PORT ANGELES — Workers at the Nippon Paper Industries USA mill are expected to install additional insulation on a steam-pipe blamed in a wooden catwalk fire at the mill Thursday night, the mill’s manager said.
Mill Manager Harold Norlund said Friday that Port Angeles Fire Department and Clallam County Fire District No. 2 crews were called at about 9 p.m. the night before to a fire on a wooden catwalk running over several large water storage tanks on the north side of the mill, which is at the base of Ediz Hook.
The fire did not affect mill operations, Norlund said.
“The damage appears to be the top surface [of the catwalk], not the structural part underneath,” Norlund said. “It’s actually not that serious.”
No injuries were reported.
Port Angeles Fire Chief Ken Dubuc said fire crews arrived to find the catwalk aflame and extended hose lines up along several nearby structures to attack the fire.
Accessing the catwalk proved difficult, Dubuc said, as it stood about 30 feet above the ground.
Additionally, fire had reached inside of some of the catwalk’s topmost beams, Dubuc added.
“The fire was kind of burning inside of it,” he said. “It was really difficult to get to.”
Dubuc said fire crews stayed on scene until about 4 a.m. to ensure no
flare-ups occurred.
Though an internal fire investigative report is forthcoming, Norlund said the pieces of the 200-foot-long catwalk that were burned were touching a length of steam pipe that likely got too hot.
“The steam pipe got hotter than it should have, and it looks like the insulation that should have been there was not there,” Norlund said. “That will be taken care of.”
The catwalk, which dates back to the 1970s, was structurally sound enough to be walked on while inspected Friday morning, Norlund added.
The fire was not related to the new biomass upgrade at the plant.
Ten firefighters responded to the fire, Dubuc added.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
