Firefighters quickly put out a blaze that started in a paint booth and led to the evacuation of the Croft Metals plant in Fernwood early Wednesday afternoon, knocking down in about an hour what could have led to catastrophe for one of Pike County’s major employers.
“It could have been really bad,” Pike County Civil Defense director Tina Reed said.
The fire started around 1:30, and firefighters arrived at the plant en masse as thick smoke rose from the northeast corner of the building.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but its proximity to a room full of chemicals, including acetone stored in 55-gallon drums, was a cause for concern, Reed said.
“We were trying to keep the fire from getting into that room,” she said.
Workers who were told to evacuate the plant gathered under shade trees in the parking lot of the Pike County jail.
“They evacuated all of the buildings, which they absolutely should have done because if it would have spread it would have spread very quickly,” Reed said. “It could have been an explosion at some point.”
Workers said they were told they could go home a little before 2:30, right around the time firefighters had the blaze under control.
Reed said firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire to the room where it started, sparing the plant from excessive damage.
“Once we got the water flowing it didn’t take long,” she said.
She said the paint booth sustained heavier heat and fire damage but the rest of the building was unharmed.
Firefighters from Fernwood, Magnolia, Sunnyhill and McComb, as well as the Pike County Strike team responded to the blaze.
