The cause is under investigation and the fire will remain listed as suspicious, "being that it was in the evening and nobody was there," he said, until all other possibilities are ruled out.
A state fire marshal's investigator will be on site Saturday morning, he said.
Because of the corrosive and flammable chemicals in the building, crews attacked the exterior and later took a defensive posture and allowed the fire to burn itself out, Lynch said. No water was used on the fire because crews didn't want any runoff into the groundwater or the river. "We would have had a contaminated water runoff" go directly to the river, which is less than a quarter-mile from the facility.
Crews were initially dispatched sometime after 10:30 p.m. and found the building fully engulfed, he said. Operations at the plant ended at 4:30 p.m. and everybody was off the property at that time, Lynch said a preliminary investigation revealed.
Alpine Products has been serving the metal finishing industry for more than 60 years, providing metal finishing, coating and painting for the military and aerospace industries.
Lynch said evacuations of an estimated 120 to 125 people occurred on streets surrounding the plant, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries. The American Red Cross was notified. Montgomery County sheriff's deputies went door to door to get residents out and loaded onto RTA buses for a trip to Northridge High School. Lynch said he understood that at least 25 people were taken to the school.
Residents would be allowed back to their homes probably within two to three hours, he said.
At 1 a.m., there were still some hot spots and natural gas to the building was still on, Lynch said. Crews were looking for a value so they could shut off the gas. The owner of the company has been contacted, he said, declining to discuss any details.
An evacuation area of about a quarter-mile was to the north and west of the facility as a precaution because of the smoke, he said.
Joseph Royalty, of 2057 Drill Ave., said, "I went outside and just looked and my whole street was lit up."
Royalty, who said he has lived in his home 18 years, said he spotted the large fire "as soon as I walked out the door -- it was above the buildings and above the trees."
He said he was concerned for his family, which includes his mother and children. He said he went in and woke his mother right before authorities evacuated his street.
"I didn't comprehend at first it was that dangerous," Royalty said.
Justin Shawhan, an extended-stay resident of the Traveler's Motel on North Dixie Drive, said he was evacuated by a manager.
"It was completely engulfed," Shawhan said of the blaze that produced thick, black smoke. "It looked like something out of a movie."
Several Montgomery County residents commented about the fire on Facebook. One person said he could smell the fire at Needmore and Frederick Pike, even with his air conditioner on and his windows closed. Another resident who said he lives on Riverside Drive near Helena said the odor is "very heavy."
Crews from Vandalia, Clayton and Wright-Patterson provided mutual aid. All told, an estimated 100 fire personnel responded to the scene.
Anyone who saw anybody around the building is asked to the call the township fire department at 937-274-4351, Lynch said.
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