Firefighters quickly extinguish a fire at the Kawneer aluminum factory in Cranberry Township on Thursday afternoon.

CRANBERRY TWP — A fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an aluminum factory on Progress Avenue, causing the evacuation of hundreds of employees.

The fire broke out just before 2 p.m. and briefly reached the second floor of the two-story building. Fire crews from around the area responded quickly, which resulted in a fast knock-down of the flames.

“We had a lot of departments here and they knocked it down really quick,” said Cranberry Sgt. Chuck Mascellino.

Mascellino said it was too preliminary to offer a cause of the fire.

The sergeant said that the building, where aluminum is manufactured for architectural and commercial purposes, contains chemicals, but they were never in danger from the fire.

The company, called Kawneer, is a division of Alcoa.

There are several buildings in the complex but only one was damaged by the fire, although all of the buildings were evacuated.

Employees remained outside for more than an hour before being allowed back inside.

A spokesman for Alcoa said Thursday afternoon that more than 400 people work at the site.

“There weren’t any injuries and we’re investigating the cause of the fire,” the spokesman said. “It was a small fire and it was extinguished, which is the important thing.”

Eagle staff writers Joe Genco and Jared Stonesifer contributed to this report.