Warehouse fire in Springville causes minimal damage

SPRINGVILLE -- An active sprinkler system at Cott Beverages, near Wing Enterprises in Springville, kept a fire in check Tuesday evening and allowed firefighters to knock down the flames quickly before further damage occurred.

The call came in about 7 p.m. When firefighters responded no one was in the building, but Springville Fire Captain Allen Duke said an employee was using a welder two hours earlier in the shop.

Investigators are unsure if that was the cause of the fire, but Springville Fire Chief Henry Clinton has ruled the fire accidental.

The structural damage is minimal, Clinton said. The sprinkler system deployed and kept the fire in check.

"A work bench for welding, shelving and some product around the shelves were lost in the fire, but the structure itself is intact.

The fire was contained to a shop in the front area of the warehouse.

Initially, Clinton had Provo Fire respond to the scene to help with vertical ventilation, but he said by the time the additional firefighters had arrived the sprinklers had kept the fire contained and they were able to use horizontal ventilation.

It is hard to ventilate a warehouse, Clinton said. We had zero visibility and thick black smoke.

"These are what I call big-box fires, and I dont enjoy them at all. They can be really dangerous with the threat of the ceiling caving in on you.

Twenty-three firefighters from Springville and Provo helped put out the blaze in about 45 minutes. Crews had to use positive pressure blowers to clear the building of smoke throughout the evening.

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Warehouse fire in Springville causes minimal damage