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May 13, 2008

Fire breaks out at Beaulieu plant

By Jamie Jones

A fire on the roof of Beaulieu Plant 20 on Fifth Avenue in Dalton forced the evacuation of several hundred employees on Tuesday, but there were no injuries reported.

The fire broke out shortly after 2 p.m. and crews from the Dalton Fire Department remained at the plant through late afternoon. Assistant chief Bruce Satterfield said the fire began in an extrusion area of the building. He did not know the cause of the fire.

“There was a lot of fire in the ductwork and I think that’s really what kept them over there so long,” Satterfield said. “Just putting out the little, small fires in the duct and so forth. It’s manpower intensive in finding openings or creating your own openings.”

Several hundred employees waited outside the plant while firefighters worked to douse the flames. Company founder Carl Bouckaert walked through the crowd of employees, shaking hands with many. Bouckaert was not available for comment. In June 2007, Bouckaert stepped down as CEO of the floorcovering manufacturer but remains board chairman as part of a federal plea agreement for tax evasion.

Beaulieu chief executive officer Ralph Boe was on the scene and was also unavailable for comment. He was in a meeting later Tuesday afternoon and could not immediately be reached for comment. A phone message to another Beaulieu official was not immediately returned.

Employees at Grant’s Sporting Goods, which is next to the plant, weren’t notified of what happened. They had only seen the smoke.

One Beaulieu employee who works at the plant but wasn’t present during the fire said she wasn’t aware how the fire occurred.

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