Category Archives: Other – Manufacturing

Medina, OH – Sprinkler system contains industrial fire at chemical manufacturer; No injuries reported

The Medina Fire Department responded to an industrial fire Wednesday afternoon at FBC Chemical Company, 900 W. Smith Road.

All Medina fire stations were dispatched to the manufacturer just after 2 p.m. for a report of a structure fire involving chemicals.

The first crew to arrive found heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the room of origin, fire officials said.

All occupants were evacuated and no injures were reported. The Lafayette Township Fire Department and Erhart-York Fire Department also were called for mutual aid and Medina police officers and Life Support Team paramedics were on scene.

FBC, a distribution warehouse, sells the alcohols and commonly used chemicals to make hand sanitizers, hand soap and other cleaning products. Its website said it has provided specialty and commodity chemicals to the Northeast and Midwest United States for more than 50 years.

Antigo, WI – Sprinkler system helps prevent major damage to business; No injuries reported

Developing overnight in Langlade County, the Antigo Fire Department tells NewsChannel 7 that crews responded to a fire at Dejno’s overnight.

Fire Chief John Petroskey with the Antigo Fire Department says that there were no injuries reported but there was substantial damage to equipment inside the building. Crews say that a sprinkler system inside the building helped prevent major damage to its structural integrity.

The call came in at 7 p.m. Thursday night with crews battling the fire into the early morning hours of Friday. Chief Petroskey says Bridge Street will be open to traffic Friday morning.

The fire is under investigation with Chief Petroskey saying crews will be back on scene in the morning to check for hot spots.

Belle Plaine, MN – Fire at peanut roasting mill contained by fire sprinklers

On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Belle Plaine Fire Department responded to a Blakeley Township fire in a peanut roasting mill, which is used to produce birdseed. Fire Chief Steve Otto said that one of the dryers likely got too hot and the roaster started on fire. He said the owners previously added a sprinkler system to the cyclones, which activated on Thursday and prevented any serious damage. The Jordan Fire Department also responded to the scene.

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire inside paint spray booth; No injuries reported

A fire in an industrial building on Tuesday afternoon in Chilliwack could have been a lot worse if not for the interior sprinkler system.

Firefighters from Halls 1, 4 and 6 were called to the scene of a structure fire in the 43000-block of Progress Way on Tuesday, Sept. 22 shortly before 1 p.m.

Crews arrived to find a significant amount of smoke coming from the building. Firefighters entered the building, discovered the fire was located in the paint spray booth, and that it had been extinguished by the building’s fire sprinkler system.

There was minor fire, smoke and water damage and it is expected the business will be back in operation soon. The cause of the fire is accidental and is related to hot work processes in the paint spray booth.

All employees safely evacuated the building and there were no firefighter injuries.

Easton, MD – Fire sprinklers contains fire to exterior loading dock of commercial building; No injuries reported

Authorities say several people were able to escape a late Wednesday night fire that caused a combined half a million dollars in damage to a commercial building in Easton.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office said the blaze broke out shortly after 10 p.m. at Adams Publishing Group (APG) Media of Chesapeake LLC, located at 29088 Airpark Drive. 

It took 42 firefighters from the Easton Volunteer Fire Department and assisting companies approximately an hour to get the fire under control. 

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the structure and another $450,000 in damage to its contents. There were no reported injuries. 

The building’s smoke alarm was present and activated. Additionally, its fire alarm and fire sprinkler system were present and activated. 

Deputy state fire marshals said the fire was contained to the exterior loading dock area of the commercial building. Several employees were working inside of the building at the time of the fire, who were able to evacuate the building after the fire alarm activation.

Anyone with information pertaining to the fire is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Upper Eastern Region Office at 410-822-7609.

Ferdinand, IN – Sprinkler System helps put out fire from malfunctioning compressor; No injuries reported

Units of the Ferdinand Volunteer Fire Department responded late Monday night to the report of an explosion and heavy smoke showing at a business location on West Eighth Street.

Fire Chief John Hoppenjans said the first arriving units answering the 11:16 p.m. callout determined the explosion and resulting fire was contained in the air compressor room at Leibering Lumber, 514 W. Eighth St.

Hoppenjans said a 50-horsepower compressor had malfunctioned and exploded, blowing open the doors of its cabinet and touching off a fire that was coming out the eaves of the building housing the unit. A nightwatchman reported the issue to authorities.

A sprinkler system activated and did its job, Hoppenjans said, and firefighters followed up by shutting off the electricity to the building, extinguishing hot spots and ventilating the space.

The compressor was a total loss, but the building just sustained charring to rafters and can be repaired.

Five trucks and 26 firefighters were on the scene 90 minutes.

The Ferdinand Police Department and Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services assisted.

There were no injuries.

Brookings, SD – Fire sprinklers keep fire in check in paint booth at electronics company; No injuries reported

A fire at Daktronics wasn’t as bad as it could have been, thanks to sprinklers, according to Brookings Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann.

The fire department was called out at 9:04 a.m. Tuesday to the north side of building 2 at Daktronics, Hartmann said.

“It came in as a sprinkler discharge with alarm,” Hartmann said.

Employees were evacuated and reported that the problem was “in one of the paint booths, which it was,” he said.

“We got crews inside pretty quickly; assessed if we had any fire extension,” Hartmann said.

“The sprinklers kind of kept everything in check for us, which was great. It worked the way it’s designed,” he said.

Crews pulled some of the filter units that were smoldering and made sure the fire was out and things were cooling off, he said.

“Shut down the sprinkler to minimize any more water damage,” Hartmann said. 

Nobody was injured, he said.

“Daktronics did a wonderful job,” Hartmann said. “They got their personnel out, but they were there to assist the whole time.”

Fire crews cleared the scene at 9:54 a.m.

Allegany, NY – Fire contained to electrical room at lumber company thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire reported at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Potter Lumber Company kept firefighters on the scene until 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Allegany Volunteer Fire Department officials said.

A report issued by the fire department Thursday said the fire at the Potter Road business, located off Five Mile Road, was determined to be accidental in nature following an investigation by Allegany fire investigators.

Gordon Scott, spokesman for the Allegany department, said there were no injuries as firefighters from several area departments were called to the scene battled the blaze.

In addition, Scott said no employees had been at the lumber company when the fire broke out.

A report from the fire department said, “due to the large industrial building and large amount of timber within the building, a large mutual aid request was put out to include Westons Mills, Knapp Creek, town of Olean, Hinsdale, Limestone, city of Olean, Portville, Cuba, Deputy 4 and National Grid.

“Engine 31 arrived on scene and began an interior fire attack while the Truck 6 crew set the tower and went to the roof,” the report stated. “Due to the sprinkler system and an aggressive interior attack, the fire damage was contained to the electrical room and a small portion of the roof above the mill.”

The fire department also thanked “all the mutual aid that responded and the multiple standby companies” that covered the mutual aid districts.

For his part, Scott said it was not only a late night but also “an early morning” for firefighters.

He said fire investigators were not able to assess the amount of damage incurred. He noted the power was shut off to the entire company by National Grid during the incident.

Messages seeking comment from officials with Potter Lumber were not returned Thursday.

An employee at Potter Lumber said the company office was open on Thursday, but didn’t indicate whether the plant was operating.

“We’re still assessing the rest of the damage,” the employee said.

A company website noted Potter Lumber specializes in the production of green and kiln dried hardwood lumber.

Salt Lake City, UT – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at commercial business

A fire broke out at the International Center late Friday night located at 5281 Harold Gatty Drive on Friday night.

The commercial building was said to contain a large number of paper products, according to Salt Lake City Fire Department. Firefighters first responded to the location due to a water flow alarm going off but when they arrived they saw a fire broke out. The sprinkler system helped contain the flames before crews arrived.

“In a large industrial area like this, it’s not common for us to get a fire and get a quick notice on it,” Adam Archuleta with Salt Lake City Fire told 2News. “If you do hear alarms activated or you do see strobe lights on buildings, that’s usually an indication there has been an alarm drop, so that would be helpful to notify us so we can investigate that.”

The building was reported to be empty at the time of the fire.

Investigators are currently determining the cause of the fire.

Vero Beach, FL – Sprinkler system keeps fire from growing; No injuries reported

 Firefighters put out a blaze at the main factory building on the Piper Aircraft property Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Shortly after 3 p.m., there were reports of smoke at Piper, located near the Vero Beach Regional Airport. As of 3:15 p.m., the fire was out, Indian River County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Kyle Kofke said.

According to Kevin Keegan, Piper Aircraft’s vice president of general counsel, a piece of equipment caught fire in the building’s main factory.

“We don’t have all the answers yet but that’s what we know so far,” Keegan said. 

The sprinkler system kept the fire from growing until firefighters arrived to douse it, Kofke said. The blaze happened in a paint booth within the main factory. 

Piper Aircraft employees were evacuated from the building’s main factory after an “emergency evacuation” was issued for every employee, workers confirmed. 

The morning employees were told to go home immediately after the evacuation, while the afternoon shift took their place. 

The fire was contained and no injuries were reported. 

The state Fire Marshal’s Office will investigate the cause of the fi