From Staff Reports
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The cause of a fire at the Columbia Recycling plant on Chattanooga Avenue on Thursday remains under investigation but the focus is on a lint dust byproduct, a fire official said Friday.
“It will take time before we know the cause, but we know something sparked a lint dust byproduct outside the facility,” said Lt. Damion Epps with the Dalton Fire Department.
“The two Dumpsters behind buildings four and five caught fire,” Capt. Steve Hollingsworth said on Thursday. “There was very light structural damage on the outside of the building, as well as some inside damage caused by insulation (that caught fire).”
No injuries were reported during the fire, which was the fourth fire at the plant in five years, including 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.
The fire department received the call of the most recent fire at 3:42 p.m. and dispatched two engines. The fire was contained at about 6 p.m., officials said.
