Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Escanaba, MI – Fire at paper mill contained with help from sprinkler system

Escanaba Public Safety responded to a fire in one of the wood rooms of the Verso Paper Mill in Wells Township.

According to Escanaba Public Safety, they were dispatched at approximately 11:25 a.m. to assist Verso Fire Brigade. Public safety responded with one pumper, the 75 foot ladder truck and the rescue unit with the portable air filling station. They also provided nine officers to assist.

The quick response and joint effort of both fire departments, along with the building’s sprinkler system, curtailed the fire from spreading. The last unit cleared the scene at 2:30 p.m.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Steinbach, MB, Canada – Sprinklers extinguish fire in dust collection system at manufacturing facility

A fire started in the dust collection system at Loewen in Steinbach. The fire department was dispatched to the scene at 8:26 p.m. Monday evening.

Steinbach Fire Captain Russ Reimer says when they arrived on scene alarms were sounding and crews were sent into the building to investigate.

“[They found that ] there had indeed been a fire in one of the collection systems, but these systems are also sprinkled so the sprinklers had gone off and done their job.”

Reimer says crews then used a thermal imager to ensure the fire was out and no embers had travelled further. He notes they also sent a crew to the north side of the building to ensure the silos were not in danger. Reimer says the sprinkler alarms continued to sound.

“The sprinkler alarms will go off when there’s any water flow in the system, and the system was sensing water flow. They may also have a faulty spot in their system right now causing the alarms to want to stay in alarm.”

He notes there were employees in the building at the time of the fire but no one was injured and they evacuated when alarms sounded.

“I wouldn’t say this is a common occurrence, but when it comes to manufacturing, this is not an unusual thing to have happen, which is why the systems are in place.”

The cause of the fire is unknown and Reimer adds, if there is any damage, it’s minimal and most likely appear as water damage from the sprinklers.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Martinsville, VA – Sprinklers extinguish fire at ALCOA facility; No injuries and minimal impact to business

A small fire created heavy black smoke at Alcoa’s facility at 101 RTI Way, but the sprinkler system extinguished the fire, employees were evacuated from the building and no one was injured, according to Kenny Shumate, division chief of operations for Henry County Public Safety.  

He said the cause of the fire had not been determined and probably will be investigated by engineers. Something apparently caused hydraulic fluid to be released unto a huge press, he said. He did not have a damage estimate. The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m., Shumate said. In all, 18 or 19 people from Henry County Public Safety, Martinsville Fire Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Collinsville and Bassett fire departments, Henry County Public Service Authority and Appalachian Power responded.

A company spokesman said in an email: “We can confirm there was a fire at an Alcoa facility in Martinsville, VA on Tuesday. There were no injuries and the facility sprinkler system extinguished the fire. The impact to production is expected to be minimal, with no impact to customers.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Charlotte, NC – Sprinklers quickly extinguish fire in warehouse containing hazardous materials

Firefighters responded to the scene of a 2-alarm hazmat situation Tuesday evening at the Seacon Corporation on John Crosland Junior Way near Wilkinson Boulevard.

Firefighters said there were hazardous materials inside the warehouse, so they had to work around those while fighting the fire.

Additional firefighters were called in to help because of the heat. There was also a mass casualty bus to keep first responders safe in the heat. Firefighters worked in intervals to make sure there were no issues with the heat.

No firefighters were injured.

Mecklenburg EMS said one person was taken to Carolinas Medical Center for minor injuries.

Charlotte Fire Department said the company was mixing chemicals and there was a little fire and smoke. The sprinkler system quickly put the fire out, but the smoke was a concern.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Flat Rock, MI – Storage fire at auto assembly plant controlled with help from single sprinkler

A fire that started in storage racks damaged the north side of the Flat Rock Auto Assembly Plant Tuesday night, causing hundreds of workers to be evacuated from the building. Firefighters from Flat Rock, Rockwood and Woodhaven responded to the plant at Gibraltar Rd. and I-75 about 7 p.m. Tuesday.  Firefighters could see smoke billowing from the plant at the Flat Rock station, Chief William Vack said.

“When we arrived, it was going pretty good, and you could see smoke about 100 feet in the air,” Chief Vack said afterward. “Once we got our water supplies established, we had it knocked down in about a half hour.”

Where the fire started was only about 100 feet from Vreeland Rd., he said. Heat from the fire penetrated an exterior wall on the north side of the plant, activating a single sprinkler in a newer section of the building, he said. The sprinkler helped quell any fire inside.

“Most of the plant was unaffected,” Chief Vack said. “The fire was near the truck docks. … There was no smoke in the building.”

He said it was standard procedure to evacuate the plant when a fire alarm is activated. The amount of damage was unknown but was not believed to be extensive. Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Kansas City, KS – Sprinklers activate in blaze at Kellogg plant after oven malfunction

Three firefighters were treated for heat-related illness after fighting a fire July 6 at the Kellogg plant at 801 Sunshine Road in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kan.

Damage to the plant and its product were estimated at $1.5 million, the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department spokesman said. The building was valued at $60 million before the fire.

There were no injuries to the plant workers when the fire broke out, according to the Fire Department spokesman. The plant, which makes Cheez-Its, was in production at the time of the fire.

The plant is currently closed while it is being cleaned up, according to the Fire Department, and it is estimated to be closed for several days to a week. Health officials will need to inspect it before it reopens.

The plant’s workers were in the process of being evacuated when firefighters arrived, the spokesman said.

The call came in around 9:01 p.m. Wednesday, with the first firefighters arriving about 3 minutes later.

The Fire Department spokesman said the fire started in one of the ovens at the plant that malfunctioned. The plant has four ovens, around 400 feet long, with a conveyor belt through them. The sprinkler system activated during the fire. The fire was near the end of one of the ovens, and the product was burning there, the spokesman said.

The Fire Department spokesman estimated that the firefighters faced temperatures of 120 to 130 degrees inside the building during the fire. It was also hot outdoors.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Speers Borough, PA – Sprinkler system contains blaze at chemical plant; No injuries reported

Authorities say a fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a chemical plant, but no injuries were reported.

Fourteen fire departments responded shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday to the blaze at National Polymers Inc. off Interstate 70 near the Monongahela River in Washington County.

The blaze had already been contained by the building’s automatic sprinkler system and prevented the flames from reaching chemicals stored in the plant. Fire crews had the flames out in less than an hour but remained for two more hours venting smoke and making sure the area was clear.

Chief Robert Whiten Jr., of the Charleroi Fire Department, said the blaze appeared to have been accidental but the exact cause wasn’t immediately clear.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Tulsa, OK – Oven fire at manufacturing business suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A Tulsa business was briefly evacuated Thursday morning after a fire inside an oven. Firefighters got the call before 7 a.m. to Sonoco Products in the 10000 block of East 52nd Street. 

Plant manager Lynn Ratliff told News On 6, a fire broke out in an oven in the company’s quality control room. An employee tried to use a fire extinguisher, but when that failed they evacuated the building and called 911.  The fire department said the sprinkler system put out the fire.  They said the fire was contained to just one room. 

Ratliff says the company makes paper tubing mostly for the film industry. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Danville, VA – Damage from fire at flooring manufacturer minimized thanks to sprinkler system

Smoke poured out of the loading dock doors in one of the plants at Columbia Flooring on Maxine Road as Danville firefighters arrived in response to a reported fire at about 7 p.m.

About an hour later, sweating and parched firefighters gathered near one of the six engines at the scene, to wrap their heads in wet towels and drink water or energy drinks — the fire was considered under control, Fire Marshall Shelby Irving said, though smoke still billowed out of the loading dock doors.

As firefighters began carrying fans toward the building to help clear the smoke, Irving said it was impossible to look for the cause of the fire until the smoke was cleared.

“There’s so much smoke in there you can’t see anything,” Irving said.

But the sprinkler system in the plant had done its job, Irving said.

“The sprinklers did activate and keep the fire in check,” Irving said. “Because of that, the [firefighters] were able to get in there pretty quick and get a line on the fire … the damage will be much less than it could have been.”

The fire was in a production area of the plant and caused extensive damage to machinery and electrical equipment, according to a news release. This section of the plant will be closed for two to three days. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Spring Hill, TN – Sprinkler system helps contain blaze at GM plant; welding sparks likely cause of fire

About 240 workers were evacuated from the General Motors Spring Hill Manufacturing Facility on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the third floor of one of its production buildings.

Six Columbia and four Spring Hill fire trucks responded to the scene, Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Tim Holt said.

Firefighters received the call at 3:03 p.m. and rushed to GM’s body shop off Nashville Highway and Saturn Parkway.

Crews found an air-handling machine on fire, spreading smoke in the building, Holt said.

“We got it knocked down quickly, within 15 minutes,” Holt said. “The sprinkler system helped keep the fire in place.”

One GM security guard on the scene was treated for smoke inhalation, he said.

The incident likely was caused by welding sparks, which caught cardboard on fire, Holt said.

Columbia’s fire department had 16 firefighters on scene.

GM spokesman Tom W. Wickham said the body shop was closed for the rest of Wednesday evening and will reopen Thursday morning.

“We had to clean up a lot of water and debris,” Wickham said.

A similar incident brought fire crews to the GM plant just after midnight May 20. No one was hurt then, but the building was evacuated.