A Thursday afternoon fire at Freeport Press in New Philadelphia was quickly brought under control with no injuries reported.
New Philadelphia Assistant Fire Chief Matt Tharp says crews were called around 12:30 p.m. for an industrial structure fire involving a paper hopper used in the plant’s recycling process.
Firefighters found the blaze contained inside the machine where shredded unused paper gets pushed into the hoper for baling. There was no extension to the rest of the factory or the roof.
Tharp says plant operations were only temporarily interrupted, and employees evacuated the building for about an hour or so.
Tharp says the cause of the fire was under investigation and the damage to the hopper was being assessed.
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