Firefighters spent more than 12 hours battling a blaze at the Elite Forest Products mill in Malakwa on Thursday.
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Coubrough said firefighters were paged around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 9, and Malakwa firefighters were first on scene at the mill, located off Lybarger Road.
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Coubrough said it was quickly learned the mill wasn乌鸦传媒檛 operational, and there was no else onsite, leaving firefighters to focus their effort on a defensive attack of the exterior.
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Coubrough said there were some issues with access, as the roads into the mill hadn乌鸦传媒檛 been plowed and were tricky to navigate. Also, a fire control system onsite was not operational, meaning water had to be hauled to the scene.
乌鸦传媒淲e were forced to do shuttle runs with our tenders, running back and forth grabbing water, dumping it into a bladder and then sucking it up into the trucks,乌鸦传媒� explained Coubrough. 乌鸦传媒淭here were some concerns with getting water, but once things were set up it was working pretty well.乌鸦传媒�
The attack continued throughout the day. At about 4:30 p.m., Coubrough said the fire was under control and crews were in the mop-up stage.
乌鸦传媒淭he fact it乌鸦传媒檚 structurally compromised, we won乌鸦传媒檛 be putting crews in to do a proper structural overhaul, we have to do it from the outside,乌鸦传媒� said Coubrough. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 going to leave a few hotspots, but nothing to worry about at this point in time. The manager of the mill will be put on a fire watch, that means we乌鸦传媒檙e asking him once every hour to take a look around and if he does notice it start spreading, he can give 911 call and get us back out here.乌鸦传媒�
Despite the size and intensity of the blaze, Coubrough said firefighters were still able to save half the structure and some heavy equipment within.
乌鸦传媒淎bout half of the building we were able to save, which, considering the extent of the fire when our crews arrived on scene is no small feat,乌鸦传媒� said Coubrough, adding the site乌鸦传媒檚 manager, Ray Hansen, seemed pleased, having expected a complete loss.
A smaller structure at the Elite Forest Products mill caught fire in 2015.
