VT FFs Battle 3-Alarm Fire at Rubber Plant

Sep. 12—BRATTLEBORO — No one was injured in a three-alarm blaze Sunday at a manufacturing building on Justin Holden Drive that took firefighters several hours to extinguish, according to a news release from the fire department.

A little after 6:45 a.m., emergency personnel responded to 32 Justin Holden Drive for a fire alarm activation at Fulflex, an elastic rubber manufacturer, the release states. Upon arriving at the scene, Capt. Kurt Schmidt reported heavy gray smoke showing from the north end of the building and by 7 a.m. he had elevated the fire to a third-alarm, according to the release.

Firefighters encountered intense smoke with zero visibility upon entering the building and made their way to the area of the fire, the release states. The sprinkler system was holding the fire and crews were ordered out of the building, which is "very difficult to navigate on a normal day," the department wrote.

Firefighters opened ventilation points on the roof and side of the building and later made their way back into the building to extinguish the flames, the release states. Assistant Fire Chief Chuck Keir said in a phone interview Monday that the burning material included neoprene and chemical dyes, which were on a rack system.

By 3:15 p.m., the fire was under control, the release states. Keir said the building sustained minor structural damage and considerable smoke damage.

The contents that were burning during the fire generated many different colors of smoke and the runoff from the scene made it to the underground drain system on Putney Road, which eventually dumps into the Connecticut River, according to the release.

The Vermont Hazmat Team, the Vermont Department of Natural Resources and the N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources handled environmental issues at the scene, the release states. Fire departments from Guilford, Putney, Keene, Dummerston, Turner Falls, Hinsdale, Chesterfield and Walpole also assisted at the scene.

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @rspencerKS

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