Category Archives: Manufacturing Plant

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Spokane, WA – Sprinkler system helps firefighters contain fire at boat trailer builder

Spokane Fire crews responded to a report of a fire at EZ Loader Boat Trailers Friday morning.  The call came in at 8:24 a.m. Crews said initial reports stated somebody was using a cutting torch to cut something metallic. A spark caught a portion of an 8 foot by 10 foot wall on fire.  Fire crews had to pull the wall apart to get to the fire behind. Crews had to do this to keep the fire from extending to the roof.  Crews used hose lines and a pump can to extinguish the fire. Officials said the sprinkler system inside the building went off properly and contributed to keeping the fire contained to one part of the building.   No one was injured in the fire and EZ Loader Boat Trailers will continue business as normal Friday. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Hannibal, MO – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in early morning fire at rubber plant

An early Monday morning fire at Buckhorn Rubber Plant in Hannibal was ruled accidental in nature, according to Hannibal fire investigators. Hannibal Fire Department said crews were called to the plant at 3:39 a.m. for a report of a machine on fire.  HFD Investigator Mark Kempker said when firefighters arrived workers were outside the building and the fire had set off the building’s sprinkler system.  Kempker said it took firefighters about 10 minutes to put the fire out completely.  Crews stayed on scene for about an hour.  Following an investigation, Kempker said the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the control panel of a machine. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Salem, VA – Overnight fire at tire manufacturer controlled with help from sprinkler system

A fire at Yokohama Tire Corp. in Salem early Friday morning damaged part of the facility. Salem Fire & EMS went to the building in the 1500 block of Indiana Street about 2 a.m., according to the department. All employees inside the facility were safely evacuated.  The fire started at a mixer machine in the plant, according to a statement from the company. The sprinkler system was triggered. The type of rubber that caught fire causes a lot of smoke, the company said.  The first crew arrived within six minutes of the call and found heavy fire coming from one side of the building. The two-alarm fire also required assistance from Roanoke Fire-EMS and Roanoke County Fire & Rescue. The first firefighters on scene were able to get the fire under control within about 30 minutes.

The fire was contained to one part of the building, which sustained significant damage from the fire. Damage from the fire required extensive salvage and overhaul operations. An estimate of the damage was not available Friday morning. The plant was shut down at 4 a.m. and most areas of the plant resumed operations Friday morning, the company said.  About 32 people from fire and rescue agencies responded to the call. No injuries were reported.  The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Salem plant manufactures passenger, high-performance and light-truck tires and is one of Salem’s largest employers.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Kitchener, ON, Canada – Sprinklers extinguish fire at Colt Canada firearms manufacturing plant; No injuries

The Colt Canada firearms manufacturing plant in Kitchener was evacuated Thursday morning due to a fire inside the building.

Firefighters were called to the Wilson Avenue facility around 8:30 a.m.When they arrived, they found that the fire had already been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

Water from the sprinklers damaged some computers. Damaged is estimated at $10,000 to $20,000.

Fire officials say the fire began when workers were test firing casings, one of which landed in “residual matter.”

No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Chesterfield, VA – Early morning fire in metal press at aluminum plant doused by sprinkler system

An aluminum plant in Chesterfield is operating normally again after a fire broke out inside one of the plant’s machines early Wednesday morning. The fire happened around 4:45 a.m. at the Kaiser plant located in the 1900 block of Reymet Road, near Interstate 95 and Route 288. Crews arrived the scene around 4:52 a.m.

When firefighters arrived, they discovered a metal press had caught fire. Officials say the sprinkler system kept the fire mostly contained. The fire was marked under control at 5:53 a.m. Fire officials say there was a concern for the safety of the crews because of the heat from the aluminum. There was also concern firefighters could get shocked because of all electricity used the power the machinery, and the water being used to douse the flames.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Crews worked with plant personnel to make sure all power was shut off from the machines and spent part of Wednesday morning ventilating the building.  There is no word yet on what caused the fire.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Vinton, VA – Sprinkler system halts fire in maintenance closet at fabric manufactuer

Firefighters responded to a small fire at Precision Fabrics in Vinton on Saturday night.

The fire caused no injuries and had been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time units arrived, said Lt. Richard Williams of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue.

The incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m., didn’t damage the facility at 323 W. Virginia Ave., he said.

“It was like a plastic bucket of materials that caught on fire, not the actual structure,” he said. The fire occurred in a maintenance closet in an outlying part of the facility, he said.

Fire units from Roanoke, Roanoke County and Vinton responded to the incident.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Sun Prairie, WI – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at manufacturing plant

A fire early Sunday Jan. 29 damaged a property known as the former Goodyear plant, also known as Continental and Veyance Technologies, 143 Goodyear St.

Sun Prairie Fire Chief Chris Garrison said at 12:15 a.m., the SPFD responded to a report of a fire and water-flow alarm at the Veyance facility.

Garrison said a Sun Prairie Police officer arrived on the scene first and reported active fire in in a ventilation unit on the east side of the building.

Sun Prairie Fire Department personnel arrived and upgraded to a structure fire response. Garrison said the first-in unit swiftly assured there were no employees in the building. Firefighters immediately shut down utilities to the unit, then deployed a hand-line to the involved unit.

Firefighters were able to knock down the fire rapidly, Garrison said, keeping it from spreading throughout the structure. In addition, an activated sprinkler head also cut off fire spread in the ventilation system.

Units remained on the scene ventilating the large structure.Garrison said fire officials worked with property management in assisting to restore fire protection to the building.

No civilian or fire department injuries were reported, according to Garrison, who said fire damage was contained to the ventilation unit.Sun Prairie Police and EMS provided additional assistance.
No estimate on damage at this time, the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Jordan, MN – Welding fire knocked down by sprinkler system at transformer plant

Firefighters and Jordan Police Department officers were dispatched for a call of a commercial fire inside Jordan Transformer on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 26.

A tarp caught on fire as an employee was welding inside a plant welding shop.

The call came in at 11:37 a.m. and the Jordan Fire Department responded with 17 firefighters, according to Gregg Pekarna, fire chief for Jordan Fire Department.

Jordan Police provided backup, and when the officers arrived on scene, heavy smoke was billowing out from the plant building. Officers provided traffic control and assisted the Jordan Fire Department, Jordan Police Chief Brett Empey said.

By the time firefighters arrived on scene, the fire was mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, Pekarna said.

“There was nothing suspicious about it — the tarp caught on fire — the sprinkler did the job and knocked out the fire, and we mopped up after that,” Pekarna said.

At the fire location was a nearby adjoining wall that had a rack of welding gas that the fire fortunately did not touch, Pekarna said.

The Jordan Fire Department remained on scene for two hours during cleanup and to make sure the fire remained completely extinguished.“

The team (Jordan Fire) did a great job responding and containing it after the sprinklers,” Pekarna said.

Jordan Transformer staff were all evacuated from the building as a precautionary measure, the fire chief reported. No one was seriously injured, although one individual was treated at the scene for possible burns and smoke inhalation, Pekarna reported.

The estimated loss is not known at this time.

Jordan Transformer declined to comment on the fire.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, NC – Afternoon fire at boat manufacturer extinguished by sprinkler system

Multiple fire and rescue units responded to a fire at Grady-White Boats on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Pitt County Monday afternoon.  The call came in around 3:45 p.m. for reports of heavy smoke coming from the building, and the staff was forced to evacuate.  Greenville Fire and Rescue, along with the Staton House Fire Department, responded to the scene, but the sprinkler system had already put out the fire.

“We had a small fire in our small parts area,” said Mark Doggett, who works at Grady-White.  “It was contained very quickly by our sprinkler system. We evacuated all of our people because there is some smoke. Everyone is accounted for. Everybody is safe. Now, we just need to get the smoke out of the plant, get things cleaned up tonight, and get back to work tomorrow.”  Minimal damage is expected but the staff has not been able to return inside because of the smoke.  Staff are expected to be allowed back inside Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Elysburg, PA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at packaging manufacturer

An Elysburg business was saved Tuesday morning thanks to a sprinkler system that worked to perfection, according to Elysburg Fire Chief Dennis Kroh. Polar Tech, which manufactures packaging materials, ice packs and shipping containers, was the scene of a Tuesday morning fire that saw more than 75 firefighters and emergency responders from 10 fire departments covering three counties rush to the structure located along Route 487 at around 7:05 a.m., Kroh said.  The fire began in a storage area behind the plant but the sprinkler system kicked it “just like it was supposed to,” Kroh said. “I truly believe without the system in place the fire would have continued to spread and it would have been a total loss.”

“The sprinkler system worked exactly as it was supposed to and gave us time to get there and get inside.” Kroh said the fire was tricky because it started in an area where there were several items stored which made it hard for firefighters to locate the exact spot in which the spark occurred.  Soon after 7 a.m., at least 30 employees were evacuated and were not allowed back into the structure for several hours.  The fire lasted about 45 minutes and Kroh said the blaze was contained to one area and that nothing was damaged inside the production area.  Kroh was thankful for the efforts of the firefighters and said Mother Nature also played a part in avoiding a disaster.

Temperatures on Tuesday morning were near 50 degrees. “It’s always better when it is not so cold out,” Kroh said. “We got lucky with the weather and everyone did a great job.”  Polar Tech purchased part of the former Fleetwood complex in Ralpho Township in 2011.  Kroh said he was unable to determine a dollar amount in damage and has ruled the cause of the fire as undetermined at this time.  Fire crews from Elysburg, Shamokin, Stonington, Coal Township, Kulpmont Mount Carmel and Atlas in Northumberland County, Catawissa from Columbia County and Danville and Mahoning Township of Montour County all assisted at the scene.