300 Gal. of Lighter Fluid Burns in Royal Oak Plant Fire

Firefighters worked for several hours on Monday morning to douse a fire at the Royal Oak charcoal plant in Branson, MO involving 300 gal. of lighter fluid, according to local fire officials. 

Western Taney County Fire Protection District said in a Facebook post that crews were dispatched to the facility at 8:37 a.m. after the liquid ignited. A truck from the Branson Fire Department also responded to the blaze.

The fire ignited in a section of the plant used for processing charcoal into lighter fluid, Western Taney County Fire Chief Chris Berndt told the Branson Tri Lakes News. 

“It carried some burning charcoal into different areas, as the conveyor continued to run for awhile,” Berndt said in an interview with the newspaper. “So there was quite a bit of small fire extinguishing to do in different areas where all the charcoal had gone.”

Crews cleared the scene by 11 a.m. No injuries were logged during the incident. 

Royal Oak’s charcoal plant in Branson was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) this February for 19 serious violations, including exposing workers to confined space entry, electrical, housekeeping, hearing, and forklift hazards; deficiencies in lockout/tagout; inadequate machine guarding; and failure to mount a fire extinguisher. 

Emergency personnel responded to the Branson plant in September 2019 after a worker became trapped in an auger. 

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