Small fire disrupts Old Town G-P mill Tissue production briefly shut down

OLD TOWN – Firefighters and officials of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill are investigating what caused dust and fiber from the tissue-making process to ignite late Friday afternoon, causing a small fire and briefly delaying production.

The fire occurred in a relatively isolated area of the facility, and none of the equipment, including the two tissue-making machines, was damaged, pulp mill superintendent Mike Curtis said Friday.

Discoloration could be seen on the cement decking of the roof, suggesting exposure to heat, Curtis said.

In front of the building, area firefighters climbed Ladder 195 from the Veazie Fire Department with a hose in tow to check on the roof.

Curtis said the dust from the tissue-making process ignited for some reason, and one of the eight people working on the machines spotted the small fire. The worker tried to hose the fire down, but the ignited dust spread out.

Old Town firefighters were called to the scene about 5:30 p.m. and later were joined by firefighters from Orono, Milford and Veazie.

Curtis said no one was injured, and the machines were shut down. Workers were not evacuated. Talking to reporters at about 7:30 p.m., he said he expected work to resume shortly.

What caused the fire wasn’t immediately clear, although Curtis said it can get hot and dry inside, conditions conducive to such a fire.

“We are going to have to go back and determine what caused it to catch on fire,” he said.