CLEVELAND - An early-morning commercial fire at Piney Mountain Ammunition Co. west of Cleveland injured two men Monday.
The fire call to the Crestview Drive facility was received at 8:45 a.m.
The business manufactures .22-caliber shells. Firefighters arriving on scene were told magnesium is used the process and is very agitated by water, so firefighters did not apply anything to the blaze but rather let it burn.
Another danger was presented when the ammunition in the building started exploding, propelling shell casings from the building.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the blaze, said Glenn Allen, spokesman for Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.
The cause and other information about the fire will be forthcoming.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said the two men injured in the flash fire were taken by ambulance to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
