Emergency personnel responded to a fire around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Port Townsend Paper Corp. No one was injured. There was minor damage to equipment and the machine was expected to be back up and running Tuesday night. General Manager Carr Tyndall, on vacation in South Carolina, said Tuesday afternoon that sprinklers had gone off when a fire started in a dryer section on Paper Machine No. 2. East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR) was called as a precaution.
Kevin Scott, director of sustainability at the mill, and Bill Beezley, public information officer at EJFR, confirmed that firefighters and medics arrived as support. Beezley said that crews were dispatched to “heavy black smoke near the northernmost smoke stack.” Responding crews reported that fire had broken out in dust on top of the second paper machine and that the mill’s sprinkler system had extinguished it by the time the crew arrived.
“EJFR firefighters spent some time hitting hot spots and mopping up before departing 45 minutes later,” Beezley said. “Paper Machine No. 2 is down for now. And it’s probably going to be another three hours for cleaning,” Tyndall said of being told there was no significant damage. He said the sprinkler heads would need to be replaced.
Tyndall said it would not surprise him if paper dust in the third dryer section caught on fire. He said that was common. Flames were initially reported being visible from a roof, then only black smoke was visible, as of 10:10 a.m.
The flames had been “knocked down” as of 10:14 a.m., according to responder traffic heard on JeffCom dispatch. The mill has two machines that produce kraft paper products.
Firefighters responded to a Plano nursing home Saturday morning after receiving a call about smoke from an employee at Life Care Center of Plano, in the 3800 block of W. Park Boulevard.
The employee called 911 at 8:47 a.m. to report that fire alarms were sounding and that senior residents were being removed from the property.
When Plano Fire-Rescue crews arrived, they discovered a haze of smoke in one of the main hallways and a lot of smoke inside a glassed-in laundry room, according to Capt. Peggy Harrell, department spokeswoman. It is believed that the fire started in a clothes dryer.
“This is what we call a high-occupancy load, where there are lots of people in a building and in a place where there are lots of seniors who might not be able to evacuate themselves,” she said. “We took extra precautions.”
Harrell said the nursing home had good evacuation procedures in place, but once investigators located the fire and determined how far it was from the residential hallways, no evacuation had to take place and residents were able to return to their rooms.
“We were able to close the fire doors and keep the room where the fire was isolated,” she said. “A sprinkler head kept the fire in check, and firefighters brought in the handline to put the remaining fire out.”
Harrell said investigators discovered an armload of clothes on fire in the affected dryer, but the exact cause of the fire has not been determined.
No injuries were reported, but Harrell said a rescue squad was on the scene to check out anyone who may have come close to the smoke.
Three area fire departments responded to Rockford Manufacturing Co. Friday morning to battle a blaze at the plant. The cause of the fire, which was contained to one building, is under investigation, firefighters said. No one was injured.
The Blount County Fire Department responded to the plant, located at 3901 Little River Road, Rockford, at 10 a.m. The Alcoa and Maryville fire departments later responded to assist. Blount County Fire Lt. Johnny Leatherwood said the fire started in the basement of a large building toward the back of the plant. Firefighters arrived to find several large metal hoppers, or storage containers, on fire. Technically, it was the material that was inside the hoppers that was burning, Leatherwood said.
“I’m not sure what they had in these hoppers; it just looked like dust to us,” Leatherwood said. The hoppers were located in the basement of the building, and the fire ended up spreading to the upper floor, where it burned inside a wooden cabinet.
While the fire was contained to that cabinet on the second floor, Leatherwood said, there was still heavy smoke. “Of course we had smoke all up in the second floor, and then they had quite a bit of water damage,” Leatherwood said.
Several other items were being stored in the basement where the fire started, and were covered in water when the sprinkler system went off, Leatherwood said. The Blount County Fire Department had about 19 firefighters on scene. The Alcoa Fire Department sent seven firefighters, and the Maryville Fire Department sent five.
The Blount County Rescue Squad provided water and food for firefighters as they battled the blaze. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service was also on scene. Leatherwood said the fire was under control by around noon, though it wasn’t completely out until around 2 p.m.
Firefighters cleared the plant at 3:35 p.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The Rockford Manufacturing Co. issued a statement thanking the quick response from fire, police and other emergency services.
“There was a fire today at Rockford Manufacturing Co.,” the statement read. “Thankfully, no one was injured. We wish to express our appreciation for the quick and professional responses by the Blount County Fire Department and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office. We also want to thank Rural/Metro Ambulance for arriving as a precaution, although no treatment or hospital transport was required. We also appreciate Maryville Fire Department, Alcoa Fire Department, and the Blount County Rescue Squad for responding under mutual aid agreements.”
Leatherwood said the fire apparently won’t keep the plant closed past this weekend. “They said they hope to be back up and running by Monday,” Leatherwood said.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
