Hicks News Investigates 

OSHA RECORDS SHOW THE CARUS FIRE WAS NOT A SINGLE MISTAKE — IT WAS A CHAIN OF FAILURES 

Federal records show the January 2023 Carus Chemical fire was not simply an accident. OSHA found that combustible materials were routinely used with potassium permanganate, workers lacked adequate procedures, and known SuperSac problems had occurred before the warehouse burned.

Newly released OSHA records reveal that the January 11, 2023 Carus Chemical fire in LaSalle was not the unavoidable mystery the public was led to believe. The federal investigation found that Carus employees were exposed to fire hazards because potassium permanganate, a strong oxidizer, was routinely stored and handled with incompatible combustible materials — including wooden pallets, cardboard, plywood, and cardboard dunnage.

OSHA’s violation worksheet states plainly that Carus “did not provide workers with compatible storage and handling materials” and failed to protect workers from fire hazards associated with potassium permanganate. The report says the routine use and buildup of combustible wooden pallets and cardboard in the warehouse “created the conditions that led to a catastrophic fire, worker injury, a regional ICS response, major media coverage, large-scale site cleanup, and future rebuild of the destroyed warehouse and adjoining packaging building.”

That finding directly undercuts the public-relations version of the fire. This was not merely a torn bag. It was a system failure.

OSHA found that potassium permanganate was loaded into SuperSac packaging, placed on wooden pallets, and separated from the pallet with cardboard. Palletized products with combustible packaging were stored in rows throughout the warehouse, with some aisles reportedly as narrow as three feet. OSHA also documented that SuperSac were stacked with plywood inserts and that thick cardboard dunnage panels were stored near palletized potassium permanganate.

This matters because potassium permanganate is not ordinary material. It is a strong oxidizer. OSHA’s own summary says Carus’ product SDS described reactivity hazards and controls to reduce fire risk, yet Carus “did not adequately apply that knowledge to storage and handling practices.” The agency found that Carus approved storage and handling of oxidizing products alongside incompatible combustible materials such as cardboard and wooden pallets, and that its EHS programs, policies, and procedures lacked clear consideration of the chemical’s reactivity and potential to increase combustion when in contact with those materials.

The records also show this was not the first warning sign. Carus told OSHA there had been seven reported SuperSak mishaps in 1,634 SuperSac shipments. OSHA also documented that a Carus production supervisor said there should have been more reported incidents and that SuperSac tears happened repeatedly during heavier order periods.

The training and procedure failures are just as serious. OSHA recorded that Carus’ fire protection plan, training, and evacuation procedures were inadequate because personnel did not consider combustible pallets and cardboard in relation to the strong oxidizers stored at the facility. OSHA’s evaluation gave Carus a “1” for preventive action taken, even while acknowledging the company had written safety programs.

The most damning part may be the lack of practical spill-control knowledge. OSHA recorded that Production Supervisor Oscar Patino said there was “nothing written” and “no standard protocol” for ruptured SuperSac, describing the practice as “common sense” cleanup. He also stated that before the fire workers were trained to “just sweep it up and put in pail” and take it to dissolve later. OSHA noted that he had not consulted the SDS for potassium permanganate spill cleanup and said he “didn’t honestly know the clean-up procedures were in there.”

That is not a minor paperwork issue. That is a chemical manufacturer handling a powerful oxidizer while supervisors admitted workers were relying on informal habits around spills.

OSHA also documented management knowledge. The same supervisor knew combustible materials were used with potassium permanganate, identifying “pallets under the material, cardboard dunnage and panels, to fill gaps.” He also knew the company had adopted a standardized load using a cardboard insert over a wooden pallet since at least 2018 for SuperSac storage and handling.

Federal investigators further found that Carus was aware of the risks of handling oxidizer materials but still used shipping practices and packaging materials that OSHA called “incompatible and disproportionate to the risk level” of the chemically reactive product. OSHA recommended a serious citation under Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for exposing employees to fire hazards.

The official citation says Carus failed to provide employees with non-combustible materials for storage and handling of potassium permanganate. It says the damaged SuperSac spilled potassium permanganate onto cardboard and a wooden pallet, was moved and placed on cardboard material, began smoking, and then ignited into a fire that rapidly spread to other oxidizing products and combustible storage materials. OSHA stated the fire destroyed the warehouse and caused a worker inhalation injury.

This is the public-interest point:

For more than three years, residents were told versions of this story that minimized what happened. But OSHA’s records show a far more serious picture: a chemical manufacturer using combustible storage and shipping materials with a strong oxidizer, inadequate spill procedures, inadequate fire planning, repeated SuperSac problems, and management knowledge that the system was vulnerable.

That is not bad luck. That is preventable neglect and the residents affected are suppose to believe what ? 

The company motto  "responsibe neighbors" and we wont know till it happens again.