July 12, 2006

Smoky fire quickly controlled

       Forty-six firefighters on fourteen pieces of equipment from four different departments responded to a smoky fire at the Caporale Posts building earlier today.  The fire was accidentally started by a worker using cleaning solvents near an open flame just outside the paint booth in the structure.  The fire quickly flashed and spread up the wall and across the ceiling.  "We still had people inside the building trying to put out the fire when we first arrived", said Battalion Chief Jeff Wilson from the White River Township Fire Department.  Those individuals were evacuated and the fire was quickly extinguished thereafter by the first arriving crews.  "The fire emitted a thick brown smoke, probably from the various chemicals stored inside, making it extremely dangerous for anyone inside.", Wilson added.  After the fire was extinguished, crews spent over an hour evacuating the heavy smoke from the mailbox manufacturing business.  One civilian suffered minor smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene by paramedics.  White River fire crews were assisted by Bargersville, Greenwood, and Madison Township fire departments as well as Rural/Metro Ambulance Service.  No damage estimate was available at press time.
 
   

           
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