Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Spokane, WA – Fire at paper manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system April 24, 2015 viking210 What could have turned into a raging inferno was instead a smoldering mess thanks to the sprinkler system installed at Inland Empire Paper. Fire crews responded to the paper mill on Argonne just after 2:30 p.m. on April 15 for a fire in the recycling building. Employees were unloading giant bundles of recycled materials that were held together with metal bands, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose. The metal of one of the bands scraped across the floor, got hot and ignited the bundled paper, Rose said. Crews were able to put out the fire quickly with help from the sprinkler system. The quick response was due in part to the department’s pre-incident planning, Rose said. “We already knew what was in there,” she said. Crews from Spokane County Fire District 8 assisted at the fire and crews from Spokane County Fire District 9 staffed several Valley Fire stations while crews were at the paper mill. Inland Empire Paper is owned by Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.
