Fire damages Harmony plastics manufacturing business
HARMONY — More than a dozen fire departments were called to fight a warehouse fire at a plastics manufacturing business Thursday — twice.
A fire sparked shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday at the Cranberry Township-based U.S. Liner Company’s three-building manufacturing facility on Utah Street in Harmony.
Smoke was reported at 8:10 a.m. to be emanating from the building. Fire and smoke was coming from the roof of one of the company buildings as firefighters were en route to the scene, prompting a second alarm for additional fire departments to respond to the earlier fire, said Harmony Fire District Deputy Chief Doug Pickett. The morning fire was quickly extinguished, and no one was injured at that time.
However, crews were called back shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, when the fire reportedly rekindled.
Both responses to the fire saw firefighters gain access to the building through the roof to get to the center of the flames.
“We had multiple aerials up to get people on the roof and multiple hand lines,” Pickett said.
According to Pickett, fire was found and contained in the duct work of a dust collection system and a rooftop heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit. The facility was evacuated of employees before firefighters arrived. Firefighters had to pull the duct system apart to put out the fire, and there was some interior water damage, he said.
Pickett said manufacturing residue in the duct system provided little fuel to feed the fire. The byproducts are not harmful, and firefighters used normal breathing equipment and did not use any extra precautions, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure what happened,” said Michael VanRiper, U.S. Liner recycling manager.
He said the fire was small and the cause was unknown. The company will make the needed repairs, but did not say when operations would return to normal.
Less than 50 of the company’s 100 employees were at work at the time, and all of them got out safely, VanRiper said. He said the company is grateful to the firefighters who put out the fire.
The company uses glass-reinforced polypropylene composite materials to make panels for trucks, trailers, recreational vehicles, public transportation vehicles, railroad cars, shipping and storage containers, building products and defense applications.
Scott Garing, chief of Harmony Fire District, estimated that the cost of the damage to the facility was around $50,000. He also said no firefighters were injured while working the scene throughout the day.
Also responding to the fire were Adams Area Fire District, Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, Callery Volunteer Fire Department and Evans City Volunteer Fire Department.
Responding from Beaver County were Big Knob Volunteer Fire Department, Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department and North Sewickley Volunteer Fire Department. From Lawrence County, the Wurtemburg-Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department and the Ellwood City Fire Department responded.
Eagle staff writer Eddie Trizzino contributed to this report.
