CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- Firefighters expect to continue to keep watch over a smoldering factory fire in Cuyahoga Falls well into Saturday.
The blaze that started Friday morning sent numerous fire trucks from several Summit County departments to battle the flames that filled the sky with thick black smoke that could be seen for miles.
The fire was reported at 3:49 a.m. at the Technicote facility at 70 Marc Drive. Fire units from Akron, Stow, Tallmadge and Munroe Falls assisted Cuyahoga Falls.
Workers in the building were evacuated and the American Red Cross responded to the scene to offer assistance to the first responders.
Cuyahoga Falls Assistant Fire Chief Fred Jackson said the fire appears to have been an accident.
According to the company's website, the firm was established in Cuyahoga Falls in 1980 and is "a leader in the pressure sensitive adhesive roll label industry." The privately held company says it has nine manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the United States and Mexico.
Jackson said the office area at the Marc Drive facility was not damaged, but the fire damaged multiple sections of the plant.
While a damage estimate on the building is not known, Jackson said "I am sure it is going to be a very large loss.
Firefighters still on the scene are working to extinguish still smouldering spots at the Technicote plant.
Ralph Adkins, Technicote's director of sales and marketing for the company whose corporate office is in Miamisburg, Ohio, said in a statement to customers the fire "occurred during a routine process change on one of our coaters. Thankfully, everyone got out safely and no one was hurt."
Forty-five people work at the facility in Cuyahoga Falls, according to Adkins.
"We are working now to assess the situation but we anticipate that we will not be shipping from the Cuyahoga Falls facility for some period of time," Adkins said in the statement. "We do have contingency plans and we anticipate being able to service the majority of our business out of our other facilities."
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
