MARTINSBURG, June 13, 2009 - Firefighters were on the scene of Quad/Graphics on Caperton Boulevard for more than six hours early Friday morning trying to fight a fire that broke out on one of the presses and attempting to remove the billows of smoke that resulted from it.
No one was injured in the blaze that broke out after midnight, but it resulted in about $100,000 in smoke damage and in damage caused to the large printing press, said Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Nichols.
Firefighters from all over the area responded to the scene of the blaze. It started after a part busted on the press, causing hydraulic fluid in the machine to leak and then catch on fire because of the high atmosphere temperature in the room.
Nichols said they had trouble fighting the fire because of its location in the center of the building, which is close to 2 million square feet, and because of the smoke.
When firefighters arrived, two sections of the $20 million press were fully engulfed in flames. It took them about one hour to get the fire under control, and the remainder of the time they spent at the scene involved attempting to get the smoke out of the building, Nichols said.
"We actually had flames rolling across the ceiling - we had no visibility due to smoke," Nichols said. "It was tough to get to, and we actually drove three pumpers right into the building and laid the supply line right with us."
He said that a built-in extinguishing system on the machine helped keep the fire from spreading.
Nichols added that when they arrived on the scene, all of the night shift employees had been evacuated, except for several administration members and maintenance workers who stayed to help.
"A big thank-you to Quad/Graphics personnel and administration with their help with the situation," Nichols said. "Basically anything that I needed, they took care of. One of the maintenance guys was basically at my side the whole time."
Firefighters with Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Department were on the scene until approximately 6 a.m. They were assisted by several other departments, including Bedington, Baker Heights, South Berkeley and South Morgan. Officers with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department also responded to the scene.
- Staff writer Christina Marnik can be reached at (304) 263-8931, ext. 182, or cmarnik@journal-news.net
Source: The Journal
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