employee was transported for treatment by ground, and another was taken by Erlanger hospital’s Life Force helicopter to a burn center for treatment.
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The Cleveland Fire Department said in a social media post the injuries were sustained in an industrial explosion at the plant on Innovation Drive in Cleveland’s Spring Branch Industrial Park, south of town near Exit 20 on Interstate 75. The employees’ injuries were said to be serious.
At Erlanger, firefighters prepared for possible hazardous materials while awaiting one of the patients, according to a Chattanooga Fire Department press release.
“Initially, it was believed the patient had come in contact with titanium dust,” Fire Department spokesperson Lindsey Rogers said in the press release. " Chattanooga firefighters set up decontamination with assistance from Erlanger officials. They entered the contained area outside of the emergency room to assess the patient and learned that the party had sustained burns from a lithium battery explosion.”
Emergency officials made sure no hazardous materials were on the patient, Rogers said, then turned them over to hospital staff.
The second patient was taken by Erlanger’s Life Force helicopter to a burn center, according to Bradley County authorities. West, officials at the emergency services office in Bradley County and at the Chattanooga Fire Department said there was no information on which burn center was treating the second patient when contacted at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday by phone and email.
Amaero, a manufacturer of metals and alloys, began construction of a 130,000-square-foot, $54.9 million manufacturing and research facility in 2023 at the Cleveland site.
The facility serves as Amaero’s hub for its titanium alloy powder production, advanced manufacturing, and research and development, according to information released in 2023.
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