Fire reported at New Cumberland industrial plant

NEW CUMBERLAND - Several fire departments responded to a blaze late Monday night inside a New Cumberland industrial facility.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday, the call went out for assistance at Jamegy, Inc. along South Chestnut Street. There were no injuries in the blaze.

New Cumberland Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jack Ashcraft indicated employees were shoveling the chemical element zirconium when it ignited. Ashcraft said two barrels of the chemical were sitting side-by-side.

"The (fire suppression) system inside the building kept the fire under control," Ashcraft said.

The fire suppression system did not extinguish the fire, however, and nearby fire departments were summoned. There was no indication late Monday that officials were worried about any chemical release.

Firefighters from New Manchester joined the New Cumberland department in battling the blaze and members of the Newell Volunteer Fire Department stationed themselves at the New Cumberland station as a precaution.

Two people were inside the building at the time of the fire, and both made their way out unharmed, according to officials at the scene.

State Route 2 remained open, but the street leading into the Jamegy plant was closed for a little more than an hour. The fire was reported under control at approximately 10:17 p.m., according to initial reports.

The New Cumberland Ambulance Service was also on scene but was not needed.

Ashcraft said the matter was still under investigation, and few details were available at press time Monday night.

On July 17, 2006, a fire at the same plant claimed the life of one employee. The worker was cleaning the inside of a tank when a possible explosion and subsequent fire occurred.

Jamegy located its operations in New Cumberland in the early 1990s and is one of the city's largest employers.

The facility reprocesses scrap metals such as that from the TIMET facility in Toronto. Titanium is extracted from the materials and is then repackaged for sale to steel and other industries.