Fire Reported at Merrimack Plastics Plant

MERRIMACK, NH — Merrimack Fire and Rescue teams doused a small fire at the Saint Gobain Performance Plastics facility on Daniel Webster Highway in town this afternoon, according to a report. Teams were sent to the facility for an alarm activation at around 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2016. When they arrived, they found a fire in a large fabric coating tower, according to Fire Marshal John Manuele of the Merrimack Fire Department.

The building was evacuated while the entire fire team was called to the scene. Assistance was also requested from Manchester and Nashua Fire.

“Upon entry, the crews saw smoke and flame coming from the front of a piece of process equipment one level up the face of the coating tower,” Manuele stated. “The entry crew decided to attack the fire with carbon dioxide extinguishers to minimize the chance of spreading any contaminated effluent. The crew was able to rapidly extinguish the fire, and began checking the building exhaust stack and roof for fire spread It was determined that the fire was contained to the equipment and did not spread to the building itself.”

The fire was under controlled at around 1:20 p.m. and teams cleared from the scene about 15 minutes later, according to Manuele.

“The cause of the fire has been determined to be due to buildup of process material in a spill tray that had overheated and ignited,” Manuele said. “There were no injuries. Assistance was received from the Merrimack Police and a Nashua Engine covered Merrimack Station 1."