Category Archives: Manufacturing

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Montrose, CO – Sprinkler system slows fire at saw mill; No injuries reported

Montrose Forest Products is operating at a temporarily diminished capacity, as repairs are made to electrical components that were damaged in a fire late Friday at the timber mill.

“It wasn’t catastrophic, but it wasn’t good, nonetheless,” Mike Kusar, general manager, said Monday.

“We had mainly electrical damage to our de-barker area. We are running production today, but it is at less than full capacity. We are still making repairs. No one was injured. The fire district did a great job, getting right out there and getting it out,” Kusar said.

A fire alarm summoned the Montrose Fire Protection District and deputies to the timber mill on 65.30 Road at about 10:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7.

Crews found fire showing in and around manufacturing equipment in an open area of the building. The sprinkler system activated, slowing the fire, which firefighters extinguished. With plant employees, they were able to shut down power to the system and machinery.

The fire district’s report says one of the areas of fire was at a hydraulic fluid tank and electric pumps, where rubber piping had burned through and was leaking. Containers of hydraulic oil had burned and above them, was wiring that had been exposed when the insulation burned off.

The fire also burned around and under a conveyor belt motor, and around a large saw in the metal building.

The amount of sawdust made it difficult to determine distinct burn patterns; per the report, workers said welding might have been done near the saw earlier in the day.

The fire district surmised the blaze was heading south and the sprinkler heads activated after crews arrived.

“I think our sprinkler system paid for itself this weekend,” Kusar said Monday.

As firefighters began clearing the scene Friday, employees used hoses to keep wetting the sawdust and worked to replace sprinkler heads to reactivate the system.

According to the report, dust, fiber, lint, sawdust and excelsior caught fire first, due to “failure of equipment or heat source.” It listed “heat source too close to combustibles” as a contributing factor. There were no human contributing factors.

Preliminary damages were estimated at $25,000. The involved property was valued at $5 million and the contents at $1million.

Montrose Forest Products is having the electrical damage repaired so it can resume full-capacity operations, Kusar said.

“It was obviously a very big deal, but we’re back running today. We worked all weekend to get her going,” he said.

The mill hopes to be at full operation again in about a week.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Lexington, KY – Fire sprinklers controls piece of machinery that caught on fire

Crews responded to a fire at a Lexington business Tuesday morning.

Just before 8:15 a.m., the Lexington fire Department says they responded to the 1500 block of Mercer Road for the report of a structure fire at the Trane plant.

When firefighters got there they found a piece of machinery on the manufacturing floor on fire. They say the sprinkler system had activated, containing the bulk of the fire.

The firefighters were able to extinguish the remaining fire that was found.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Guymon, OK – Fire inside large steel cooker contained thanks to sprinkler system

Sunday afternoon, Guymon firefighters were called to a reported fire at the Seaboard Plant. The fire was reported at 12 p.m. to 911 dispatch from workers reporting a grease fire inside the large rendering room area. Upon firefighters’ arrival, “they found heavy smoke coming from the back portion of the plant and flames from inside and atop one of the main cookers just inside the building,” said Guymon Fire Chief Grant Wadley.

The fire was located inside a large steel cooker that is approximately two to three stories tall and held an estimated 18,000 gallons of animal fat. Firefighters had to use multiple fire lines to knock down the fire then begin cooling the equipment and the entire room down. Flame damage was present to the roof and insulation from the immediate area above the cooker. “Automated sprinkler system in this area played a huge part in containing this fire and prevented any spread to the rest of the plant,” said Chief Wadley. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to just the large room of the plant where the cooker was located. No fire extended into any other area of the plant. Two Seaboard employees were treated at the scene by Guymon Fire Department paramedics for minor smoke inhalation and heat exposure. Both were treated and released. Firefighters were on scene for nearly five hours.

The cause of the fire is under investigation along with damage assessment. Guymon Fire Department worked closely with Seaboard Plant officials in handling this fire and situation. This fire was not expected to interfere with normal operations Monday morning.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

McHenry, IL – Processing machine that caught fire controlled by sprinkler system

A processing machine caused a fire at PolyOne Corporation in McHenry over the weekend.

According to a news release from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, crews were dispatched at 8:12 p.m. on Saturday for an activated fire alarm at 833 Ridgeview Drive in McHenry.

When they arrived at the scene, the responding personnel were able to enter the building using the Knox Box System key.

Firefighters used water pump cans and a dry chemical extinguisher to completely put out the fire before ventilating the building.

Because the corporation had an activated sprinkler system, the machine fire was controlled before fire crews arrived. The McHenry Township Fire Protection District said this prevented a more devastating outcome to the commercial business.

“This was a textbook example of exactly the manner that sprinklers are designed to work. The sprinkler system suppressed the main body of fire until the firefighters arrived and completely extinguished the fire,” said MTFPD Fire Chief Tony Huemann. “The activation of the sprinkler system protected the business that produces plastic petroleum products that could have easily become out of control that would have destroyed the entire business and building.”

A damage estimate was not immediately available.

The MTFPD crews were assisted with auto aid from the Nunda Rural Fire Protection District and the Crystal Lake Fire Department, according to the news release.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Easton, MD – Fire sprinklers contains fire to exterior loading dock of commercial building; No injuries reported

Authorities say several people were able to escape a late Wednesday night fire that caused a combined half a million dollars in damage to a commercial building in Easton.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office said the blaze broke out shortly after 10 p.m. at Adams Publishing Group (APG) Media of Chesapeake LLC, located at 29088 Airpark Drive. 

It took 42 firefighters from the Easton Volunteer Fire Department and assisting companies approximately an hour to get the fire under control. 

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage to the structure and another $450,000 in damage to its contents. There were no reported injuries. 

The building’s smoke alarm was present and activated. Additionally, its fire alarm and fire sprinkler system were present and activated. 

Deputy state fire marshals said the fire was contained to the exterior loading dock area of the commercial building. Several employees were working inside of the building at the time of the fire, who were able to evacuate the building after the fire alarm activation.

Anyone with information pertaining to the fire is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Upper Eastern Region Office at 410-822-7609.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Warrenville, IL – Fire at construction business kept in check thanks to sprinkler systems; No injuries reported

A fire at a construction business in Warrenville has been ruled accidental, authorities said Monday.

The fire began about 10:30 p.m. Friday on the 30W200 block of Butterfield Road, when firefighters were alerted that something was wrong by an automatic alarm, Warrenville Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Andy Dina said in a news release.

The first crews made it to the scene six minutes after the alarm, then called in extra forces, Dina said.

Once a structure fire response team assembled, including personnel from the Warrenville fire district, West Chicago Fire Protection District, Wheaton Fire Department, Winfield Fire Protection District and Warrenville Police Department, crews brought a hose inside to extinguish the fire.

Dina said an automatic fire sprinkler system kept the blaze in check until firefighters arrived. He said crews put out the fire quickly, then ventilated the building and checked to ensure the flames hadn’t spread to adjoining units. No one was injured.

Investigators on Monday wrapped up their interviews and their probe into the cause of the fire, determining it was accidental, Dina said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Cedar City, UT – Fire sprinkler contains fire at plastics manufacturer

Firefighters from multiple agencies responded Saturday afternoon to a fire at a plastics manufacturing plant in Cedar City.

Genpak, at 2791 Highway 56, produces styrofoam plates for use in restaurants.

Crews were called at 1:43 p.m. after the fire was discovered in the plant’s 20,000-square-foot storage building, which holds “huge rolls of plastic, floor to ceiling,” Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips told Gephardt Daily.

Employees evacuated through the front door of the building and, after a few moments of not being certain that everyone had made it out safely, the facility’s manager informed fire crews that everyone was accounted for.

“That was a relief and made our job easier,” Phillips said.

The major concern was that the area where the fire occurred contains highly flammable materials.

“If we had opened the door to the storage area, the additional oxygen would have caused the fire to spread through the whole structure,” Phillips said. “So we waited to get aerials (trucks) and pressurized the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system did its job.”

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Corry, PA – Sprinkler system prevents fire from spreading at lumber manufacturing facility

Firefighters from Corry, Spring Creek, Spartansburg and Elgin were called out to fight a fire in a commercial building Sunday night.

The fire broke out at 175 Sample Flats Road just before 9:30 p.m.

The first units from Corry arrived to find light smoke pouring from the eaves of the sprawling two story metal structure.

The business is a lumber manufacturing facility, and a sawmill.  It had been Thompson’s Maple Products.  Information now shows it as Larix Inc.

The fire chief on the scene said the blaze began in a break room. 

Firefighters were concerned about sawdust spreading the fire.  They said a sprinkler system made a big difference.

At the height of the fire 40 firefighters were on the scene.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Bristol, PA – Fire from industrial machine held in check by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire crews were at an industrial site in Bristol Township’s Croydon section for a fire Wednesday morning.

Crews from numerous area fire companies were dispatched to Zober Industries on Coventry Avenue at 11:08 a.m. for the fire.

The blaze was in an industrial machine at Zober Industries that separated antifreeze and oil. The blaze was held in check by the building’s sprinkler system, Croydon Fire Company Chief Tom Tryon and Bristol Township Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito said.

Tryon explained that some of the antifreeze and oil was pushed by water from the fire suppression system into nearby storm drains. The chief said environmental protection officials and the U.S. Coast Guard were alerted of the spill.

No injuries were reported, Dippolito said.

Zober Industries has been a stable in Croydon since the mid-1970s and serves as a vendor that offers custom manufacturing.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Amesbury, MA – Fire inside “explosion room” at industrial building put out by fire sprinklers

A regional hazardous materials team responded to an industrial building at 144 Elm St. late Tuesday morning after a flash fire in a room threatened to spread chemicals to the surrounding area.

But, according to Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush, sprinkler heads in what he called an “explosion room” at Arc Technologies put out the fire before firefighters arrived about 1:50 a.m.

As a precaution, firefighters from several area communities responded and a stretch of Elm Street near Oakland Street was closed to traffic. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Berkenbush said it broke out while workers were moving the contents of one container to another.

Once the hazardous materials team arrived, members inspected the building, conducted air quality readings and performed other tasks to make sure the building was safe.

“Everything came out OK,” Berkenbush said, adding that a worker at the defense industry company sustained minor injuries.

Among those helping local firefighters were units from Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury, West Newbury and several southern New Hampshire communities. Some of the same departments covered the Amesbury station during the roughly three-hour call and responded to five medical calls, Berkenbush added.

No firefighters were injured.