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February 2, 2007

Update: Fire extinguished at Pawtucket plant / Photo

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Smoke billows from a food-oil processing plant operated by Bunge North America on Colfax Street in Pawtucket.

PAWTUCKET – A morning fire at a food-oil processing plant at 38 Colfax St. was knocked down nine minutes after the first fire crew arrived on scene.

Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to drums of sulphuric acid 10 feet inside the building, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department, whose crews arrived on scene at 9:57 a.m., one minute after they were called to the blaze. Those drums were a concern, Taylor said. Had they caught, it would have “turned into a haz-mat incident,” he said.

Within nine minutes, though, the bulk of the fire was out and there was no danger of it spreading, Taylor said. There could have still been hot spots for a short time after that, but they no longer posed a concern, he said.

Pawtucket fire crews arrived right behind the Providence crews, Taylor said.

The fire sparked at Bunge North America, in what’s known as the Colfax Building, as a crane was lowering some kind of panel onto the roof, Taylor said. The panel somehow caught fire, he said.

Because of the fire department activity in the area, the state Department of Transportation closed the off-ramp to Exit 25 (Smithfield Avenue) around 10:30 a.m. Although the DOT anticipated the exit would remain closed for about two hours, it re-opened by about 11:20 a.m., according to a traffic report.

The state Department of Environmental Management has been called to the scene as well and has sent its emergency response personnel, spokeswoman Gail Mastrati said around 10:30 a.m. Clean Harbors, an environmental cleanup company, was also called to the scene, according to Taylor.

Bunge North America distributes and processes edible oils made from vegetables, Mastrati said. The DEM issued a permit for a boiler at the plant about two years ago.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson, with reports from Journal photographer Andrew Dickerman

Posted by Kate Bramson  at 11:44 AM | Permalink

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