Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Dandridge, TN – Fire at monofilaments plant extinguished by sprinklers; System credited with averting disaster March 24, 2016 viking210 A fire suppression system averted potential disaster last Thursday afternoon at the Wetekam Monofilaments USA manufacturing facility in Dandridge. Fire Chief Andy Riley reported that the department responded at 12:07 p.m. to a fire alarm at the 93,000 square foot building, where a fire had filled the machine shop with thick smoke. “The visibility was zero inside the building, but we were able to use a thermal imaging camera to determine that the fire had been put out by six sprinkler heads that had been activated.” Based in Germany, Wetekam makes yarns that are used in the weaving, automotive, medical, upholstery, and other industries. The company has over 30 workers locally and invested several million dollars in its plant in the Jefferson County Industrial Park. Riley said all workers were evacuated from the building but were expected to be able to return to work this week since fire damage was contained to the machine shop wall and did not affect the production line. “This was a case where the fire suppression system did the job it was designed to do,” he said. “The back wall was apparently lit up in flames when the call came in, but the sprinklers got it out quickly.” The fire was accidental, but the cause has not been determined, the chief said. No one was injured. The machine shop was unoccupied when the fire started, but employees in the general area reported hearing a crash before smelling smoke, Riley reported. Firefighters were on the scene for about three hours at the 956 Pine drive building clearing smoke from the interior with heavy fans. Firefighters also used a power saw to cut into the rear wall and remove damaged insulation. Volunteer firefighters from Kansas-Talbott and Lakeway Central responded under mutual aid but were diverted to another call in their district, Riley said. New Market and White Pine volunteer firefighters then responded to the Pine Drive location. A total of 22 firefighters worked on the operation. Wetekam, one of the largest monofilament makers in Europe, bought the Dandridge plant two years ago. The company was established in 1965.
