Other - Manufacturing, Other Business Elkton, MD – Authorities credit sprinkler system with extinguishing blaze in chemical mixing room December 6, 2018 viking210 Investigators are crediting a sprinkler system for extinguishing a blaze Monday morning inside a chemical mixing room at a medical products plant in Elkton, allowing the three employees in that area to escape safely, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office. Workers called 911 at approximately 7:15 a.m. Monday, after discovering the fire inside a Terumo Medical Corp. building in the 100 block of Blue Ball Road, fire officials said. About 10 firefighters with Singerly Volunteer Fire Co. of Elkton and Aetna Hook, Hose and Ladder Co. in Newark, Del., responded to the call, but the blaze had been extinguished by the time they arrived, fire officials added. “The fire was contained to the chemical room after the sprinkler system activated,” said Sr. Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire, an agency spokesman, adding, “Three employees inside the room were able to safely escape.” Investigators estimated that that part of the building sustained $25,000 in structural damage, according to Alkire, who further reported that no other property was damaged. Investigators identified the property owner as Terumo Medical Corp., which manufactures medical devices and supplies. Fire detectives listed the cause of the blaze as accidental, after concluding that static electricity inside the chemical mixing room triggered the fire, Alkire said. Because the fire occurred in a place containing chemicals, he added, the Cecil County Hazmat Team also was dispatched to the scene.
