Date: February 10, 2019
Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa (USA)
Address: 4600 C St SW, 52404
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Cardboard
Industry: Paper Production (Pulp and Paper)
Equipment: Paper Processing Station
Company: Cedar River Paper Company
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Cedar River Paper Company is a paper production company located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It employs 220 people at an 849,169 sqft facility. The company is a subsidiary of International Paper Company, which is located in over 24 countries and employs approximately 52,000 people worldwide.
Incident Description:
On February 10, 2019, CBS2 reported a fire at a paper mill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Firefighters went to the mill shortly after getting a noon call reporting smoke coming out of a paper processing station. When they arrived, they worked with mill personnel to locate the fire. Department representatives said later that they got the fire under control quickly, but it took them over three hours to remove the smoldering paper product.
No injuries were reported and the extent of the damage is unknown.
Previous Incidents:
On July 10, 2017, KCRG reported a fire that started when a bale of recycled cardboard caught fire inside the Cedar River Paper Company warehouse. Once they entered the building, firefighters discovered that the flames had spread to other bales, which were removed and extinguished.
The Cedar Rapids Fire Department remained on the scene for over 48 hours and were assisted by departments from Ely, Fairfax, Hiawatha, Marion, Mount Vernon, and Swisher.
Update:
After further reviewing the incident, it appears that the February 10 fire may have involved bulk cardboard bales and not dust. The incident type has been changed from dust fire to potential dust fire and fuel from paper to cardboard on March 6, 2019.
