Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Westminster, MD – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in stopping fire at manufacturing plant; No injuries reported

A fire at the FR Conversions building in the 1200 block of Tech Court in Westminster Tuesday afternoon caused damage, but no injuries were reported to civilians or emergency responders.

Responders were alerted for reports of building fire at 12:28 p.m. When units arrived, it appeared that a piece of equipment on the production line was on fire, said Josh Evans, a spokesman for the Westminster volunteer fire company.

“The sprinkler system did activate and extinguish the bulk of the fire,” he said. “It took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish the fire the rest of the way.”

Some remained on scene for about 90 additional minutes to ventilate smoke out of the building. The fire and smoke damage is estimated at $150,000, he said.

Crews from Westminster, Pleasant Valley, Reese, New Windsor, Hampstead, Sykesville, Manchester and Glyndon, in Baltimore County, were called.

It did not appear to those on scene that fire damage extended to other businesses in the building, Evans said.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Fergus, ON, Canada – Fire Chief credits sprinkler system in early morning fire at plastics plant

Sprinklers put out a small early morning fire at the AO Smith building on Hill Street West here on Oct. 31.  The fire began in the SM Polymers portion of the building, which is separated from the main AO Smith building by concrete blocks.  Centre Wellington deputy fire chief Jonathan Karn said the department was called at 5:20am but when firefighters arrived the fire was largely extinguished by the sprinkler system.  Karn said two cardboard boxes piled close to the ceiling ignited when a heater was turned on.

“So no damage to the building itself; actually the sprinkler system activated and put the majority of the fire out before we got there, which is good,” Karn said.  “It actually saved that building and most of the product.”

The damage is estimated at $5,000 to $10,000. There were no injuries and all employees had evacuated to the parking lot prior to the arrival of firefighters, Karn said.  The fire department cleared the scene just before 6:20am.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Minot, ND – Equipment fire at food processing company suppressed by sprinkler system

The Minot Fire Department responded to AGT Food <Friday> morning and upon arrival they could see smoke coming from the exhaust duct on the roof.  It was discovered that a piece of food processing equipment had product burning inside of it.  An automatic sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire but some of it expanded to the exhaust ductwork where residual product was burning.  After the fire department cleared the area, there was concerns that burning product transferred into a holding bin.  With the use of a thermal imaging camera, they discovered there was burning product in the bin and AGT employees emptied it.

Other - Manufacturing

Sioux City, IA – Fire at Cargill facility caused by discarded cigarette contained with help from sprinkler system

It was a discarded cigarette that started a fire at Cargill Tuesday evening.  But, that fire never made it inside. However, there is heavy smoke damage to the outside of the building.  This all happened just before six o’clock Tuesday evening. A truck driver noticed smoke and activated the fire alarm.  The sprinklers activated – No one was hurt.

We talked to fire officials who tell us a discarded cigarette in a disposal container started on fire spreading to a nearby bench. But, they say it could’ve much worse.  “A truck driver just leaving the mill out on the South end of the building is the one that discovered the fire. He ran into the building, activated the alarm and notified the staff inside the building,” said Fire Captain Ryan Collins.  The sprinkler system was restored and everything is back in operation. No injuries to Cargill staff, or the 20 firefighters who responded, were reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Worton, MD – Sprinkler system credited with helping to control fire after explosion at manufacturing plant

Investigators are pointing to mechanical failure of production machinery as the cause of Saturday’s industrial building fire at Creafill Fibers Corp. The plant in the 10000-block of Worton Road manufactures cellulose fibers, according to Lori Toevs, controller and director of human resources.

One plant employee was injured as a result of a subsequent dust explosion. The employee was thrown back into a pallet of product, Toevs said in a telephone interview Monday.

The employee was transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, where he was treated and released.

Volunteer firefighters from Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, Kent-Queen Anne’s Rescue Squad and Kent EMS responded.

The fire was brought under control in two hours, according to the fire marshal’s report. Crews were on the scene for about three hours.

There were no reported injuries to firefighters or emergency personnel.

Worton Road, which also is state Route 297, was closed to through traffic for a couple of hours.

The alarm sounded at 3:09 p.m. Saturday after an employee observed a small fire inside a production machine.

The employee powered off the machine. Upon opening a filter cover within the machine to investigate further, he was “flown back” as a result of a pressure wave created by a subsequent dust explosion, according to the fire marshal’s preliminary report.

The employee was able to escape the building and call 911.

Proper activation of the sprinkler system and pressure relief vent system is credited with limiting damage to the 75 foot-by-200 foot steel frame building and its contents.

In-house the building is called the “white line,” Toevs said. That’s where product (cellulose fiber) is made out of natural pulp. Toevs said the operation is 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Manufacturing started at the Worton site in 1995. Currently there are 35 employees, Toevs said.

The “white line” was not operating Monday and Tuesday due to cleanup.

Toevs said on Wednesday that the expectation was to start “producing product” by the end of the week.

She estimated the value of damaged equipment to be $20,000, what she guessed it would cost to replace the explosion caps on filters.

“We’re just starting to assess … we’re not sure what we’ve lost,” Toevs said Monday. “We didn’t lose a lot of finished product but we lost raw materials.”

Also to be calculated is the cost of cleanup.

Firefighters returned to Creafill at about 10 p.m. Sunday for a report of fire in the roof. On arrival they found “a smoke haze in the building,” according to a posting on the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company’s Facebook page.

Firefighters pulled open the metal ceiling and doused smoldering embers, according to the Facebook post.

No injuries were reported.

Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Matt Stevens said his office was not called out to the incident.

Other - Manufacturing

Modesto, CA – Sprinkler system gives firefighters a big leg up on blaze at cabinet company

A fire-suppression system worked well Tuesday morning at a business off Yosemite Boulevard and Mitchell Road, likely saving firefighters a lot of work and the building a lot of damage.  The fire was in a dust-collection hopper on the exterior of Sierra Casework, on the 200 block of Spenker Avenue. The company is less than half a mile from Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District Station 31 on Mitchell Road.

Initially, there was heavy smoke from the fire, Stanislaus Consolidated Capt. Mark Jacobs said. But the sprinkler system kicked in and quickly knocked down the flames, and the smoke had largely dissipated upon crews’ arrival.

“We have several of these cabinet shops in our district,” Jacobs said, “and these (dust fires) are pretty common. Throughout the cabinet shop are a bunch of vacuum systems, and the main port sucks all the dust out here and they discard it.”

To ensure the fire was out, firefighters used a ladder truck to get on the roof and to the door of the collection hopper. Opening the door, a firefighter called down that there still was a small amount of fire. The door was shut so as to not feed the fire oxygen while a hose line was carried up the hopper’s built-in ladder. Then firefighters made quick work of fully extinguishing the fire.

Other - Manufacturing

Stamford, CT – Fire in basement of industrial building held in check by sprinkler system

A fire in the basement of a Glenbrook industrial building that houses business was contained to that area, allowing upstairs occupants to return to the building on Wednesday. The fire started around 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday at 652 Glenbrook Road in the industrial complex, said Stamford Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Gloersen. First arriving units reported smoke coming from the basement of the large, re-purposed industrial building. The fire which was extinguished by hose lines was held in check by the building’s sprinkler system, he added. Stamford units received assistance from the Glenbrook and Belltown fire departments. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Worcester, MA – Fire on second floor of mill contained by sprinkler system

A fire in a vacant mill on Tainter Street was contained by a sprinkler system that, until mid-September, had been turned off.

The fire broke out around noon Tuesday and went to a second alarm when crews found fire on the second floor.

The city got a court order in September to force the building owner to turn on the sprinkler system in the building, which helped prevent a much bigger fire, officials said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Reno, NV – Fire at Tesla factory extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A Tesla’s factory building in the state of Nevada was evacuated late Saturday after a large oven used in the manufacturing process caught fire.

According to a statement issued by the U.S. leading electric vehicle manufacture on Sunday, there were no injuries in the incident and production began again on Sunday morning.

“Last night, there was a fire in the cooling tube coating oven on the 3rd floor of Gigafactory 1 that was quickly contained. Employees were evacuated out of an abundance of caution, there were no injuries, and production began again this morning. We would like to thank the Fire Department and our employees for their rapid response.” the statement said.

KTVN Channel 2, a news channel in Reno where the Tesla’s factory located, reported that the Storey County Fire Department responded the blaze about 10 p.m. Saturday night and the crews found on scene that the fire started in a baking oven where employees make a powder coating.

Joe Curtis, the Emergency Management Director was quoted as saying that the fire was located on the third floor of the factory and did not extend to other parts of the building before it was mostly extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system.

The fire was fully extinguished before 2 a.m. Sunday.

Saturday’s fire was the second time in one month for Tesla to contend with fire at one of its facilities. There was a minor fire last month on the grounds of the Tesla factory in Fremont of California.

The factory in Reno of Nevada produces Model 3 electric motors and battery packs.

Manufacturing, Storage / Warehouse

Royersford, PA – Sprinkler system controls fire at chemical warehouse until fire crews arrive

A chemical warehouse in Royersford caught fire on Saturday night, bringing first responders from around the area together to battle the blaze.  The incident was first reported at around 7:40 p.m. at Hectrio Specialty Chemical System, located on the 400 block of First Avenue.  Crews forced entry to the rear of the building, and used hand lines to battle the blaze, which was contained to a small area in the manufacturing part of the building, according to officials. Firefighters were on the scene containing the smokey fire for close to two hours.

Royersford Fire Department said that the sprinkler systems were very effective in controlling the blaze until crews arrived. That, along with the swift response from first responders, helped quell the “potentially hazardous” blaze.  Despite the bad smell reported by neighbors, the chemicals posed no danger to the public, officials said. According to their website, Hectrio produces and stores chemicals like tin, lead, copper, silver, bismuth, iron and potassium.  The cause of the blaze and extent of the damage are not yet clear. The fire appeared to be contained to the manufacturing section of the warehouse, but there was heavy smoke involved.

Royersford Fire Department was assisted by Liberty Fire Co. of Spring City, along with crews from Trappe, Skippack, Limerick, and Linfield.