A fire broke out at a C&E Plastics Inc. plant in Georgetown, Pa., about 4:30 p.m. June 16 — an hour after the manufacturer of polypropylene tanks for the steel industry had closed.
No one was inside the Beaver County facility when a neighbor saw when black smoke stated billowing from a door.
Cliff Crighton told a KDKA TV reporter that he jumped on a golf cart to see what was happening. He opened the door and didn't see flames so he went to the back side and saw that the center of the building was engulfed in flames.
His wife and daughter called 911. First responders from several fire departments and hazardous material crews headed to the scene.
In a Facebook post, Hanover Fire Department, Washington County, firefighters said three fire trucks and firefighters responded. There were no injuries.
The blaze took about three hours to extinguish with trucked-in water since the area has no fire hydrants.
"We tankered every ounce of water into this fire," Chief DJ Miller told KDKA.
The chief told KDKA he believes the fire may have been caused by an electrical problem and then spread to a tank outside.
There's a lot of smoke and water damage but it appears the building is salvageable, the KDKA report says.
While the damage is being assessed, C&E Plastics officials plan to move work to a second facility in Robinson, going to two shifts there.
Founded in 1976, C&E Plastics started out as a custom thermoplastic fabrication company then grew into a designer and manufacturer of plastic tanks for metal processing plants.