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Pocono News Section
29 Companies Battle Schuylkill County Fire
29 Companies Battle Schuylkill County Fire - Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 5:17PM EST
Reported by: Eric Deabill
Saturday, Sep 20, 2008 @ 05:17pm EST
AUBURN, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY- Firefighters spent Saturday hosing down hot spots at the Precisionaire plant on Route 895 in Auburn. The fire was discovered in the back of the business just after 1:30 A. M. A total of 29 fire companies from Schuylkill and Berks counties helped fight the blaze.
West Brunswick Fire Company Chief Michael Strouse said, “There was a heavy fire in the back of the building when we arrived on scene. They were approximately at some point 20 feet above the roof level."
No one was hurt, but the back half of the building was basically reduced to rubble. Precisionaire manufactures air filtration products, and the part of the building that burned was the receiving warehouse.
The front part of the building was saved. Salvation Army Volunteer Terry Wommer said, “The firemen saved the building by closing fire doors inside. That saved the front part of the building, but the back part of the building and 11 trailers are damaged."
There was only one person at the plant at the time of the fire, and company officials don’t know when they'll be able to reopen.
Employees like Robert Koons are stunned. “I’m not really sure how it started. I just found out early this morning, my girlfriend's dad just woke me up and told me," he said.
Firefighters say Saturday’s fire is one of the biggest they've had in years. Because of debris in the air, they were also worried at first about air quality. “We had an air monitoring team out of Pottsville come in and do air quality and everything was found to be safe for the environment," added Strouse.
Right now company officials don’t have a damage estimate. A State Police Fire Marshal will investigate the cause of the fire.
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