Firefighters responded to the scene around 1:30 a.m., and the fire was extinguished by 1:48 a.m.
According to Fire Chief, Pat Treloar, the fire was located in the seed area of the plant, and there is considerable damage to the conveyor belt.
Treloar also said the sprinkler system worked effectively, and helped prevent the fire from escalating.
According to Lexington Fire Battalion Chief Jordan Saas, firefighters responded to the report of a fire at about noon at the facility. Crews found smoke coming from the roof on the backside of the building and once on top, fire was discovered in one of the hoppers.
The fire was extinguished using a hose line and the building’s sprinkler system, Saas said.
No injuries were reported.
As of 1 p.m., crews remained on the scene checking for hotspots but the scene was turned back over the company at about 1:15 p.m.
According to KFD Public Information Officer Barry Brickey, firefighters were called to Anita’s Snack Foods at 11:45 p.m. Thursday.
Crews had been alerted to a commercial fire alarm. They were later told the status of the alarm had been upgraded to a structure fire.
Brickey said employees at Anita’s Snack Foods attempted to put out the flames with fire extinguishers.
According to Brickey, the fire sprinkler system was able to contain the fire, with one sprinkler head dousing the flames.
When crews arrived, a smoldering fire and smoke in the building was all that remained due to the sprinkler system, according to Brickey.
Brickey told News Channel 11 that sprinkler systems are designed so that the closest sprinkler head to the fire reatcts to the heat. Often only one or two heads will react and contain a fire.
KFD extinguished the smoldering fire and hot spots and ventilated the building.
According to Brickey, there were no injuries reported.
Crews cleared the scene around 2:30 a.m. Friday. Brickey said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The first officer arrived on the scene several minutes later to find no smoke or flames showing, but saw water running out under an exterior boiler room door.
Firefighters gained access to the building when the maintenance staff arrived. They found an activated sprinkler head above a fire in an upstairs area on the mezzanine. The sprinkler system had suppressed the fire and prevented it from spreading and causing further damage.
“This is why we encourage sprinkler systems,” the Fire Department wrote on its Facebook page.
Glenn Mott, vice president of compliance for Gerber’s added, “Everything worked perfectly.”
Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire with fire extinguishers.
A second alarm and the Rapid Intervention Team were canceled once the extent of the fire was determined to be under control.
Kidron Fire declared the fire out at 11:31 p.m. Crews remained on scene to do an overhaul and clean up until 12:38 a.m.
No one was in the building at the time of the incident and no injuries were reported. The damage was estimated between $5,000 and $10,000.
The Wayne County Fire Investigation Team investigated and determined the fire was caused by a malfunctioning heating unit that ignited material in an adjacent area.
Clasen Quality Chocolate, 420 E. Horseshoe Road, started off the new year in a unique way Wednesday.
At 1:22 p.m., the Watertown Fire Department responded to a call for a structure fire at the factory. According to Watertown Fire Chief Kraig Biefeld, the blaze started when a box full of products caught on fire, but the fire was limited to just the box. Sprinklers put it out before units arrived.
“The sprinkler system did its job. That’s why we advocate the use of sprinklers in buildings,” Biefeld said.
The fire department sent the on-duty crew and Biefeld, who went to the call, said with the fire out, the crew went to make sure the fire was out and to ventilate the building.
Mutual aid was initially called, but was quickly called off, according to Biefeld.
Clasen Quality Chocolate produces a variety of chocolate coatings of different colors, flavors and sizes as well as 20 different varieties of chocolate and numerous fillings and spreads.
According to the company website, Clasen Quality Chocolate, “has transitioned from a small, regional compound coating manufacturer to a major supplier of both standard and customized formulations and value-added, confectionery ingredients across North America” and has facilities in Watertown, Middleton with corporate offices and the company innovation center in Madison.
A commercial fryer caught fire Tuesday at Axium Foods and caused about $70,000 in damages.
The fire was reported about 8:15 p.m.
Firefighters arrived at the plant, 239 Oak Grove Ave., to find 20 to 30 employees outside and heavy smoke inside the plant.
“The (overhead) sprinkler system activated pretty quickly and kept the fire contained,” South Belolit Fire Chief Michael Davenport said. “We had the fire under control in about 15 minutes and the fire completely out in 20 minutes.”
Axium Foods, at times a three-shift operation, is a corn-based snack food manufacturer making chips and other products.
“The fire started in the fry unit of the oven,” Davenport said.
The cause of the fire, however, remains under investigation. Damage was estimated at $50,000 to the machinery and $20,000 to product lost. Rockton Fire Department assisted.