Category Archives: Manufacturing

Other - Manufacturing, Other Business

Elkton, MD – Authorities credit sprinkler system with extinguishing blaze in chemical mixing room

Investigators are crediting a sprinkler system for extinguishing a blaze Monday morning inside a chemical mixing room at a medical products plant in Elkton, allowing the three employees in that area to escape safely, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.  Workers called 911 at approximately 7:15 a.m. Monday, after discovering the fire inside a Terumo Medical Corp. building in the 100 block of Blue Ball Road, fire officials said. About 10 firefighters with Singerly Volunteer Fire Co. of Elkton and Aetna Hook, Hose and Ladder Co. in Newark, Del., responded to the call, but the blaze had been extinguished by the time they arrived, fire officials added.

“The fire was contained to the chemical room after the sprinkler system activated,” said Sr. Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire, an agency spokesman, adding, “Three employees inside the room were able to safely escape.”  Investigators estimated that that part of the building sustained $25,000 in structural damage, according to Alkire, who further reported that no other property was damaged. Investigators identified the property owner as Terumo Medical Corp., which manufactures medical devices and supplies.

Fire detectives listed the cause of the blaze as accidental, after concluding that static electricity inside the chemical mixing room triggered the fire, Alkire said. Because the fire occurred in a place containing chemicals, he added, the Cecil County Hazmat Team also was dispatched to the scene.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Olean, NY – Machinery fire at cutlery manufacturer controlled with help from sprinkler system

No injuries were reported after the Olean Fire Department responded to a machinery fire at Cutco Tuesday night.  The initial response was made at 7:30 p.m. to a fire alarm at the main building of the cutlery manufacturer’s East State Street campus. According to Olean Fire Chief Robert Bell, the blaze, which occurred in a polishing room, was under control within approximately 15 minutes. A call indicating the alarm system had been reset came over the emergency scanner at 8:17 p.m.  “The employees at Cutco controlled the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher,” Bell said, adding sprinkler heads also helped contain the flames. “We showed up, we made entry, knocked down the remaining bits of the fire, and then helped with the mop-up.”  According to communications over the scanner, some material in the polishing room caught on fire when a buffer wheel ignited.  Bell said the damage was limited to that polishing machine, but the cost of the damage was unknown. He added that Cutco had two other polishing machines, so their operations would likely not be greatly affected.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Martinsburg, WV – Sprinkler system contains fire at Macy’s fulfillment center; No injuries reported

Macy’s officials do not know when the company’s fulfillment center north of Martinsburg will reopen, following a fire Saturday night.

The retailer had a limited crew at the 333 Caperton Blvd. facility Sunday, looking at the safety of the site and equipment, Macy’s spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz wrote in an email.

No one was hurt in the fire, but the blaze damaged about 2 percent of the materials in the 2 million-square-foot facility, Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Capt. Brian Mulligan said.

The fire remained under investigation by the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office. Additional investigative work needs to be done before a cause is determined, Assistant State Fire Marshal George Harms wrote in an email late Sunday afternoon.

The fulfillment center employs approximately 5,000 people, 980 of whom were evacuated Saturday night, Schwartz wrote.

The volume at the Martinsburg-area facility was shifted to other “mega” fulfillment centers to serve customers, she wrote.

The holiday season is a busy time for the 24-hour fulfillment center.

The temperature outside was in the low 40s when workers were evacuated. Mulligan said he wasn’t sure how long people stood around before being sent home.

“It could have been worse. Everybody did an excellent job,” Mulligan said.

Company officials are thankful all the employees are “safe and accounted for, with no injuries,” Schwartz wrote.

The retailer is supporting fire officials with the investigation, she wrote.

The fire was reported at 7:39 p.m. Saturday, a Berkeley County 911 dispatcher said.

The sprinkler system activated, along with the fire alarm, and did a good job, Mulligan said.

“It kept it contained. Thank God,” Mulligan said.

The building is fine, but the fire extended up racks of packages three stories high, Mulligan said.

An estimated 60 firefighters responded from Hedgesville, Martinsburg, Bedington, Baker Heights, the West Virginia Air National Guard and Back Creek Valley. The rehab unit from Washington County also responded.

Mulligan said an airboat, on a trailer from Frederick County, Md., was backed up to a loading dock so its large fan could be used to eject smoke from the building. An airboat was similarly used at a Winchester, Va., warehouse fire in the last year or two.

There were a lot of burnt, wet packages at the Macy’s facility, he confirmed.

Macy’s personnel had been on “fire watch” in case the blaze reignited because the fire knocked out the alarm system, Mulligan said Sunday morning.

Firefighters were able to use water-supply hookups in the building, with one stationed every 500 feet.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

North Haven, CT – Sprinkler system activated in fire at manufacturing plant

Chief Paul Januszewski reports that the North Haven Fire Department battled an early morning fire at an industrial facility on Saturday, according to a news release.

Firefighters responded to the Parker-Hannifin Corporation, located at 33 Defco Park Road, at 3:11 a.m., after receiving a call from a police officer working a paid detail nearby. The officer reported smoke showing in the area. Upon arrival, firefighters had flames coming from the rear of a 32,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility.

The building’s sprinkler system had activated, but the fire alarm was not activated.

Fire was showing through the roof, and firefighters began an aggressive attack to attempt to limit the damage and keep the flames from spreading. Despite the cold weather doing its best hamper efforts, the crews were successful in stopping the fire, and containing the most serious damage to about 10 percent of the structure. The fire was declared under control at approximately 5 a.m.

No one was injured, but during firefighting efforts, it was determined that a large quantity of acids and other chemicals used in the manufacturing process were present at the scene and had spilled or leaked during the fire.

Chief Januszewski has declared a hazardous materials incident. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and a private environmental contracting company were called to the scene to access and clean the chemicals, and the North Haven Fire Department is providing decontamination for workers, as is standard procedure in these types of incidents.

“This was a challenging fire, with a large facility, bitterly cold conditions and the added element of unknown and potentially dangerous chemicals present at the scene,” Chief Januszewski said in a news release. “I would like to commend our overnight fire crews and mutual aid partners for working diligently to contain this fire to only one portion of the building, despite the fire’s head start with a non-functioning alarm system present in the building. Additionally, had it not been for the alert police officer in the area, the outcome may have been much worse.”

Officials believe at this time that the design of the building worked to mitigate any exposure of the chemicals to the ground and environment.

Interior operations and the fire investigation will begin a soon as all of the chemicals are identified and removed by the contractor.

Fire crews from Wallingford and Hamden also responded to the scene to provide mutual aid, and the North Branford Fire Department provided station coverage.

Once the cleanup is finished and fire investigation are underway, investigators will also look into why the fire alarm system, which had been inspected in the past calendar year, failed to notify the fire department. Chief Januszewski indicates that remodeling and construction work was taking place at the facility, and officials will investigate if that played any role in either the failure of the fire alarm of the outbreak of the fire.

Parker-Hannifin is a manufacturer of gaskets and seals for aircraft.

Other - Manufacturing

Lodi, NJ – Fire in industrial building doused by sprinkler system

Sprinklers helped douse a fire in a Lodi industrial building last Sunday night  Firefighters “were met with heavy smoke and an activated sprinkler head,” the borough fire department said.  Crews stretched a hose line into the building, located the source of the fire and extinguished it, the department said.  No injuries were reported.  Firefighters from Garfield, Saddle Brook and Wallington assisted their colleagues at the Del Glenn Avenue blaze. Their Rochelle Park and Maywood colleagues covered the borough for them.  The Lodi Fire Prevention Bureau was investigating the cause.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Chattanooga, TN – Fire at foam facility controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Chattanooga dispatchers confirm an early morning fire damaged a foam facility in Chattanooga.

This happened at Woodbridge INOAC Technical Products on Judd Road. 

Battalion Chief David Thompson Jr. said that when firefighters with Quint 10 arrived on the scene and confirmed they had a fire at the rear of the building, a second alarm was requested to bring in additional firefighters and equipment.

Chief Thompson said the fire was located in a stack of foam blocks. The building’s sprinkler system activated and helped to contain the spread of the flames. The fire was declared under control in about 45 minutes. No one was hurt.

CFD spokesman Bruce Garner says an estimate on the dollar loss was still being assessed, but most of the commercial business was spared any serious fire damage. The cause of the fire will be ruled accidental.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Knoxville, TN – Sprinkler system extinguished fire at plastics manufacturing plant

Rural Metro Fire responded to a fire at Republic Plastics on South National Drive around 5:30 Sunday evening.

When crews arrived on scene, they found a large smoke charged building and no evacuation in progress.

Rural Fire Metro said after their initial investigation, they found a roll of product that had been on fire but extinguished by the sprinkler system.

Officials said large fans in the building along with fans from the fire department were used to ventilate the building back to safe levels so employees could re-enter the building.

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation by Knox County Fire Investigators.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Hope Hull, AL – Manufacturing plant fire held in check by sprinkler system until crews arrive; No injuries reported

Montgomery Fire/Rescue responded to a fire at the Genpak LLC in Hope Hull Wednesday.

According to Captain J.D. Cupps, crews arrived at the building on Bill Joseph Parkway and entered, reporting visible smoke and a working fire. The sprinkler system held the blaze in check until crews were able to fully extinguish is with hand lines.

Cupps said the fire involved five big rolls of spun plastic stacked 30 feet tall. All occupants in the building were out when crews arrived and there have been no reported injuries.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Hershey, PA – Minor fire at Hershey Kiss factory extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire broke out at the Pennsylvania chocolate factory that manufactures more than 70 million Hershey’s Kisses a day.  Firefighters were called to the Hershey Co.’s plant in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for a minor fire Friday morning.  A company spokesman said a short-circuit in a storage area heater activated a sprinkler system, which immediately put out the fire.  He said workers were evacuated from a section of the plant out of caution.  He said everyone is fine and no employees were ever at risk.  According to the company’s website, the plant also makes Hershey’s milk chocolate bars and Hershey’s syrup.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Lynchburg, VA – After dust explosion, sprinkler system activates to aid firefighters in extinguishing blaze at business

The Lynchburg Fire Department responded to a fire at a business in Lynchburg after the welding arc set off a dust explosion.  The fire department said workers were doing maintenance on top of an oven at Hanwha Azdel, welding a new rod, when the welding arc set off a dust explosion fire in the roof system in the insulation, activating the sprinkler system.  Lynchburg Department of Emergency Services said the 2000 block of Enterprise Drive was shut down as a response.  Fire crews say Unit 8 arrived and extinguished the flames.  Lingering smoke on the roof was also extinguished.  No one was injured.