What happened

Successive explosions tore through Brent Industries' industrial textile-reconditioning and recycling facility at 2924 South Avenue during a shift change shortly before 05:00, igniting a major fire and destroying most of the building. Twelve employees were inside. Workers Heladio Garcia Perez, 46, and Mary Allen, 64, were found dead and the Lucas County Coroner determined that both died from blunt-force trauma; officials reported that two or three other employees sustained minor injuries. The blasts removed nearly all of the roof and blew out several walls, while hazardous materials, runoff and the threat of further explosions complicated the emergency response. Fire officials confirmed that tanks of mineral spirits, a petroleum-based solvent used in the company's cleaning process, were present, but investigators had not determined the ignition source or established that mineral spirits caused this event. Environmental monitoring found no hazardous airborne threat, and OSHA opened an investigation. This record is included for its petroleum-solvent reclamation connection, not because Brent Industries is an oil refinery or dedicated used-oil recycler; a fatal 2015 explosion at the company's separate Alabama plant was attributed by OSHA to mineral-spirit vapour, but that finding must not be assumed to explain the still-undetermined Toledo incident.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.