Date: July 7, 2018
Location: Madawaska, Maine (USA)
Address: 82 Bridge Ave, 04756
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Paper Dust
Industry: Paper Mill (Pulp & Paper)
Equipment: Steam Plant
Company: Twin Rivers Paper Company
Previous Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: Unknown
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, the Twin Rivers Paper Company manufactures specialty paper for packaging, technical, label, publishing and lumber markets and applications.
The Twin Rivers Paper Company was launched on April 28, 2010 as a specialty papers business, with fully integrated operations comprising of a pulp and energy complex and a lumber mill in New Brunswick, as well as the paper mill in Madawaska, Maine. They have also since acquired other mills in New York, Mississippi and Arkansas.
They are a privately held company with a joint venture between Atlas Holdings and Blue Wolf Capital Partners as their largest shareholder. Twin Rivers’ operations were formerly owned by Fraser Papers. The business is now one of the largest employers in Northern New Brunswick and Maine with over 1,100 full-time equivalent jobs.
Twin Rivers’ key products include packaging, both coated and uncoated, technical papers such as those designed for medical purposes or for decorative use, and labels including thermal transfer paper. They also produce paper with a range of applications for the publishing sector.
The Madawaska facility has four paper machines and has a capacity of 335,000 tons per year. According to the History section of Twin Rivers’ website, modernized heat recovery systems were installed across paper machine operations in the Madawaska facility in the years 2011-12.
Description of Paper Mill Fire:
On July 9, 2018 Fiddlehead Focus reported that firefighters and emergency personnel, including some wearing hazardous materials suits, had responded to a fire in the steam plant sector of the Twin Rivers Paper Company in Madawaska on the night of July 7.
Emergency services personnel from Madawaska were the first to arrive on the scene followed by crews from Frenchville and Grand Isle. The cause of the fire was not known. Operations appeared to be back to normal by Monday, July 9. There was no mention of any injuries.
No further information could be found about the incident.
This incident is the mill’s fourth fire in two years. In August 2016 Bangor Daily News reported that a fire had occurred in the mill’s No. 7 paper-making machine and subsequently spread into the ductwork. On that occasion a firefighter was treated at a local emergency department and later admitted to the intensive care unit.
In July 2017, Fiddlehead Focus reported another fire at machine No. 7, which again spread to the ductwork above the machine. The cause appeared to have been torn paper which was accidentally ignited by one of the propane furnaces used to dry the paper.
In November 2017, Nip Impressions reported yet another fire in the ductwork above the No. 7 paper machine. This time electrical connections were the suspected cause.
An establishment search showed that The Twin Rivers Paper Company has had two OSHA inspections. The inspection opened on April 13, 2015 resulted in a large number of violations for health and safety related issues, including oxygen-fuel gas welding and cutting, the storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gases, use of portable fire extinguishers, spray finishing using flammable and combustible materials, and general wiring.
Sources:
Fiddlehead Focus (July 2018 incident)
Bangor Daily News
Fiddlehead Focus (July 2017 incident)
Nip Impressions
OSHA (search for Twin Rivers Paper)
