No injuries reported as workshop destroyed in Monday evening fire at Carmeuse
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
A 32-by-80 foot building at Carmeuse Lime and Stone of Rogers City received extensive damage in a fire Monday on the grounds of the plant.
The idler repair shop was left with a sagging roof and is considered to be a total loss, according Rogers City Fire Department (RCFD) chief Tim Luebke. A 30-by-30 building offset building on the northside of the structure suffered water and smoke damage.
The call came in two minutes 7 p.m., with the first firefighters arriving four minutes later. Posen Area Fire and Rescue also responded to the RCFD?s request for mutual aid. The building already was fully involved when crews got there. ?When our guys arrived it was venting through the sliding garage door in front of the building,? said Luebke.
?We had basically all of our equipment there. At first, the way the call came in, it was thought that it was one of the bigger buildings, so the ladder truck did respond, but it wasn?t used.? It is the first time the ladder truck has been out on a call.
The shop had closed down for the evening, so nobody was in the building, nor were there any injuries to employees or firefighters. Some vehicles avoided damaged, when they were moved before firefighters arrived, said Luebke.
The fire was knocked down in the first hour. ON TUESDAY morning, Luebke said the initial investigation with safety personnel from the plant had been completed and it appears the origin is in the north middle of the rafters of the one-story structure.
?We found the origin, where the fire started, but haven?t come up with a positive
Monday was a calm evening, relieving concerns that the fire could jump to another building on the property, the closest being the mill plant that was damaged in a fire more than a decade ago.
Luebke said RCFD responded to a fire at the workshop 15 years ago. ?This time it advanced further. The hardest part was the mop up, because of the age of construction, plus the celotex (insulation) in the ceiling. That stuff smolders and smolders.?
?The Rogers City area fire department reacted very quickly to the emergency,? said Kevin J. Whyte, vice president and general counsel, in a company press release. ?We are cooperating fully with the local fire department in the investigation of the cause of the fire. At this point, the cause of the fire is unknown.? Five RCFD trucks and 17 firefighters worked the blaze. Allied Ambulance also was there in standby mode.