CLEARFIELD, Utah, June 17, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Crews from several area fire agencies responded to a blaze Thursday at a commercial structure in the Freeport Center.
North Davis Fire District Chief Mark Becraft told Gephardt Daily that crews were dispatched at 12:52 p.m. to North Davis Cabinet and Design, 1651 S. 300 West, where an exterior hopper for sawdust collection was burning.
“The air ducts that carry the sawdust out to the hopper have sprinklers in them,” Becraft said. “When the sprinklers went off, they set off the fire alarms throughout and kind of kept the fire at bay.”
The workers inside the facility evacuated immediately and there were no injuries. The fire did not extend into the building.
Chief Becraft said the sawdust hopper, which is a “big steel structure,” did have significant damage. A board-up company is coordinating with the owner and will be installing fencing to keep people out of the potentially dangerous area, he said.
He estimated the amount of damage in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and said it’s possible the hopper may have to be torn down.
Becraft said fire units arrived quickly, “but it was a miserable sawdust fire,” which crews had to approach from various directions so as to keep enough water on all the sawdust that was burning. They were cleaning up by 3:30 p.m.
The cause of the blaze is currently under investigation, but Becraft said it appears to be accidental. He cited the severely dry conditions as a possible contributing factor.
Responding to the fire were all North Davis Fire District units, Syracuse FD, Hill Air Force Base FD, Clinton FD, and Layton FD. Roy City FD sent a paramedic unit.
