No major injuries were reported from an Oct. 4 fire that caused extensive damage to Adell Plastics Inc.'s compounding plant in Baltimore.
The fire was reported shortly after 1 p.m., according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. It was not fully extinguished until late Oct. 6. The cause of the fire remains unknown, a department spokeswoman said.
All employees exited the plant safely. One firefighter was taken to a hospital after being treated for heat exhaustion, according to the spokeswoman.
In an Oct. 6 email to Plastics News, Adell owner Arthur Dellheim said that the firm plans to meet all customer orders from its plants in Petersburg, W. Va., and Denham Springs, La.
Baltimore-based Adell was founded in 1957 and makes compounds based mainly on engineering resins for a variety of markets. The firm also does toll compounding work.
More than 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was so intense that some of the plant's walls started to collapse. Smoke from the fire was visible for miles, according to the fire department.
County building engineers ruled the building unsafe, according to the fire department.
According to the fire department and local media reports, the fire started in a warehouse that contained cardboard containers filled with resin pellets. Firefighters worked to prevent the fire from spreading to another part of the site where hazardous materials were stored, according to the fire department.