Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire at Sinclair & Rush Inc., a plastic molding manufacturer at 123 Manufacturers Drive in Arnold on Tuesday night (July 25), said Ron Harder, spokesman for the Rock Community Fire Protection District.
About 30 or 40 employees were at the building when the fire broke out, and they all evacuated safety. No firefighters were hurt either, Harder said.
He said the fire started behind a “high-heat furnace,” and an employee tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher and couldn’t so everyone evacuated.
Around 8:30 p.m., Rock Fire got a call about the fire and struck three alarms, bringing crews from all five firehouses, as well as crews from about 10 other fire departments or fire districts, Harder said.
By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had spread to ductwork, so two ladder trucks were put up against the building, and firefighters got on the roof to search for the fire in the ducts and fight it there, Harder said.
“The ductwork went the length of the building, which is about a block long, and that makes it difficult to fight. But, with everyone working together, we were able to immediately contain the fire,” he said.
Harder said the fire was fully extinguished within 45 minutes.
“These are the kinds of fires you train for all the time,” he said.
The building sustained just “minor” damage and employees already have returned to work there, Harder said this afternoon (July 26).
Because of the hot weather, firefighters were given frequent breaks so they could cool off inside an air-conditioned ambulance Rock Township Ambulance District had on the scene, he said.