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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 1, 1993                   TAG: 9303010138
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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BLAST DAMAGES RIDGEWAY PLANT

An explosion Sunday afternoon at Tri-State Foam Products in Ridgeway blew out a section of wall and started a fire, said Benny Summerlin, Henry County public safety director.

Nothing in the company's plastic foam manufacturing process is known to be explosive, but Summerlin said, "It was definitely some type of blast" that started the fire.

Firefighters were called about 4 p.m. to the Martinsville Industrial Park. Summerlin said the building's roof had collapsed, and the industry suffered significant damage. An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin today. - Staff reports

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