An explosion caused by a grain fire at ADM Grain Company on Tuesday could have been a lot worse than it was, according to Chad Bennett, assistant chief of the Newburgh Fire Department.

At approximately 10 a.m., an explosion took place in one of ADM's grain elevators. Bennett explained that the explosion was due to grain dust that was ignited after bearings in the motor of a conveyor belt system overheated and caught fire.

"They are very lucky that it didn't level the entire complex," said Bennett. "Grain dust explosions are more volatile sometimes than flammable liquids."

No one was injured during the explosion.

Jesse McKinney, spokesperson for ADM Grain Company, said the operation was closed for approximately two hours and the extent of the damages has not yet been determined. She added that the operation will continue to operate while repairs take place.

In order to reach the hot spots in the grain elevator, Newburgh Firefighters had to get their ladder truck next to the structure and extend the ladder to its full length of 75 feet. The top of the structure is 105 feet high, meaning that firefighters and ADM employees had to work to climb the rest of the way up the grain elevator in order to get the hose to where it needed to be to properly spray the conveyor belt system.

It took firefighters approximately 25 minutes to get the hose to the top of the structure.

"It was a hard climb," said Bennett. "The firefighters had to climb on little walkways where you would go up 10 feet, then go over another 10 feet. You would just keep doing that until you reached the top by zig zagging up the side." Bennett explained that grain explosions are one of the inherent dangers that accompany this type of work.

"They try to prevent it by having good maintenance of equipment and good ventilation," he said. "That's basically how you prevent grain dust fires from occurring."

He said the ADM employees did a great job at assisting firefighters in helping them locate the most efficient ways around and through the grain elevators.

"It could have been a very, very bad day there today," Bennett said