Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Mishawaka, IN – Factory fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Mishawaka firefighters are crediting a sprinkler system for extinguishing a fire at a factory Tuesday afternoon. Crews were called to Sampson Fiberglass in the 2400 block of Home Street around 3 p.m.

One worker suffered minor smoke inhalation, but did not seek medical treatment at the scene. Dispatch did confirm, however, that one patient was later transported to the hospital nearly two hours after the incident. A fire investigator is on the scene searching for what started the fire.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rockford, TN – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in fire at manufacturing company

Three area fire departments responded to Rockford Manufacturing Co. Friday morning to battle a blaze at the plant. The cause of the fire, which was contained to one building, is under investigation, firefighters said. No one was injured.

The Blount County Fire Department responded to the plant, located at 3901 Little River Road, Rockford, at 10 a.m. The Alcoa and Maryville fire departments later responded to assist. Blount County Fire Lt. Johnny Leatherwood said the fire started in the basement of a large building toward the back of the plant. Firefighters arrived to find several large metal hoppers, or storage containers, on fire. Technically, it was the material that was inside the hoppers that was burning, Leatherwood said.

“I’m not sure what they had in these hoppers; it just looked like dust to us,” Leatherwood said. The hoppers were located in the basement of the building, and the fire ended up spreading to the upper floor, where it burned inside a wooden cabinet.

While the fire was contained to that cabinet on the second floor, Leatherwood said, there was still heavy smoke. “Of course we had smoke all up in the second floor, and then they had quite a bit of water damage,” Leatherwood said.

Several other items were being stored in the basement where the fire started, and were covered in water when the sprinkler system went off, Leatherwood said. The Blount County Fire Department had about 19 firefighters on scene. The Alcoa Fire Department sent seven firefighters, and the Maryville Fire Department sent five.

The Blount County Rescue Squad provided water and food for firefighters as they battled the blaze. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service was also on scene. Leatherwood said the fire was under control by around noon, though it wasn’t completely out until around 2 p.m.

Firefighters cleared the plant at 3:35 p.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The Rockford Manufacturing Co. issued a statement thanking the quick response from fire, police and other emergency services.

“There was a fire today at Rockford Manufacturing Co.,” the statement read. “Thankfully, no one was injured. We wish to express our appreciation for the quick and professional responses by the Blount County Fire Department and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. We also want to thank Rural/Metro Ambulance for arriving as a precaution, although no treatment or hospital transport was required. We also appreciate Maryville Fire Department, Alcoa Fire Department, and the Blount County Rescue Squad for responding under mutual aid agreements.”

Leatherwood said the fire apparently won’t keep the plant closed past this weekend. “They said they hope to be back up and running by Monday,” Leatherwood said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Torrington, CT – Fire at carpet factory held in check by sprinkler system

A fire Sunday at a carpet factory began when a forklift operator drove over flammable material used to make carpet padding, the fire marshal said. Fire Marshal Edward Bascetta ruled the fire as accidental.  Bascetta said a sprinkler system activated and kept the fire in check, for the most part, “or we would have had a much larger fire than we did. They had all their safeguards in place.”

The fire department called for three alarms Sunday evening after workers, an alarm system and nearby firefighters simultaneously discovered there was a fire within the 150,000-square-foot building owned by Calhoun, Ga. based Mohawk Industries. The massive industrial building stretches from Church Street to Pearl Street and has an entrance on Migeon Avenue.

“The workers were moving the stock pile of foam that they make into padding for carpets,” Bascetta said. “The forklift operator had gone in, picked up a pile and backed up against (material) and had some latex go under the forklift where the exhaust is.”

Bascetta said the heat of the exhaust sparked the fire in the latex, which is extremely flammable. “Once it gets in the latex piles, it keeps burning and you had to pull it apart to get it out.”

Brunoli said a firefighter, who was also trained as a forklift operator, used the machine to carry the smoldering bales of latex outside, where it was extinguished. Brunoli said the firefighter drove the forklift while wearing his protective equipment, including his air pack.

Bascetta said only stock was damaged. “The manufacturing side of the facility is close to being up and running today,” he said Monday afternoon. “They were getting stock in at 10 this morning.”

Representatives of the company did not return requests for comment. A woman at the factory said they could not comment, but work was continuing.

“They had plenty of workers there late last night working around-the-clock to clean up the area,” Bascetta said.

Fire Chief Gary Brunoli said the crew on Truck 4, returning to the fire station from another incident smelled smoke. He said they spun the fire truck around and by the time the department got the call about the fire, they were already there.

Brunoli and Bascetta said the quick response and fire suppression systems in place in the building helped control the fire before it got out of control. There were no injuries, and Bascetta said there was no major damage to the building.

Bascetta said the company has been proactive about fire safety. “They came to the fire department and said we manufacture foam padding for carpets, and we will have fires,” Bascetta said. “They take precautionary measures to prevent that, but sometimes something like this occurs and it is purely accidental.”

Bascatta said when fires burn in latex bundles the only way to extinguish it is to drag it from the building and pick it apart while spraying it down. Brunoli said they used foam to douse the smoldering fire and the Department of Energy and Environmental protection monitored runoff to ensure none of the plastic bits got into storm water systems.

Manufacturing, Power / Energy Facility

Cheshire, OH – Power plant fire knocked down by sprinklers

A small fire was reported around 10 a.m. Thursday at the General James M. Gavin Power Plant in Cheshire.

The power plant is owned American Electric Power.

According to Tammy Ridout, manager of media relations for AEP, the fire started in the generator step-up transformer, which is what takes the generator voltage and increases it to match the transmission line voltage so that power can leave the plant.

The plant is connected to the grid by 765 kilovolt transmission lines — the highest rated voltage in the U.S.

Ridout said that Meigs County fire stations, including Middleport, Pomeroy and Rutland fire departments, were called to the scene, but the flames were contained before they arrived. The fire was extinguished by a deluge system, or an activated sprinkler system, she said.

There were no injuries reported.

Middleport Fire Chief Jeff Darst said the fire occurred in what is known as Unit 2, where the tranformers are kept behind the plant where they can’t be viewed from the road. However, smoke could be seen rising above the plant from passing motorists. Darst said the fire was contained by the Gavin Fire Brigade by the time he and his crew arrived, but that his crew, as well as Pomeroy and Rutland, all helped extinguish the flames.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, SC – Sprinkler system activates to help control fire at bus manufacturer

Firefighters responded Wednesday morning to a report of an explosion at a Greenville business. The incident happened at Proterra, a electric bus manufacturer, at Whitlee Court. Greenville City Fire Prevention Office responded to the scene and noticed black smoke pouring out of the building.

There were employees inside of the building at the time of the fire, but everyone was evacuated safely. Some employees reported that there were two explosions that went off inside the business. The sprinkler systems are working to knock down the flames, but firefighters say there is still an active fire inside. Once the sprinkler system stops, the fire department will go inside the business to investigate.

 

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

East Liverpool, OH – Sprinkler system puts out fire at century old pottery plant; Business back to usual for 100 employees

Damages are still being assessed following a fire at a century old pottery plant in East Liverpool. The fire was concentrated in a large dryer at the Hall China Company on the city east end. An employee first noticed smoke coming out of the dryers doors around 5:30 p.m. Monday. 

“Then all of a sudden I saw the whole thing caught fire on the side of it,” maintenance worker Jody Eccles said. Another employee, Brian Cronin sounded the alarm.

Then he went through the plant and notified people to get out,” company spokesman Chuck Henderson said. It appears the fire was the result of an equipment malfunction. “The mechanism that creates the heat for the dryer, we had a belt bind up and catch fire,” said Henderson.

The fire was actually put out rather quickly. A large amount of pottery ware ready to go in the dryer was lost due to water damage. But the owner says the 100-year old structure could have sustained much greater damage if not for quick work by firefighters and the well maintained sprinkler system. 

“There’s a lot of wood in parts of the building and it could have gone up in a flash, said President and CEO, Liz McLvain. Hall China is now owned by Homer-Laughlin makers of the popular Fiesta ware 

Clean up work is well underway. McLvain says the plant has several other dryers and they are still in full production. 

“I know you wouldn’t have believed that last night, but today we are in business as usual,” McLivain said. And that’s good news for the plant’s 100 employees. A damage estimate from the fire is still being determined.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Oxford, ME – Sprinklers suppress fire at factory that builds manufactured homes

Oxford’s fire chief said a sprinkler system and quick reaction by firefighters kept a blaze at a manufactured homes factory from spreading significantly Friday night.

Chief Wayne Jones said the fire started in a stack of plywood in a corner of the Keiser Homes plant at 56 Mechanic Falls Road. He said the cause is unknown and the State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire.  Jones said the fire spread about 20 feet or so into the building. The sprinkler system kept the flames in check initially, he said, and firefighters were able to get water hoses set up quickly and started to spray down the building within minutes of arriving.

The fire was reported about 4:45 p.m., when most of the workers had finished for the day and only one employee was in the plant, he said. One firefighter was taken to a local hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion, Jones said, and another was treated at the scene for what he said was a minor injury. No one else was hurt, the chief said.

Jones said even though firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading, it still took about five hours to get the fire fully under control. He said an Oxford fire crew was expected to spend most of the night at the site to make sure there weren’t any hot spots remaining that could cause the fire to flare up.

More than a half-dozen nearby towns sent crews to help with the fire or to cover Oxford fire stations during the evening, Jones said. Route 121, which is Mechanic Falls Road in Oxford, was shut down part of Friday evening but had reopened by about 10 p.m.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Union Gap, WA – Fire at paper mill controlled by sprinkler system

Yakima fire crews say a fire at the International Paper company in Union Gap Tuesday morning could have been much worse if it weren’t for their working sprinkler system.

A news release from the fire department said people reported seeing smoke coming from the roof of the building. The fire remained on one part of the plant, a dust collecting hopper, because the automatic sprinkler system kicked on and helped maintain the flames.

Fire crews put out the fire and cleaned up debris from the damage. The cost of the damage is not known at this time. Yakima firefighters say the cause was a hot ember that got into the dust collection hopper.

The news release from the fire department also said the whole building could have been a total loss if they did not have a functioning sprinkler system in place.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

LaVerkin, UT – Sprinklers assist firefighters in weekend fire at manufacturing plant

Agencies from around Southern Utah responded to a structure fire at SKF Manufacturing on Center Street in LaVerkin Saturday.  Firefighters were paged out to the fire at about 1:30 p.m., Hurricane Valley Fire Chief Tom Kuhlmann said.  The building has a sprinkler system in place, which came on during the fire, and firefighters backed up the sprinklers with hoses to control the blaze.

Dawn McDowell, SKF Manufacturing’s operations manager, had been alerted about the fire by an alarm company and arrived at the scene about the same time the firefighters did. She was able to unlock the building, which had been closed down for the weekend, so the firefighters didn’t have to force entry.

When responders got to the building, there was smoke pouring out of the windows, and they had to send a team in to track down the location of the actual fire.  The team ended up finding the fire had originated in the area of one of the processing machines in the back corner of the building, Kuhlmann said.

The responders had the fire controlled by 2:30 p.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Kuhlmann said, and the extent of the damage is not yet known as this report is published. There were no people in the building at the time the fire started, so no injuries resulted from the incident.  The fire was contained to the inside of the building.  McDowell said that in the 24 years she has worked at SKF, there have been no other fires there. SKF’s factory in LaVerkin manufactures hydraulic seals, she said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Logan, UT – Fire at electronic parts manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system

What could have turned out to be a large business fire in Logan, was saved by the quick activation of fire sprinklers.  The fire happened Tuesday at TMM technologies at 710 N 600 W.  At the business they make computer circuit boards. Fire officials say some employees were doing, what they call “hot works” with grinders and torchers.

During the process, a fire was ignited and it spread to the second floor. The fire sprinklers helped put out the fire. Fire officials say by the time they arrived, they were able to put out the rest with fire extinguishers. Everyone was able to go back to work. No one was injured.