Firefighters responded to a small fire at a local manufacturing plant on Old Cleveland Road outside Cornelia on Thursday afternoon, March 14. The fire broke out around 4:15 p.m. at the SOLMAX facility, formerly known as Ten Cate Nicolon.
No injuries were reported.
The fire was caused by an oven that heats materials inside the plant. The fire marshal said some overheating caused the insulation to get warm and smoke. The fire department was able to put out the flames with a small amount of water.
The fire damaged a 15-foot area of the oven. The plant was able to continue operating normally.
“Basically, they’ve got an oven that they heat some of their material in one of their processes inside the plant. Some overheating or something of the sort took place inside of that oven and some insulation in one of the walls got warm and was smoldering,” said Cornelia Fire Marshal Josh Hazle.
Firefighters used a saw to cut through the burning wall and extinguish the smoldering insulation with a small amount of water, Hazle said.
Firefighters from Cornelia, Baldwin, Lee Arrendale, and Habersham County Emergency Services responded to the fire.
