Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Steinbach, MB, Canada – Sprinklers extinguish fire in dust collection system at manufacturing facility August 4, 2016 viking210 A fire started in the dust collection system at Loewen in Steinbach. The fire department was dispatched to the scene at 8:26 p.m. Monday evening. Steinbach Fire Captain Russ Reimer says when they arrived on scene alarms were sounding and crews were sent into the building to investigate. “[They found that ] there had indeed been a fire in one of the collection systems, but these systems are also sprinkled so the sprinklers had gone off and done their job.” Reimer says crews then used a thermal imager to ensure the fire was out and no embers had travelled further. He notes they also sent a crew to the north side of the building to ensure the silos were not in danger. Reimer says the sprinkler alarms continued to sound. “The sprinkler alarms will go off when there’s any water flow in the system, and the system was sensing water flow. They may also have a faulty spot in their system right now causing the alarms to want to stay in alarm.” He notes there were employees in the building at the time of the fire but no one was injured and they evacuated when alarms sounded. “I wouldn’t say this is a common occurrence, but when it comes to manufacturing, this is not an unusual thing to have happen, which is why the systems are in place.” The cause of the fire is unknown and Reimer adds, if there is any damage, it’s minimal and most likely appear as water damage from the sprinklers.
