ALONG HWY. 371 NEAR NEW MARKET
A fire broke out at the Haydite plant in northern Platte County on Sunday, May 4, damaging a section of the structure but no injuries resulted.
Four area fire districts responded to the blaze, which was reported about 3 p.m. About 2.5 hours later, fire officials on the scene told The Landmark the fire was out, with no injuries reported. The plant, which is owned by Buildex, LLC, is located along Hwy. 371 just south of New Market.
According to the company’s website, Haydite is lightweight aggregate prepared by expanding select shale in a rotary kiln at temperatures that exceed 2,200°F.
The end result is a uniform and high-quality lightweight ceramic aggregate that can be used in many applications:
Asphalt preservation treatment
Lightweight concrete masonry block
Lightweight floor in high-rise buildings
Concrete bridge decks
Ball field and residential yard soil conditioner
Lightweight geotechnical applications.
The plant is located within the Dearborn Area Fire Protection District, who responded to the scene with assistance from Central Platte Fire Protection District, Camden Point Fire Protection District, and the Southwest Buchanan County Fire Protection District.
In addition, the Northland Regional Ambulance District had two ambulances at the scene per protocol in case of firefighter or citizen injury, said Troy Miller, chief of the Central Platte Fire District. Fortunately the ambulances were not needed.
“Buildex was founded in Ottawa, Kan. 1950. Today, we ship more than 225,000 cubic yards of our lightweight aggregates throughout the United States every year.
Because lightweight aggregate is the only product we manufacture, we can concentrate on quality, consistency, and service to our numerous customers,” according to the company’s website.
The company has said it is investigating the incident.
