Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Nantucket, MA – Landfill fire held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

It took Nantucket firefighters about two and a half hours early Saturday morning to extinguish a blaze that started in a pile of debris in the construction and demolition waste building at the Madaket landfill.

No one was injured and no equipment damaged in the fire, which was reported via alarm at about 4 a.m., fire chief Steve Murphy said.

“The duty crew was already attending to an ambulance call and fire alarm (at the time),” Murphy said. “Deputy chief Robert Bates responded, finding heavy smoke in the C&D building with sprinkler-system activation. After clearing the previous fire alarm the duty crew responded with the engine, as well as off-duty personnel responding from home. Crews extinguished the remaining fire with the help of machinery on site used to pull the pile apart to reach the buried fire.”

Firefighters were on the scene until approximately 6:30 a.m. The fire is believed to be accidental in origin, Murphy said. The three-headed sprinkler system inside the building activated and worked as intended to hold the fire in check until their crew could respond, he added.

“No equipment was damaged and the building appeared to sustain only minor damage,” Murphy said. “We are very grateful the sprinkler system did its job.”

Landfill operations will not be impacted by the fire.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Quincy, IL – Compressor fire kept in check by fire sprinklers

QUINCY, IL — Tri Township Fire responded to a fire at Titan International Inc. at 27th and Spruce in Quincy Tuesday night.

Assistant Fire Chief Darren Smith says the compressor caught fire in the compressor room around 6 p.m. and spread into the employee locker room.

Firefighters found heavy smoke on arrival.

Smith said even though the sprinkler system kept the fire in check, extensive repairs are needed.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Jeffersonville, OH – Sprinkler system keeps fire under control at automotive parts plant

Shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday, firefighters responded to an active fire at TFO Tech in Jeffersonville.

According to the chief of the Jefferson Township Fire Department, Jeff Warner, there were approximately 20 firefighters in all who responded. Responders included Jefferson Township Fire and EMS along with mutual aid engines from Washington Court House and Silvercreek Township.

Warner explained there were approximately 15 TFO employees containing the fire until the responders arrived—they had used hoses and nearly 15 fire extinguishers. He said, “They were very helpful in keeping things under control until we got there.”

There was a sprinkler system in place at TFO that helped in keeping the fire under control—there was no structural damage. The fire was contained to one press which ignited during regular operation.

According to Warner, TFO reported the value of the press was $20 million. The extent of damage to the press is unknown at this time.

There are five other presses available for use, and TFO does not expect any delays in its supply of automotive parts to Honda.

The Washington Court House Fire Department (WCHFD) had four on-scene, including fire chief Tim Downing, according to WCHFD Capt. Ben Havens.

Havens said, “They had it under control when we arrived. We just helped them clean up a little bit, and then we were out of there.” Mutual aid was present in case their assistance was needed. WCHFD was back in-service at 9:30 a.m.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Southport, NY – Sprinkler system extinguished manufacturing fire before fire crews arrived

Southport Fire official Mike Smith says that an industrial air compressor failed at the Elmira Stamping and Manufacturing Tuesday morning.

Employees evacuated and a sprinkler system extinguished the fire before Southport and City of Elmira firefighters arrived.

UPDATE (8:08 a.m.) The fire has been put out. Fire crews are still on the scene to complete overhaul and clean-up.

According to the Southport Fire Department, the cause of the fire is unknown at this time. No injuries or damage to the building has been reported so far. 

The Southport and Pine City fire departments were on scene early Wednesday morning for a reported structure fire at 1704 Cedar Street in Southport.

Smoke can be seen around the Elmira Stamping Manufacturing Co. building. The call came in just before 7 a.m.

Our 18 News reporter on the scene says the smoke has decreased significantly. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Erie, PA – Foundry fire knocked down by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Firefighters made quick work of an early-morning fire at an Erie foundry. It happened around 1:20 a.m. at Keystone Foundry on West 12th, in between Plum and Cascade streets. When crews got to the scene, it was a fire from one of the foundry’s furnaces that started spreading to the roof. “All in all, the fire was knocked down mainly by the sprinkler system,” said Deputy Fire Chief Mike Fahey. “We’re just kind of cleaning up and making sure it didn’t extend anywhere else.” No one was hurt.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Colorado Springs, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire caused by a cigarette

A smoker nearly destroyed the Foxworth-Galbraith building in Colorado Springs, according to fire investigators.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department is reporting the sprinkler system played a major role in saving the building in the 4000 block of Interpark Dr. near Austin Bluffs Parkway and I-25. The sprinkler system set off an automatic alarm that called firefighters to the scene on April 13 at about 3:30 in the morning.

When crews arrived in the area they noticed smoke coming from the roof-line of the building. Firefighters were able to gain access to the property but had issues with finding a working hydrant.

“The CSFD identifies the sprinkler system activation as a success story for this structure,” Public Information Officer with the fire department Capt. Brian Vaughan wrote. “Without proper activation, this building may have ended in a total loss to the structure or worse considering life safety due to the occupancy and fuel loading. Colorado Springs Utilities is investigating the City hydrant failure currently and CSFD Fire Inspectors have inspected the site previously for loading too close to hydrants and are in the process of re-inspection for compliance moving forward.”

There were no injuries reported after 48 firefighters were called to the scene. The cause was due to “careless disposal of cigarettes” according to the fire department.

The fire department provided the following tips for smoking safety:

1-Always provide enough sturdy, fire and weatherproof, non-tipping, outdoor ashtrays for employees and house guests

2-Make sure your outdoor smoking area does not slope towards any structure

3- Do not toss cigarettes out of any vehicle that you are driving or while you are walking at any time or anywhere. It is a fire hazard, and it is also littering

4-Never toss a cigarette into landscaping, yards, drains, on decks, or driveways and roadways

5-If you smoke cigarettes responsibly and always discard them in the fire-safe receptacle, then you can prevent fires

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Green Bay, WI – Sprinkler system extinguished fire at packaging facility; No injuries reported

No one is hurt after an overnight fire at Green Bay Packaging in Green Bay. All the employees evacuated safely.

Firefighters say they found smoke when they arrived at the Radisson Street plant just after 9:30 Wednesday night, but it took some time to find the flames in the large building.

Fire crews from Howard and other communities surrounding Green Bay responded. They worked at the scene for several hours.

The fire was contained to a dust-collection unit on the roof, and was put out by a sprinkler system. Officials don’t yet have an estimate on how much damage the fire caused.

The fire generated so much smoke, Brown County Sheriff’s officials used the fan from the department’s air boat to clear it.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Colorado Springs, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at manufacturing building

The Colorado Springs Fire Department was called to a structure fire in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Smoke was visible from the manufacturing building Foxworth-Galbraith Truss & Wall Systems on Interpark Dr. but no flames were reported.

CSFD said the buildings’ smoke detectors and sprinkler systems were activated but the fire hydrants nearby were not working properly.

Firefighters had to call for back up and quickly began to ventilate the building.

Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire and the extent of any damages.

We will continue to monitor the developments and bring you the latest updates.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Spirit Lake, IA – Sprinkler system contained fire at motorcycle manufacturing plant

A fire broke out at the Polaris Industries Spirit Lake facility on April 10. Polaris owns Indian Motorcycle, and the facility is used to build the motorcycles. The fire started in near the paint station in the facility. The building’s sprinkler system took care of the flames near the ground.

While most of the fire was put out by the sprinkler system, the fire department did have to go in and extinguish some flames. The insulation in the ceiling of the building caught fire, according to RideApart, and that caused quite a lot of smoke. The fire department had to enlist the help of another fire department with the proper equipment to enter the building due to the level of smoke. It then had to ventilate the building to get the smoke out.

RideApart notes the Spirit Lake facility caught fire before. The previous fire happened in September of 2018. That fire, too, started in the paint area of the facility. After that fire, production was able to resume the same day. After this fire, production halted for one day, but it was set to resume on April 11.

Polaris Industries mentioned no delivery delays. I’m assuming everyone will get their Indian bike on time. With more than one fire stemming from the same area of the facility, maybe Indian should take a second look at its safety protocols.