(Kingsbury, IN) - There was a fire this morning at the Kingsbury Industrial Park where firefighters in protective suits worked in 400 degree temperatures.

 

There was no structure damage at Precoat Metals where steel coils are taken to be cleansed and painted before use in making products. 

 

La Porte County Hazardous Materials Coordinator Jeff Hamilton, who’s also firefighter, said a flash fire in the paint room sent flames from an oven heated to about 700 degrees into the metal ventilation ducts at the plant.

 

The flames kept burning from the fumes and other forms of flammable residue that can build up inside the duct work, which is not unusual for such an operation.

 

Hamilton said an automatic fire suppression system using carbon dioxide to extinguish the flames worked as designed.  There were still hotspots inside the duct work, though.  Firefighters climbed inside the duct work and cut holes in the duct work to allow them to access hoses for dousing the hot spots with water.

 

Hamilton said the inside of the duct work in some parts of the structure exceeded 400 degrees.

 

Protective gear providing a shield against the heat was worn, but firefighters had to be rotated in and out of the duct work every ten minutes for relief from such extremes.

 

“That takes a toll on a person and you can’t work for long periods of time. You have to take breaks,” he said.

 

Firefighters were at the scene for close to three hours.