Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Chillicothe, OH – Sprinklers help contain fire at Glatfelter building October 8, 2015 viking210 A fire broke out inside a Glatfelter building Tuesday afternoon that had crews dousing hot spots for over an hour and a half. Chillicothe Fire Department Assistant Chief Steve Gallagher said the department got the call at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Despite having the flames contained shortly before 1:00 p.m., crews stayed on the scene to continue to douse any areas that could be considered hot spots, due to the amount of wood by-products in the area. According to Gallagher, the fire was in the building where the company processes wood chips, but was a “basic building fire.” The biggest struggle for crews, Gallagher said, was the height of the building and getting up high enough to douse the flames from above. Gallagher said the sprinkler system helped in the quick containment of the fire. At this time, Gallagher said they do not have an estimate on the damage.
Food Processing, Manufacturing Baltimore, MD – Fire at peanut roasting company suppressed by sprinkler system; Allergy concerns alleviated October 7, 2015 viking210 A late-morning fire at a Barcelona Nut Co. warehouse in Southwest Baltimore was quickly extinguished Tuesday, but city emergency officials were concerned enough to warn residents near the 500 block of Fulton Ave. who had nut allergies. “Although we were unclear as to the amount of peanuts burning, we felt that it was worth a warning out of an abundance of caution,” said Connor Scott, spokesman for the city’s Office of Emergency Management. In the end, there was probably little risk, said Dr. Robert Wood, director of pediatric allergy and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. He said those allergic to peanuts would have to be in proximity to suffer a reaction. “If you were just roasting peanuts you’d have to be within feet of the roasting, in the building,” Wood said. “In a fire, where there were larger volumes being burned, I supposed you’d be at risk within 40-50 yards, but that would probably be the extreme.” The peanut dust would dissipate quickly in the air, he said, adding that no one has studied if burnt peanuts would pose more of a threat than roasted ones. The fire did burn peanuts, which were in a roaster in the plant, confirmed Ed Roush, Barcelona’s quality manager. He said workers also vented the smoke during the fire, which was largely extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system before fire crews arrived. The firm’s employees were more at risk from the fire; three suffered non-life-threatening injuries — likely smoke-related — trying to put it out, Roush said. He and fire officials didn’t know what caused the fire, but Roush said he hopes to reopen the facility by Thursday or Friday. The company, founded in 1924 by a Spanish immigrant, has been in the current location since 1986. It roasts and packages several kinds of nuts at the plant, which also packages other snack foods. Longtime neighbors said they didn’t see much smoke and weren’t concerned about the peanuts, and didn’t know anyone close by with an allergy. Nancy Will, who once worked in the building, said it’s not often they even get a whiff of nuts, which is a far cry from years past when peanut oil would coat their cars. “You’d turn the windshield wipers on and get a nice smear,” said her husband, Robert Wills, who was sitting on the steps of his Fulton Street house across from Barcelona.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Clinton, IA – Arson fire extinguished by sprinkler in janitor’s closet at local business October 3, 2015 viking210 A Clinton man was arrested and charged with arson for his alleged role in a fire at a local business. According to the affidavit, on Sept. 16, at 3:16 a.m., communication dispatched the fire department and police officers to Collis, Inc., at 1710 S. 21st St. in reference to an unknown fire. Boyd, a supervisor at Collis, who was working at the time of the fire, called 911 from his cell phone to report the fire. The firemen arrived and found the fire located in a janitor’s closet. The fire activated the sprinkler system under the stairs and extinguished the fire as the firemen arrived. The affidavit states that during the investigation of the cause and origin of the fire, investigators observed two possible locations as the cause of the fire. Based on the origin of the fire, investigators determined the fire was intentionally set in the janitor’s closet. The affidavit continues that during the investigation they were able to identify Boyd as a possible suspect and Boyd was interviewed. During the interview, Boyd allegedly admitted he went into the janitor’s closet to get some garbage cans for his area. Boyd stated that while he was in the closet he used matches to light a box on fire, shut the door and then he left the closet. At the time of the fire, there were approximately 20 other employees in Collis working.
Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing Kilgore, TX – Sprinkler system contains fire at packaging manufacturer; Facility fully operational September 30, 2015 viking210 All employees in the Pak-Sher facility Sunday night were out of the building in less than one minute after fire alarms alerted the 30 to 35 people inside to the danger. “I actually do two fire drills a year because you never know what’s going to happen, just like what happened to us Sunday night, and the training paid off,” Pak-Sher Safety Coordinator Jeremy Spier said Tuesday morning, adding the company’s emergency response team was able to get everyone out of the building “promptly and safely.” The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, began in the building’s sample room between 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday night. Kilgore Fire Department responded, along with mutual aid from Sabine Volunteer Fire Department and Longview Fire Department, Assistant Kilgore Fire Chief Mike Simmons said. “Heavy smoke was coming out of the west side of the building,” he said. By the time the fire crews responded, though, Pak-Sher President Troy Fischer said, the sprinkler systems had extinguished the majority of the fire. The employees returned to work in the facility within two hours of the fire once they were cleared to do so by KFD, Fischer said. “We’re fully operational,” Spier said. “We’re good to go.” With the sprinkler system and the firewalls, he said, the fire was contained to the sample room and did not affect the connected training room. “We do have some minor fire damage, some smoke and water damage as well,” Fischer wrote in an e-mail Monday night. Even with 18 years of experience as a firefighter, Spier said, there is no way to truly prepare for an emergency, such as a fire. “You can bring safety measures. You can do anything you can imagine and you think is 100 percent safe, but then again, in the safety business, it’s always ‘what if?’,” Spier said. “We were prepared as much as we can be prepared – our sprinkler systems were there, fire alarm went off. Everything worked like it was supposed to, so we were prepared that way. Absolutely. Everybody knew their emergency exits. Everybody got out like they were supposed to and in a very timely manner.” Fischer explained the sample room is in a remote area of the building away from production space. Although it has not been decided, Spier expected another room to be set up as the sample room because the current room will require more work, including new ceiling tiles, sheetrock and insulation. “Thankfully it was not a bigger situation, and thankfully no employees were in any imminent danger,” Fischer said. Kilgore Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Amanda Nobles said she and others at Kilgore EDC were grateful for the fire departments’ work. “Pak-Sher is a valuable and primary employer in our community, and we hope that everything works out for them, and we’re glad there certainly was not more loss of property and absolutely no loss of life or injuries,” she said.
Food Processing, Manufacturing Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at grocery distribution center September 29, 2015 viking210 Firefighters were called out to a small fire caused by a piece of equipment inside a large distribution center early Monday morning. The St. George Fire Department reported it happened at Associated Grocers just before 1:30 a.m. Eldon Ledoux with SGFD said firefighters found a floor-sweeping machine on fire inside and there was heavy smoke. He added the workers had made it out safely and no one was injured. Officials said the sprinkler system helped to keep the fire from spreading and firemen finished putting it out. According to Ledoux, there was only minor damage. Firefighters also ventilated the smoke from the building.
Food Processing, Manufacturing Columbus, GA – Sprinklers extinguish early morning fire at Kellogg plant September 28, 2015 viking210 Fire crews extinguished an early morning fire at the Kellogg plant on Victory Drive on Monday, according to Fire Marshal Rickey Shores. The fire happened around 5:22 a.m., originating in a commercial oven on an assembly line and activated the fire alarm. The sprinkler system activated by the alarm put the fire out. The oven was damaged and there was minor damage to the room; there was also no food on the line at the time of the fire and it appears to be accidental. There were no injuries in the fire and there is no estimated cost of damage. The Kellogg Company released a statement saying: “Kellogg’s Columbus, Ga., plant experienced an exhaust fan fire this morning, at approximately 5:45 a.m. No one was injured, as the plant was immediately evacuated and production has been halted, while we work to determine the extent of the damage,” said company spokesperson Kris Charles.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Auburn, IN – Fire in paint booth at Cooper-Standard Automotive contained by sprinkler system September 26, 2015 viking210 Firefighters climb one of the Auburn Fire Department’s aerial ladders to reach the roof at Cooper-Standard Automotive, 207 S. West St., after a fire was reported at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday in a paint booth at the factory. The building’s sprinkler system activated, containing the fire, and firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze using hoses, Auburn Fire Chief Mike VanZile said. All Cooper employees were evacuated from the plant and accounted for, he added. Firefighters declared the situation under control at 3:20 p.m. Garrett firefighters assisted at the scene.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Bowling Green, KY – Fire at automotive manufacturer activates sprinkler system; No injuries reported September 26, 2015 viking210 Firefighters lined the front of NASCO on Nashville Road in Bowling Green Thursday at noon. NASCO said metal dust particles from a worker welding ear the roof line and ventilation fans ignited, setting off the sprinkler system and forcing them to evacuate the building. The Bowling Green Fire Department responded with multiple trucks including a ladder truck. Crews used extinguishers to check the scene for hot spots. NASCO said only a few sprinklers went off during the incident and no one was hurt.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Oxford, AL – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at National Gypsum Company facility September 24, 2015 viking210 Oxford Fire Department responded to a minor fire Tuesday at the National Gypsum Company on U.S. 78. A call first came in about a fire in the plant’s paper bale room around 11:15 a.m. from an employee at the plant, Oxford fire Chief Gary Sparks said in a phone interview Tuesday. Firefighters were on scene within three minutes of the call, extinguished the fire and left the scene by 12:40, Sparks said. It is unclear how the fire started but the sprinkler system held the flames in check until responders arrived on the scene, Sparks said. “There was minimal damage,” Sparks said. “The majority of it was to the paper bales, but there was some smoke damage in the office area.” There were no injuries reported during the incident and the plant was expected to be up and running before the day ended, Sparks said. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the plant Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Portage, MI – Fire at Pfizer manufacturing facility doused by sprinkler system; No injuries September 24, 2015 viking210 An “over-pressurization” event led to a fire Saturday that damaged equipment and a section of the Pfizer Inc. manufacturing complex on Portage Road, a Pfizer spokeswoman said Tuesday. Kim Bencker, head of communications for Pfizer Global Supply, previously said no one was injured in the incident, but she could not provide more details. The incident occurred about 10 a.m. Saturday in Building No. 335. “There appears to have been an over-pressurization event and a fire. The fire was immediately extinguished by the sprinkler in the area,” Bencker said Tuesday in an email response to questions. The fire damaged equipment and caused “limited building damage,” she said. “No employees were in the area of the building where the incident occurred.” “Most of the building is operating normally, and Pfizer is investigating the cause of the incident,” Bencker said. Kameron Jordan, Kalamazoo district coordinator for the Department of Environmental Quality, said a small fire in Building No. 335 was reported to the DEQ. “Because of the possibility that water used to suppress the fire could have resulted in runoff of manganese and/or acetone compounds, the retention pond was tested,” he said. “Neither substance was found to be in excess of background levels of those compounds. A final report will be prepared, and no further response is required.” Tanya Baker, of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, said the incident was not reported to the state, but such reporting is not required in incidents when no employees were injured.
