Columbia Recycling on fire again

Published 9:01 am Sunday, September 23, 2012

The Columbia Recycling plant on Chattanooga Avenue was on fire again Saturday afternoon for the second time in three days.

Several Dalton Fire Department units responded to the fire where dispatchers said a call came in at about 6 p.m. Smoke lifted into the air, but no flames were visible from the road shortly after the call. Information on how and why it started wasn’t immediately available, but officials said no injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

On Thursday, emergency personnel responded to a call after two Dumpsters behind the buildings caught fire. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.

The Saturday fire caused fire and heat damage to some machinery and equipment, according to a press release from the fire department, and there was smoke damage “throughout the building.”

“Fire was found inside a piece of equipment that housed a conveyor belt,” the report states. “The sprinkler system activated and kept the fire in check until fire department arrival.”

The plant has also had fires in 2007, 2010 and 2011.

The fire in 2007 resulted in the death of a line supervisor, two employee injuries and a $41,400 fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which cited Columbia Recycling for 11 “serious” safety violations. A Dalton firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the fire in 2010.