2 people died from explosion at industrial facility, coroner says

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) - Two people have died after an explosion at an industrial facility in Toledo, according to Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz.

The explosion happened shortly before 5 a.m. on Tuesday during the shift change at the Brent Industries facility, an industrial cleaning and recycling facility.

The building contained multiple tanks of mineral spirits, according to fire officials at the scene.

Flames were more than a hundred feet in the air, with a partial collapse of the building.

Investigators are still working to figure out what exactly caused the explosion.

Victims identified

The coroner’s office identified those who died in the fire as Heladio G. Perez, 46, and Mary Allen, 64. An autopsy revealed they both died as a result of blunt force trauma.

Allen’s family told 13 Action News that she was a mother and grandmother who loved to fish, loved her job and was always the first one in for her shift.

“My mom was amazing and I’m going to miss her,” said Lenore Bangura, Allen’s daughter. “I’m mad as hell she came to work on time. I’m mad as hell she’s so dedicated to this company that she was the first one in and the last one out.”

Background on Brent

Brent Industries is an industrial dry-cleaning and laundry facility where workers clean shop towels, gloves and absorbent pads using solvents and detergents.

13 Action News reached out to the company on Tuesday for a comment on the fire and have yet to hear back.

A 2015 order from the EPA shows the facility was using a petroleum-based industrial solvent in its dry-cleaning process. At that time, the solvent was being stored in above-ground tanks on the property.

The Ohio EPA cited the company for multiple hazardous-waste violations that year, including sending flammable waste to an unpermitted site, failing to properly test and manage that waste, and not meeting tank safety standards.

Brent paid an $8,000 penalty and was ordered to upgrade its waste tanks and operations.