At approximately 4:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Toledo (OH) Fire & Rescue Department was dispatched to a structure fire at Brent Industries Inc., an industrial textile reconditioning and recycling facility.
Based on information received while crews were responding, the incident was upgraded to a second-alarm response prior to the arrival of the first TFRD units, bringing additional personnel and apparatus to the scene. Initial reports indicated that approximately 12 individuals were believed to be inside the facility at the time of the fire.
When crews arrived, Toledo Fire & Rescue Chief Allison Armstrong said they encountered heavy flames and smoke.
“Part of the building had already collapsed,” the fire chief said at a news conference about the incident. “Very challenging conditions for both the employees to evacuate and the Fire and Rescue Department.”
Crews found the bodies of two employees, a man and a woman, inside the building hours later, according to Armstrong. Two or three other employees sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
TFRD Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue crews, in addition to Toledo Environmental Services and the EPA, also were on scene and actively involved in the response. Multiple tanks containing mineral spirits are located at the facility, which created an additional hazard for responding crews.
“When we arrived shortly after, the fire of the tanks was pretty much extinguished,” said Jon Gulch, the EPA on-scene coordinator. “So at that point we were left with just the white smoke, and we’ve done air monitoring around and in the plume.”
Air monitoring detected no hazardous levels of contaminants, indicating no immediate threat to the surrounding community, according to Gulch.
TFRD is working to determine the cause of the explosions. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the incident.
Brent Industries was fined by OSHA in 2015 after an explosion and fire at the company’s manufacturing facility in Brent, AL, killed one worker and injured several others.
Visit the following links for more information on the Aug. 18, 2026, incident in Toledo:
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Receive the latest updates on the linen, uniform and facility services industry from TRSA delivered straight to your inbox.
