Morning Call (Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 The Morning Call, Inc.
PORTLAND, Pa. — Three firefighters were injured while battling a blaze at a recycling company in Portland Wednesday afternoon.
According to Portland Fire Chief Jim Potter, the fire started about 2:30 p.m. in a heat extruder at Ultra-Poly Corp., at 102 Demi Road, on the border of Portland and Upper Mount Bethel Township.
It spread through an exhaust duct about 15 inches wide and 40 to 50 inches long, he said.
Potter said some 15 to 20 workers in the plastics plant were evacuated. No one from the plant was injured. The fire was extinguished in 10 to 15 minutes, Potter said.
Damage was estimated between $20,000 and $30,000.
More than a half-dozen fire departments, including firefighters from Stroudsburg and Knowlton Township, N.J., were at the scene, he said.
The ongoing heat wave also took a toll on crews. Two firefighters succumbed to heat exhaustion, Potter said. Another firefighter broke a hand after falling off the back of a fire truck while trying to get a five-inch hose, he said. All three firefighters, from the Portland fire company, were taken to Pocono Medical Center, East Stroudsburg.
Last August, there was a fire at the plant that was ignited accidentally by a welding torch.