Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Dover, OH – Fire at pallet manufacturing company extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A melted water tank is believed to have helped to extinguish a fire at Inca Pallets on Sunday evening.  Firefighters arrived to find no fire, although a sprinkler had activated and there was heat damage to a building, according to Dover Fire Capt. Michael Mossor. Water was also found flowing from the top of a wall.

An incident report said firefighters drained the sprinkler system and a section of fiberglass insulation ignited.  Firefighters found damage to a large plastic water tank near the suspected origin of the fire. The report said fire affected the tank, releasing water which contributed to extinguishing the fire.  Damage was estimated at $50,000 to the contents and $5,000 to the property.

Six departments were dispatched to the business at 3005 Progress St., where the fire alarm was triggered at 6:29 p.m. Firefighters arrived six minutes later and left the scene by 8:10 p.m.  In addition to Dover, fire departments came from New Philadelphia, Strasburg, Sugarcreek, Uhrichsville and Bolivar.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Clinton Township, MI – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at manufacturing plant

An Aug. 9 oil spill in Clinton Township was caused by a recent fire at a nearby business, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality determined after a weeklong investigation.

Clinton Township homeowners noticed a funny smell and an unusual sheen on the Teske Drain on Aug. 9 and reported it to emergency responders. Environmental Protection Agency employees spent much of Thursday at the site near Maybury Street, directing the cleanup.

The documentation provided to the DEQ from the environmental cleanup company indicated that the spill consisted of hydraulic oil, said Melinda Steffler, Michigan DEQ senior environmental quality analyst.

The source of the oil is believed to be from Complete Prototype Services, a Fraser company working with fixtures, metals and plastics that reported a fire on Aug. 4.

During the fire, the water from the indoor sprinkler system filled a machine pit inside the building, which overflowed and made its way outdoors, where it entered a storm sewer catch basin, Steffler said.

“The water carried with it oil from the machine pit, which then made its way through the storm sewer system and out into the Teske Drain,” Steffler said.

A representative from Complete Prototype Services told The Detroit News the company was unable to comment on what caused the fire.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said none of the 6,000 gallons of oil flowed into the Clinton River or the lake, but was contained in the drain. “We have a zero tolerance for contaminants in our drains … and we are very appreciative of the citizens alerting us,” Miller said. “The company is a great corporate citizen and cares deeply about our waterways. The fire was not their fault.”

Miller said a local company vacuumed the area to remove the oil for nearly a week. As of Wednesday, Miller said, “I think we’ve got it all. We’re in good shape.”

Ryan Schwarb, senior environmental quality analyst at the southeast Michigan DEQ, said the oil traveled in the Teske Drain about 1,000 feet north of 15 Mile.

“Macomb County has been overseeing the cleanup activities but it was reported to me (Wednesday) that the bulk of the cleanup appears to be complete,” Steffler said.

The monitoring booms will continue to capture any remaining oil in the enclosed portion of the drain.

Tom Tailford and Ingrid Horodko, who live on the Clinton River, notified emergency officials Wednesday night after they smelled oil.

Tailford collected a sample and found it was nearly clear.

“The crew I talked to said it was a significant amount of oil they pumped,” Tailford said on Friday. “I also found out that the Coast Guard also had shown up here to evaluate the risk of the oil entering Lake St. Clair.”

Residents along the Teske Drain were advised to refrain from pumping surface water for lawn irrigation or other uses while cleanup had been ongoing.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Evansville, IN – Mid-day fire at paint manufacturer contained by sprinkler system

Evansville firefighters responded to a fire at Red Spot Paint in the 1100 block of E. Louisiana St.  This happened around noon Monday.   

A small fire broke out which caused heavy smoke to come from one of the buildings. Fire officials say the sprinkler system was able to contain the fire before firefighters arrived and put the flames out.

The building was evacuated and two employees were taken to Deaconess Hospital with minor injuries.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

New Philadelphia, OH – Dust collector fire at manufacturing facility limited by sprinkler system

A dust collector fire Monday evening at a Ohio manufacturing plant caused $100,000 in damages, the New Philadelphia Times-Reporter said in an article published Tuesday. Responding to the Gradall Industries Inc. facility in New Philadelphia, OH at about 10:15 p.m., firefighter discovered smoke coming from the building’s powder coating area and determined the fire’s source was the dust collector, New Philadelphia Fire Department Capt. Jim Sholtz told the newspaper. A sprinkler system in the powder coating area helped contain the flames to the immediate area. Fire crews remained on scene for about an hour and 45 minutes, the Times-Reporter said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Peterborough, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activates to help control early morning manufacturing fire

A fire that broke out in the city’s industrial area Friday morning has left three businesses with heavy smoke damage.  Firefighters responded to the blaze at 100 Jameson Dr., off Fisher Drive, at about 5 a.m.  It happened at Andritz Hydro, which is located in the same complex as FedEx and Measure Max.  The small fire was contained Andritz and no one was injured.

“Unfortunately there was heavy smoke damage throughout the complex,” said Chad Brown, Peterborough Fire Services deputy chief.  Firefighters were on scene until about 10:30 a.m. Streets in the area where closed, rerouting morning traffic. Workers were inside the complex at the time, but in Andritz. The fire alarm went off and the sprinkler system was activated.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined yet, but Brown said it’s not suspicious.  No estimate of damage was available Friday afternoon. Andritz, an Austrian company, opened the 17,000-square-foot plant in February 2014, where it makes stator coils used in both new and refurbished hydroelectric generating stations around the world.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Jeffersonville, IN – Fire at automotive supplier extinguished by sprinkler system

Employees at Autoneum in Jeffersonville’s River Ridge Commerce Center were evacuated last Thursday after a minor fire in one of the machines.  The Jeffersonville Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at the plant, which makes insulation parts and carpet for GM products, just after 3 p.m. When they arrived, the sprinkler system has extinguished the fire and employees had been evacuated.

Fire crews checked to make sure there was no spread of fire and secured the scene before employees could return to work, Jeffersonville Fire Department Sgt. Justin Ames.  Ames said that although this is the fifth fire the company has had since opening and the second or third this year, he doesn’t have concerns about the safety of the facility.  “It’s common for the work that they do, but they have a great response plan,” he said. “We’ve preplanned this building so we’re prepared.” Ames said the fire department meets with Autoneum owners several times a year to revisit safety protocol.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, MI – Fire service credits sprinkler system in helping to control fire at plastics plant

An industrial fire at West Michigan Compounding’s (WMC) reclamation center Sunday morning was quickly extinguished by firefighters before it could spread to do additional damage. At approximately 9:15 a.m., the Greenville Department of Public Safety was dispatched to the WMC reclamation center, located at 634 Greenville West Dr. at the former Electrolux property, to the report of a structure fire at the building. According to Public Safety Officer Jamie Sorsen, no one was in the building at the time a water flow alarm was triggered.

“The alarm went off, and when employees arrived on scene, they found smoke,” he said. Sorsen said he requested assistance from the Belding Fire Department for additional manpower and equipment, and together, the departments sent in teams of two and three firefighters at a time to locate and extinguish the fire within the large industrial building.

“We knew that we had a lot of smoke and we knew the area it was coming from, but we didn’t know what was on fire,” he said. “But within minutes they located it.” Sorsen said there were a number of boxes containing plastic that were discovered to be burning about “100 to 200 feet” south of the northeastern corner of the building.

“We were able to locate it quickly, which allowed us to put it out quickly,” he said. It becomes a problem when you can’t locate the fire quickly.” The fire was contained within about one hour after the initial time of call.

“It did not burn through the roof and it was contained to a 30 by 30-foot area,” Sorsen said. “I credit the sprinkler system that was activated and all of the manpower, everybody responding quickly, both part-paid and full time firefighters from here and Belding, as well as the first responders here assisting us.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rochester, NY – Spontaneous combustion fire at textile plant contained by sprinkler system

No one was hurt after a fire on St. Paul Street Wednesday night. An automatic fire alarm went off at the Alsco plant on St. Paul around 7 p.m. A third alarm was declared because of the heat, manpower and the size of the building – approximately 65,000 square feet. Firefighters said the fire was put out without anyone being injured. They said the fire started in the back of the building, and that a sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading. The extent of damage to the building is not yet clear. The cause was due to a spontaneous combustion of textiles, according to Rochester firefighters. There was no one inside and no one injured.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Le Mars, IA – Sprinklers contain fire after explosion at manufacturing plant; No injuries

A compressor fire shut down IML Containers in Le Mars Monday afternoon, causing an undetermined amount of damage to the manufacturer of plastic food containers. 

Le Mars fire chief David Schipper said the Le Mars and Orange City fire departments were called at 4:22 p.m. to IML, at 1620 24th St. SW in Le Mars, for a compressor that had caught fire, and what was described as an “explosion” in the building. 

IML employees stood watching as the firefighters went in and out of the building, deploying water hoses and venting the smoke. None of the employees or firefighters were hurt in the fire. 

 

“Everybody did evacuate safely, we did an accountability check, and everybody made it out of the building just fine,” Schipper said. 

The building was damaged to an unknown extent by the heavy smoke, which Schipper said came from burning oil in the compressor. Additionally, electrical and water infrastructure were damaged, and the compressor that caught fire was destroyed. 

“It’s going to be quite a while before this place is back up and in business,” he said. 

Schipper credited the building’s sprinkler system for helping to control the fire. 

“Once again, sprinklers do save a lot, they did contain the fire for us,” he said. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Libertyville, IL – (No Media Coverage) Fire at plastics manufacturing plant held in check by single sprinkler

** No Media Coverage – Fire Department Reported ***  Around 1029 hours on Sunday, the Libertyville Fire Department responded to an activated fire alarm at a plastic manufacturing plant. When the first in engine company arrived, the firefighter in the jump seat thought he saw smoke from the building. After accessing the building and alarm room, he crew found the sprinkler bell ringing. After opening a man door into the warehouse they noticed a heavy haze of smoke. At this time the response was upgraded to a structure fire response. The crews made entry via the north side door and found one sprinkler head activated. This sprinkler was controlling a fire that involved a plastic injection molding machine. The crews used one handline to finish extinguishment and mop up. Fire damage was contained to the machine, while other parts of the building sustained smoke and water damage. ***