Category Archives: Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

La Grande, OR – Early morning sawmill fire contained with help from sprinkler system

A fire was reported at Boise Cascade’s Mt. Emily plant at 1917 Jackson Ave. in La Grande about 4:45 a.m. Sunday. Nobody was injured in the blaze, which kept firefighters busy until about 7 a.m., according to Larry Wooldridge, chief of the La Grande Rural Fire Department.

The fire originated in some wood stored inside a Boise Cascade building and caused no structural damage, Wooldridge said. Four fire departments responded to the blaze: the La Grande, La Grande Rural, Imbler and Union fire departments. The firefighters were aided by an automatic sprinkler system at Boise Cascade, which was running when they arrived. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Rothschild, WI – No injuries as sprinkler system contains electrical fire at Domtar plant

A backup boiler is to blame for a small electrical fire at Domtar’s Rothschild plant Monday morning.

Crews from SAFER, Riverside, and Kronenwetter fire departments were called to the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m.

Plant general manager Kathy Collins said the departments were called after the buildings fire alarm and sprinkler system were engaged. The building’s utilities and natural gas were shut off prior to the emergency crew’s arrival.

Riverside Fire District Co-Chief Robert Bowen said the fire was contained when crews arrived. It took crews around 20 minutes to secure the scene and identify the cause of the fire.

Yearly in-house visits to large plants like Domtar help emergency crews better prepare for incidents, and keep crews safe, should they occur. They map entrances, exists, sprinkler systems, and potential hazards.

“When we train here, we can have that knowledge first hand, and it kind of puts us ahead of the game when it comes to responding to a potential incident,” Bowen said.

There were no injuries and only minor damage reported. Collins said the building would be operational again in a matter of hours.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Kaukauna, WI – Fire in ventilation system at paper mill knocked down by sprinkler system

The Kaukauna fire department responded to a fire at a paper mill overnight. Fire crews were called around 3:30 a.m. Sunday to Expera Specialty Solutions on the 600 block of Thilmany Road.  When crews arrived, the sprinkler fire system had knocked down most of the fire.  Firefighters found fire and heavy smoke in the ventilation system and was able to extinguish the fire quickly. The fire started in the ventilation system, according to the Kaukauna Fire Department.  The fire was extinguished by 4 a.m.  There were no injuries. There is minimal damage to the building.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Searsmont, ME – Sawmill fire suppressed with help from sprinkler system; No injuries and minimal damage

Firefighters from several towns responded to Robbins Lumber Co. the afternoon of Nov. 14 for a reported fire in one of the facility’s buildings. Crews from Appleton, Lincolnville, Montville, Morrill and Searsmont responded to the incident, which was reported shortly before 3 p.m. Catherine Robbins-Halsted said the fire started in a sawmill building on the property. The exact cause of the fire is still being determined.  She said there was minor water damage in the building, as well as some damage to wiring. Robbins-Halsted credited the building’s sprinkler system and company employees, as well as local fire departments, with helping to suppress the fire.  No one was injured, she said.  Robbins-Halsted said the company will be open for business tomorrow.

Other - Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Queensbury, NY – Fire at wood shaving plant contained with help from sprinkler system

A wood-shavings plant caught fire Tuesday morning, two months after federal workplace safety officials cited the company for failing to correct “potential fire and explosion hazards.”

Fire crews from four towns responded to reports of a structure fire about 7:15 a.m. at RWS Manufacturing, 22 Ferguson Lane. The blaze extended from an outside conveyor that moved wood shavings to an inside storage facility, Kingsbury Fire Chief Butch Chase said. “Something may have malfunctioned,” he said.

Investigators do not consider the fire suspicious and no one was injured, Chase said. The fire was extinguished by 8 a.m.  “It’s the nature of their business,” Chase said.

RWS — which makes animal bedding from wood shavings for Quebec-based Royal Wood Shavings — said in July it would shut down if it is not successful in appealing $197,820 in fines from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA claims the plant is exposing its employees to “potential fire and explosion hazards.”

The equipment cited by OSHA was not involved in the blaze, Chase said. A county fire inspection of the plant last month did not identify any problems, he said.

“They are on good order with us,” Chase said. He said he has toured the facility in the past and responded to three other fires on the property in the past six years.

The wood shavings produced there smoke and smolder a lot, Chase said, “but seldom burst into flames.” The building itself was aflame Tuesday, he said.

RWS was operating when the fire started. Staff had safely evacuated the building and started to suppress the fire with hose lines when firefighters arrived, Chase said. The buildings’ sprinkler system stayed on as the fire crews extinguished the blaze.

“They have an extensive clean-up,” Chase said. RWS will undergo a town code inspection and fire chief walkthrough before opening again, he said.

In July, OSHA cited RWS for half a dozen violations totaling about $50,000 and levied an additional $147,000 in penalties after the company failed to fix previously identified violations.

The Queensbury plant, which operates in the Warren-Washington County Industrial Park, was cited for 28 violations in 2013 and fined more than $233,000 for workplace safety violations related to fire, fall and explosion risk. Two of those violations were deemed as “willful,” meaning the company ignored federal safety rules.

“RWS Manufacturing has disregarded its employees’ safety in failing to correct an obvious fire and explosion hazard and in allowing the existence of new and recurring hazards,” said Robert Garvey, OSHA’s area director in Albany in a July press release. “Especially disturbing is the fact that, since OSHA’s last inspection, a significant fire occurred in the plant’s production area in December 2015.”

 

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Revelstoke, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system helps contain electrical fire at timber mill

The sprinkler system at Downie Timber Mill was crucial in containing a fire that broke out at the business on Tuesday night, Aug. 30.

Revelstoke Fire and Rescue Services (RFRS) responded to the fire, following a 911 call, at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday. Fire chief Rob Girard reported that the fire was electrical, possibly sparked by one of the large air compressors.

With 17 personnel from the Revelstoke Fire Rescue Services responding to the fire, it was out in less than 30 minutes with no injuries.

“Upon arrival, fire crews found heavy smoke  pouring from the rear of the compressor building and sprinklers activated,” Girard said. “We immediately ventilated and had an attack crew enter the structure for the fire attack.”

There were no occupants in the building at the time and dealing with the fire was made easier due to the installed sprinkler system.

“The sprinkler system in the mill did a great job containing the fire to the area of origin,” Girard said, “without sprinklers this fire would have been a completely different matter for us.”

“Our hats are off to the great staff and management at Downie Timber Ltd. who helped us when we first arrived right through to mop up,” Girard said. “We all realize how important this facility is to the community.”

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Forest Grove, OR – Sprinkler systerm keeps lumber mill fire from spreading

Two mill workers were examined for smoke inhalation injuries after a fire at the Stimson Lumber Mill Sunday morning.  The fire was reported Sunday morning at the Gaston-area mill on Southwest Scoggins Valley Road.   The mill’s sprinkler system went off and kept the fire from spreading, Forest Grove Fire spokesperson Matt Johnson said.  No word from officials on whether there was any significant damage to the mill. The two mill workers weren’t taken to the hospital, Johnson said.

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, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Eugene, OR – Fire at Weyerhaeuser lumber products plant contained by sprinkler system

A fire that caused minor damage to a Weyerhaeuser plant Saturday night in west Eugene started accidentally, officials said Monday. Eugene Springfield fire investigators say the blaze at the plant on North Bertelsen Road sparked in a piece of normally operating equipment. The fire was contained by the plant’s sprinkler system and later extinguished by firefighters.

The fire was reported at 10:39 p.m. A number of the plant’s employees were evacuated, but no injuries were reported, fire officials said. A Weyerhaeuser spokesman said Sunday that crews were making repairs but that the fire did not cause long-term damage to the plant, which is expected to reopen in the near future. The plant employs about 170 workers, the company spokesman said.

Lumber products including joists and beams are made at the west Eugene plant

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Smithers, BC, Canada – Arson fire at sawmill controlled by sprinkler system

A 49-year-old man is reportedly in police custody, in connection with two fires at the Pacific Inland Resources sawmill in Smithers.  RCMP and the Smithers Fire Department were called to the mill shortly after 10pm last night.

Fire chief Keith Stecko says mill employees activated fire supression systems quickly. “PIR has a sprinkler system in its building so the system quickly detected the fire and was able to control it; when we arrived we put out some spot fires, but the sprinklers largely did the work,” he said.

Stecko says it appears some sort of accelerant was used — and there was considerable damage.  “We’re estimating between $50,000 to perhaps $100,000; we are currently investigating what was used to start the fire, so we’re not sure at this point what it was,” he said.