Editor’s Note: A new story on this fire is available here.
NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – Firefighters say that everybody was able to escape unharmed from the Neenah Foundry after a large fire in plant two on Thursday night.
Video and pictures sent to Local 5 News by viewers show thick black smoke and flames coming from the building. Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue’s assistant chief told Local 5 News that the fire sparked in the sand bin area of the foundry.
Firefighters said that the plant was in full operation at the time of the fire, but all of the workers were able to get out of the building safely.
“Our initial crews and our shift commander came up with a game plan,” said Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Jerry Mavroff. “Our best bet was to do an elevated fire stream through the sand tower itself. That’s basically how we controlled and mitigated the situation.”
Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue officials told Local 5 that the initial calls and dispatch were received at approximately 8:38 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, and that a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was requested.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, and firefighters say they will work cooperatively with foundry officials to determine what sparked it. The fire was at a high level of the building, which firefighters said made it a challenge to fight.
“A fire of that height is always going to be a challenge, just having a water source to support the elevated master streams is always a challenge,” Mavroff told Local 5 News. “Crews did great, they found their water source and got water on the fire as quickly as they could.”
Firefighters told Local 5 News that people are still able to work in other parts of the foundry unaffected by the fire.
Firefighters stayed on the scene until around 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Photo sent by Keisha Kendrick, via Brandon/Matt
Photo Courtesy of Keisha Kendrick
Photo Courtesy of Keisha Kendrick
Photo Courtesy of Keisha Kendrick
Photo Courtesy of Keisha Kendrick
Photo Courtesy of Keisha Kendrick
This story is developing.
