By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
CONNEAUT — Two employees were injured Wednesday morning when smoke filled a portion of the Continental Structural Plastics plant, 333 Gore Road, said Police Chief-Safety Director Jon Arcaro.
The workers suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to UH-Conneaut Medical Center for treatment, Arcaro said. The employees were given oxygen at the scene, he said. Firefighters said the employees’ conditions were not serious.
Personnel and equipment from both city fire stations were sent to the plant at 9:44 a.m. CSP maintenance personnel are investigating, but it appears a blower motor on one of the company’s furnaces may have malfunctioned, Arcaro said. The furnaces are located on the south side of the building, he said.
The building was evacuated, Arcaro said. Workers used several extinguishers to douse the blaze. Firefighters disassembled some of the machinery to reach other hot spots, he said.
The fire department’s airboat was taken to the scene, and its big propeller was used to ventilate the building.
CSP was evacuated, but workers returned inside the building about an hour later. It is not immediately known whether the fire harmed any equipment, and a dollar estimate of any damage hadn’t been determined, Arcaro said.
