Dennison firefighters say a small industrial fire at the Novelis plant on Newport Road was already out when crews arrived early Thursday morning.
Fire Chief Dave McConnell says departments were first dispatched around 6:38 a.m. for a fire alarm, which was upgraded to a confirmed structure fire before crews could respond.
When firefighters reached the scene, employees had already extinguished debris burning on top of a machine known as the cold mill, where aluminum is rolled. McConnell says firefighters checked the area with a thermal imaging camera to make sure there were no hot spots and stayed until the equipment was shut down and tagged out.
He says damage was minimal and the plant remained in operation except for the affected machine, limited to debris and possibly a small amount of wiring.
The general area was briefly evacuated, but supervisors and maintenance staff stayed to assist firefighters. The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office also responded. Responders were on scene about an hour in all.
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