Formosa Ha Tinh temporarily shuts down Blast Furnace No. 1

A fire at Hot-Blast Furnace No. 3, part of Blast Furnace No. 1 at Formosa Ha Tinh, sent powerful sparks and fragments of high-temperature refractory material into a nearby grass area on the morning of Sept. 4.

The equipment incident occurred at about 8:16 a.m. The blast furnace workshop immediately activated its emergency shutdown procedure as a safety measure. Formosa’s firefighting team worked with local authorities to reach the site, and they brought the fire under control and extinguished it after 30 minutes.

The incident caused no casualties. According to a preliminary report from the Ha Tinh Economic Zone Management Board, officials and the company’s investor sealed off the site to assess the extent of the damage. Workers are cooling the blast furnace so repairs can begin.

Later on Sept. 4, the Ha Tinh provincial People’s Committee ordered the economic zone board to work with provincial police, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Home Affairs and other agencies. They will inspect the scene, determine the cause of the fire and establish a schedule for repairing or replacing damaged equipment. The authorities also called for the safe restoration of Blast Furnace No. 1.