The Region - News from Jan. 7, 1987

A furnace exploded at an aluminum smelting plant in Riverside, killing one employee, injuring another and causing extensive fire damage to the building, authorities said. Firefighters who responded to the flash explosion at the Alumax plant at 1455 Columbia Ave. had the fire out in about 10 minutes, Capt. Oran Pentz said. “We saw the flash from the station. I was on the phone at the time, and I saw it so we were already preparing to respond when the call came in,” he said. One employee, who was apparently loading the furnace, was killed instantly, and another suffered severe burns over 20% of his body and was taken to San Bernardino County Medical Center, Pentz said. The names of both employees were withheld pending notification of relatives. Pentz said the resulting fire caused extensive damage to the plant.