It took firefighters about 90 minutes to put out the fire, caused by a spark from a machine that got into the powder, Newnam said. The metal powder sheds water, so it takes a while to extinguish such a fire, he said.
Newnam said they have put out at least one or more such fires at the company about every year since they’ve been there.
The fire was contained within a dust collector system that has a sprinkler system above it, he said. The heat of the fire set off an alarm and activated the sprinkler system.
Once on fire, the dust collector throws out a lot of heat and smoke, so firefighters go in using their air packs, he said.
Only a skeleton crew was working at the plant at the time of the fire and none were in any danger from the fire, he said, though the smell from the smoke is extremely bad, he said.
One firefighter was slightly injured by something falling on him, but did not have to be removed from the scene, he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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