The Community Times Dispatch

An early morning machine fire broke out at the New York Wire industrial plant on Tuesday that took fire crews over an hour to extinguish.

One worker said he heard the sound of fire igniting and then he looked and saw large flames spewing from a tenter.

According to Colleton County Fire Rescue Director Barry McRoy, Fire-Rescue responded to a three alarm fire at 1497 Industrial Road, New York Wire Facility at 3:31 a.m., Tuesday 28-July. On arrival, Engine 19 reported heavy smoke visible from the rear of the 350,000 square foot industrial complex.

Firefighters set up operations at the back of the factory and encountered several employees who had attempted to the fight the fire with portable extinguishers. Two complained to emergency personnel of respiratory complaints. Although evacuation of workers was already in progress, most stayed on the scene for nearly an hour before being excused to go home.

A second ambulance was requested to handle the injured and a second alarm was dispatched at 3:49 a.m. for additional fire apparatus and manpower. Interior crews found heavy fire conditions in a large piece of machinery located inside the facility. The unit, known as a tenter, was the size of a small mobile home and is used in the manufacturing process at the plant. Fire had spread across the ceiling, extending into the duct work above the unit as well as venting from a large exhaust vent on the roof. Crews deployed multiple fire hoses inside the facility. Smoke conditions were intense, with near zero visibility inside the structure. Both County Ladder Trucks responded, with one setting up on the back of the building. A hose line was deployed from the bucket that firefighters used on the roof to direct water into the roof vent.

A third alarm was dispatched for additional manpower at 4:10 a.m. Maintenance employees arrived a short time later to activate the fire suppression system in the duct work. This quickly doused the flames in the ducts. Interior crews had the fire extinguished after about one and half hours and were on the scene for three hours. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion at the scene and both injured workers denied need for transport to the hospital. The machine where the fire originated suffered heavy damage, as well as the ceiling/roof structure above the unit.

Eighteen county fire units responded to the incident.