Black smoke billows from manufacturing area as industrial material burns

Industrial material burns at Mountainland Supply Company in St. George, Utah, May 14, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Scott Dutton, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire in St. George’s manufacturing area after some industrial material ignited Monday afternoon.

Industrial material burns at Mountainland Supply Company in St. George, Utah, May 14, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Scott Dutton, St. George News

St. George Fire responded to the blaze in the outdoor storage area of Mountainland Supply Company, 550 N. 3050 East, at approximately 1:30 p.m.

On their way, firefighters observed heavy black smoke and arrived to find large flames coming from the burning industrial material, Battalion Chief Robert Hooper said.

Initially reported as a structure fire, the firefighting effort involved three engines and 17 firemen.

“We were able to control the fire within just a couple minutes,” Hooper said. “It was out in an isolated area, so fortunately it didn’t catch any brush on fire or structures or cause injuries to anybody.”

Nobody saw the fire start, Hooper said, noting that Mountainland Supply Company employees called 911.

“They were inside, started hearing some cracking and popping outside and saw the stack of material fully involved at that point,” Hooper said.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation at the time this report was taken. Crews were seeking clues in the burned remains of the industrial material, which comprised plumbing supplies, plastics, air conditioning supplies and compressors.

Firefighters inspect burned industrial material at Mountainland Supply Company in St. George, Utah, May 14, 2018 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

“There were reports of some explosions prior to arrival,” Hooper said. “We’re going to assume that was some of the air conditioning condensers.

“We’re still sifting through to see exactly what other materials were in there. We just saw the obvious stuff, so there might have been some flammable or combustible stuff in there. We’re looking into that.”

Emergency personnel from Gold Cross Ambulance and St. George Police Department also responded to the fire.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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