WastAway fire blamed on faulty exhaust unit
An exhaust unit is being blamed for a fire Tuesday morning which forced the evacuation of WastAway on Belmont Drive.
According to WastAway President Floyd Bouldin, the blaze was contained to the exhaust unit thanks to the sprinkler system installed throughout the building.
“The sprinkler system did its job,” Bouldin said, noting the 40-plus employees at WastAway were evacuated for precautionary reasons.
The fire was reported around 10 a.m. and was based in the exhaust system located near the front of the building. Smoke was seen billowing from the building when McMinnville firemen arrived. Fire-fighters equipped with their breathing apparatus fought the stubborn fire for over an hour Tuesday, finding hot spots within the system for some time. The city’s new fire tower truck was used to position firefighters on the roof of the building.
Firemen remained on the scene of the fire into the afternoon Tuesday, sweeping through the building as the heavy smoke was pulled from the building by fans. Given the size of the building, most of the city’s firemen were used on the scene of the fire, prompting a request for Centertown firemen to cover any other calls in the city.
According to Bouldin, production will continue at the plant as soon as safely possible. The plant turns common household waste into building materials. All the county’s waste goes to WastAway for conversion.
“We, of course, are interested in finding out what caused the fire in there so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Bouldin said.
A price tag has not been attached to the fire yet, although damage was thought to be heavy to the exhaust system and portions of the roof were damaged.