Fire damages plant
ALLEGHENY TWP — Officials with Oxbow Activated Carbon are working with authorities to find the cause of the fire Saturday morning that damaged and temporarily closed the plant.
The fire was reported about 7:50 a.m. at the company at 3539 Oneida Valley Road, which is Route 38. Callers to 911 reported seeing flames shooting through the roof of the plant.
It mainly damaged the roof of the long building, mostly on its northern side, according to Dale Sellers, chief of the Eau Claire Volunteer Fire Department. But the fire also damaged the siding and frame of the building and its interior.
The building is one of two warehouses on the site, according to officials.
Robin Trexler, administrative services manager for the company, said in an e-mail, “We are happy no one was hurt in the fire. The plant was not operating at the time. We are cooperating with authorities to seek the cause of the fire and determine the extent of the damage.”
Dave Clark, general counsel for the company, said the plant was closed this morning as officials evaluate the damage and the needed repairs.
Neither Clark nor Sellers could provide a monetary damage estimate. The plant employs about a dozen people.
At the same time, officials are working to determine how the fire started.
“We have some ideas ...” Clark said. “It appears to be accidental.”
State Police Fire Marshal DuWayne Baird also is investigating and said the inquiry is just at the beginning and no determinations have been.
“We're working with company officials this week to take a closer look,” Baird said. “We just don't know enough yet to make any determinations.”
Sellers said when the firefighters “got to the scene there were already flames the whole way along the roof.”
It took about an hour to knock down the fire, he said, but firefighters were still dealing with smoldering late into the morning.The fire closed down Route 38 for several hours, but limited traffic was moving by after 10 a.m.The chief said the plant makes different carbon products, including those used in water filters. That carbon was in the building on fire, but it was not a fire risk.The facility also stored heavy equipment, including fork lifts and grinders. Sellers said there was a lot of damage to the equipment.About seven to eight fire departments initially were called for the fire, according to Butler County 911.The facility was formerly Superior Adsorbents. Oxbow, headquartered in Palm Beach, Fl., acquired the facility last year.Superior Adsorbents opened its plant in the township in 2001. In June 2002 much of the interior of one of its buildings was destroyed in a fire.
