Olean, NY – Machinery fire at cutlery manufacturer controlled with help from sprinkler system

No injuries were reported after the Olean Fire Department responded to a machinery fire at Cutco Tuesday night.  The initial response was made at 7:30 p.m. to a fire alarm at the main building of the cutlery manufacturer’s East State Street campus. According to Olean Fire Chief Robert Bell, the blaze, which occurred in a polishing room, was under control within approximately 15 minutes. A call indicating the alarm system had been reset came over the emergency scanner at 8:17 p.m.  “The employees at Cutco controlled the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher,” Bell said, adding sprinkler heads also helped contain the flames. “We showed up, we made entry, knocked down the remaining bits of the fire, and then helped with the mop-up.”  According to communications over the scanner, some material in the polishing room caught on fire when a buffer wheel ignited.  Bell said the damage was limited to that polishing machine, but the cost of the damage was unknown. He added that Cutco had two other polishing machines, so their operations would likely not be greatly affected.