Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system activated for commercial fire at roofing plant; No injuries reported

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Portland Fire responds to third alarm industrial fire overnight.

At 12:29 AM BOEC tapped out a commercial fire in the NW Industrial District at the Owens Corning Portland Roofing Plant with reports of a commercial fire alarm. This industrial plant is located near the corner of NW Yeon and NW 35th Ave. The initial reports were of a water flow activation from the interior fire suppression system that automatically contacts the dispatch center with information of a possible fire. Crews arrived to find plant personnel evacuating and a significant amount of smoke pushing from a centrally located smokestack of the facility. There was an initial concern that water application would be ineffective in addressing this fire leading the command officer to request Foam Unit 24 (FU-24) and the large foam firefighting equipment housed at the airport by PDX Port Fire. In the end, an internal sprinkler and large bore hose lines banking water off the roof cooled and extinguished the flames. There were no reported injuries.

As crews were arriving there was a significant amount of smoke pushing out of a centrally located smokestack with plant personnel evacuating the structure. The loud internal warning system that was directing people to evacuate the building due to fire was looping each 15 seconds with the message “Fire – Evacuate the building – Fire – Evacuate the building”. This industrial plant produces roofing materials, and the large machinery used to heat up a tar solution to apply to roofing tiles was on fire with flames showing from the machinery that is used to heat up and move the solution through the plant.

Plant personnel met with arriving crews and stated that application of water on the fire is not advised as there would be a large and volatile steam reaction of the water onto the hot tar product. There was an inhouse CO2 extinguishing fire suppression system in place that was activated and overrun by the amount of fire present in this emergency which alarmed both plant personnel and responding crews. This directed the command officer to request the multiple foam units along with the PF&R Hazardous Materials Team and Coordinator. There was a concern that the fire would extend from the machinery into the pans and troughs filled with the slurry of tar products and extend to the multiple storage tanks on the exterior of the structure located on the complex. This increased fire activity could lead to the entire storage vats becoming overrun with fire with a significant amount of stored fuels involved. To be certain there were enough firefighters on scene to address what could have potentially been a long and extended fire, the command officer requested up to a third alarm assignment during the arrival, education, and planning phases of this emergency response.

The priority of the responding firefighters was to find the power shut off to stop the flow of electricity into the machinery. This securing of the electrical system was performed by a crew early on with the assistance and direction of plant personnel. Once power had been secured, a fire suppression plan could be enacted. This initial plan involved large amounts of foam from the specialized fire apparatus on scene from PF&R and Airport Fire to flow a foam solution safely into the area affected by flames to extinguish the fire to not have a steam production emergency due to the water hitting the hot tarry solution.

Crews on the interior noticed a single interior fire sprinkler head had been activated and was raining down water onto the machinery and was able to connect with plant personnel to discover that water can be applied to the machinery but direct waterflow into the pans and troughs filled with the slurry of hot tar is ill advised due to the possible steam production. This redirected command to put two large bore nozzles hoses in place on the interior of the facility to bounce off the ceiling and rain down water to cool and extinguish the flames within the machinery of the plant.

The elimination of the electricity to the machinery along with the large amounts of water raining down on the area affected by bouncing the water off the ceiling suppressed the fire in a 10-minute period. Quick extinguishment of this large industrial fire resulted in a small amount of damage to the facility. All water used in extinguishing the flames was captured by the in-house water retention system and not released back into the municipal water system. The bulk of the second alarm assignment was released within the first hour of the incident with PF&R crews remaining on scene to assist plant personnel in wrapping up this emergency.

PF&R would like to thank the dispatchers at BOEC for their assistance along with PPB Patrol Officers who provided traffic control allowing our crews to operate safely along HWY 30/NW Yeon. PF&R would also like to thank the members of PGE for responding to the site to assist in addressing the flow of electricity in the aerial powerlines in the area.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Edenton, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at manufacturing facility

This is why we put in the hard work every day. These four sprinkler heads extinguished the fire and saved a property that J&D Sprinkler has proudly serviced for years. Fire sprinklers don’t just protect property—they save lives. We’re honored to design, install and maintain countless fire and alarm systems across the Carolinas, keeping our communities safe.

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Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Snohomish, WA – Sprinkler system holds fire commercial fire in check

Early Saturday morning 48firefighters responded to a fire at 1530 Bonneville Ave (a 17,000-square-foot commercial building) in the City of Snohomish.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 was dispatched to a fire alarm, wherethey found smoke coming from the building and upgraded the response to a commercial fire.

Units from Everett Fire, South County Fire, and Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue assisted Snohomish County Fire District #4.

Investigators said the building had an operating sprinkler system that held the fire in check until crews could gain access to the seat of the fire and fully extinguish it.

Currently there is no cause to the fire and the Snohomish County Fire Marshal is leading the investigation.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Cambridge, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Cintas facility; No injuries reported

An early morning fire at a Cambridge business caused significant damage.

Emergency services were called to a fire at the Cintas Uniform Company on Turnbull Court around 3:30 a.m. Monday.

Cambridge Fire told CTV News there were no injuries and no one was inside at the time.

Damage to the building is substantial, they added.

Cambridge Fire said it was an offensive attack to contain and suppress the fire with the assistance of the building sprinkler system.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Officials said it’s unlikely workers will be able to return to work Monday due to poor air quality inside the building.

Cambridge Fire wrapped up the investigation by Monday evening and said the building was released back to the owner to start the clean up process.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Redmond, OR – Sprinkler system activated for fire at business; No injuries reported

Redmond Fire & Rescue respond to a fire at an animal bedding business Saturday night.

Around 10:30p.m. fire crews arrived at JTS Animal Bedding on 1st Street in southeast Redmond to smoke coming from a building located at the backside of the property.

Fire crews discovered fire burning within an enclosed conveyor belt area and baghouse. The buildings fire sprinkler system had activated and was keeping the fire in check.

Crews worked to contain the fire to the one building and prevented it from spreading to the main warehouse.

There were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire was due to an overheated bearing on a roller within the conveyor belt area. The overheated bearing caused the wood dust to smolder then ignite and spread fire through the conveyor belt area and baghouse.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Bridgewater, VT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at furniture making facility; No injuries reported

Furniture maker Charles Shackleton is crediting a fast response from Bridgewater and Woodstock firefighters along with a recently updated sprinkler system with dousing an “electrical fire” that broke out at the ShackletonThomas furniture and pottery headquarters in the Bridgewater Mill last Friday afternoon.

“We are now cleaning up water and smoke damage but nothing critical was damaged and, more importantly, no person was injured,” Shackleton posted on social media on Saturday.

The fire happened a little more than a year after Shackleton had to shut down in July 2023 after torrential rains caused the Ottauquechee River to overflow and flood the basement level of the Bridgewater Mill building, damaging sawing and milling equipment used to cut and shape wood into furniture parts.

Bridgewater and Woodstock firefighters were dispatched at 5:40 p.m. on Friday after callers reported “an explosion and visible smoke” coming from the third floor of the mill building, according to a news release from Bridgewater Volunteer Fire Department.

Upon entering the third floor firefighters, “encountered heavy black smoke with zero visibility” and “found a small fire” on the third floor but “fortunately … the sprinklers did their job in keeping the fire contained,” the fire department said in the statement.

Once the fire was tamped down and the third floor ventilated, mutual aid crews from area fire departments placed tarps over the furniture on the floors below to mitigate the loss of furniture and wood caused by water dripping down from the activated sprinklers on the floor above.

“It was mostly water and smoke damage, no major structural damage at all,” Jeff Shepard, shop manager at Shackleton, said on Monday afternoon.

The damage was largely limited to “tools and machinery” and a power control box which “shorted out” on the second floor, caused by water, Shepard said.

The only piece of furniture that was damaged was a bunk bed on the third floor that Shephard said he was finishing. “It was right next to the fire and the firemen soaked it so the drawers underneath it got soaked. So I’ll have to remake those,” he said.

The fire broke out after employees had left for the day and no one was inside the ShackletonThomas portion of the building, according to Shepard.

“Reports from bystanders that the smoke was heaviest on the Route 4 side” of the building led Bridgewater firefighters to request a second alarm “to bring in additional mutual aid for a working fire,” the Bridgewater Fire Department said.

State fire investigators at the scene on Monday were still investigating the cause of the fire, but Shackleton said in a social media post that they are looking into the possibility it was caused by “maybe lithium batteries. We don’t know.”

Showroom floor items “were not damaged” and “we plan to have furniture production back up and running in two weeks” while an end-of-month sale remains scheduled as planned, Shackleton said.

“It was a year ago in July that I was down in the basement fixing all the machinery,” Shepard reflected on Monday. “It’s ‘Groundhog Day,’ ” he said good-humoredly, referring to the 1993 Bill Murray movie about a man trapped in a repeating cycle of a day’s events.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Medford, OR – Sprinkler system contains fire in office space at commercial building; No injuries reported

Firefighters with the Medford Fire Department put out a small fire that sparked at Roseburg Forest Products Tuesday evening.

According to MFD, the fire, which was burning above a small office space, was largely contained by the sprinkler system inside the building.

In a Facebook post, the department said, “had the sprinkler system not been in place, the fire would have been much larger by the time crews arrived on scene. We want to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of maintaining fire protection systems in buildings.”

No one was injured and the cause is being investigated.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Kiel, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at foundry; No injuries reported

A fire was reported at the Kiel Foundry over the weekend.

The Kiel Fire Department reports that crews were dispatched to the business in the 300 block of Park Avenue just before 7:00 Friday evening after a citizen noticed fire alarms were sounding and smoke was coming through the roof.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and forced entry into the building.

They were able to control the fire within 30 minutes of arrival, with help from the sprinkler system and additional units that arrived from around the area.

The fire was said to have started in the ceiling, but the exact cause is not known at this time.

No injuries were reported and there is no damage cost estimate available as of this morning.

Kiel Fire was assisted at the scene by Elkhart Lake, New Holstein, Plymouth, Glenbeulah, St. Anna, and St. Nazianz fire teams along with Manitowoc County Joint Dispatch, Kiel Police, the Kiel Department of Public Works, and by the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Wadsworth, OH – Sprinkler system activated for fire at recycled rubber manufacturer; No injuries reported

Several workers were evacuated early Tuesday morning after a fire broke out at Goldsmith & Eggleton, a recycled rubber manufacturing company.

The company is located in the 300 block of 1st St.

Fire officials told 19 News six workers were in the building when the fire started. All escaped without injuries.

“The first arriving crews, arrived on the scene, there were flames through the roof, set up a defensive attack, got the first knocked down, trying to get all the hotspots,” said Wadsworth Assistant Fire Chief Richard Potter. “There was fire in the machine.”

Firefighters remained on the scene for two hours.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

There is no damage estimate at this time; however, fire officials said there is plenty of water damage from the building’s sprinkler system and from the fire crews.

It will be a couple of days before it dries out enough to turn on the electricity and resume activity, said Assistant Fire Chief Potter.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Almont, MI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at metal casting facility

A two-alarm fire in the Almont Industrial Park brought firefighters from two Lapeer County fire departments to Aristo-Cast Metal Investment Casting, Inc. Monday. The Almont Fire Department responded to the initial call at 7400 Research Drive in Almont and promptly requested mutual aid from the Imlay City Fire Department. Almont Fire Chief Don Smith said his department was called at 4 a.m. Monday morning. According to Chief Smith, one of the ovens used to melt wax pellets malfunctioned and caught fire. He said the company’s sprinkler system activated and likely saved the building from being destroyed. Chief Smith said around 3,000 gallons of water was used by the two departments, in addition to the sprinkler system. One employee was treated for minor smoke inhalation. Almont First Responders and Lapeer County EMS also responded to the fire. Chief Smith said units cleared the scene by 6 a.m. 

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