Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activates in overnight fire at manufacturing plant

Ontario Fire Marshal is investigating a blaze at Arauco North America. Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services was called to the Base Line site, formerly Flakeboard, at about 11:50 p.m. on Sunday.

A sprinkler system was activated. Arauco workers were fighting a fire in a press machine and dust collection system, said platoon chief Stan Martynuck. Firefighters took over.

Spot fires followed in the early morning Monday. The fire was under control by 8 a.m., said Martynuck. The fire department was on scene until 5 p.m.

One firefighter received minor injuries. He was not taken to Sault Area Hospital.

Cause of the blaze is under investigation by fire prevention officer Carlo Provenzano and OFM investigators. Heavy damage prompted OFM participation, said Martynuck.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Evansville, IN – Sprinkler system credited with limiting damage in overnight fire at Aramark Uniform Services

A sprinkler system credited with saving an Evansville business from an overnight fire. It happened at Aramark Uniform Services on Florence Street just past midnight Wednesday morning. It took about 30 minutes to get the fire under control. Investigators say the fire was started by some sort of chemical reaction.

Thanks to the sprinkler system, damage was limited to mostly smoke and water. We’re told nobody was inside at the time and no firefighters were injured.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rantoul, IL – Fire in filtration system at manufacturing plant contained by sprinkler system

Employees at a Rantoul industrial plant were evacuated from the building Monday morning when fire broke out in a filtration unit. One employee at the Eagle Wings plant in the industrial park complained of smoke inhalation but refused to be transported to a hospital, Rantoul Fire Chief Ken Waters said.

He said embers in a filtration system caught filters on fire, filling the plant with smoke. The plant’s sprinkler system contained the fire, and employees were allowed to return to the plant. Firefighters used a high-velocity fan to pull the smoke out of the building.

Waters said the fire damaged 64 filters. He said the plant’s head of maintenance indicated it will be five days before new filters can be brought in, but production will not be limited because filters from another part of the plant will be used. Firefighters received the call at 8:56 a.m. and cleared the scene about 90 minutes later.

Eleven firefighters responded with a ladder truck, engine and rescue unit. No dollar estimate of damage was available.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Port Townsend, WA – Sprinkler system handles small fire at paper mill

 Emergency personnel responded to a fire around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. No one was injured. There was minor damage to equipment and the machine was expected to be back up and running Tuesday night. General Manager Carr Tyndall, on vacation in South Carolina, said Tuesday afternoon that sprinklers had gone off when a fire started in a dryer section on Paper Machine No. 2. East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR) was called as a precaution.

Kevin Scott, director of sustainability at the mill, and Bill Beezley, public information officer at EJFR, confirmed that firefighters and medics arrived as support. Beezley said that crews were dispatched to “heavy black smoke near the northernmost smoke stack.” Responding crews reported that fire had broken out in dust on top of the second paper machine and that the mill’s sprinkler system had extinguished it by the time the crew arrived.

“EJFR firefighters spent some time hitting hot spots and mopping up before departing 45 minutes later,” Beezley said. “Paper Machine No. 2 is down for now. And it’s probably going to be another three hours for cleaning,” Tyndall said of being told there was no significant damage. He said the sprinkler heads would need to be replaced.

Tyndall said it would not surprise him if paper dust in the third dryer section caught on fire. He said that was common. Flames were initially reported being visible from a roof, then only black smoke was visible, as of 10:10 a.m.

The flames had been “knocked down” as of 10:14 a.m., according to responder traffic heard on JeffCom dispatch. The mill has two machines that produce kraft paper products.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Enid, OK – Fire at food production facility controlled with help from sprinkler system

AdvancePierre Foods had a small fire in one of its cooking stacks early Thursday morning. The fire, at 6:03 a.m., may have been caused by grease accumulation, said Enid Fire Marshal Kenneth Helms. The fire is categorized as a cooking fire and activated two sprinkler systems.

Helms said firefighters had to pull back part of the roof membrane, and units were there for a couple of hours. No injuries were reported. The plant was shutdown for a short period.

The plant is now open and the impacted area is closed until repairs can be completed.

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.