Printing Press Fire at Curtis Packaging In Sandy Hook

By Andrew Gorosko

About 50 firefighters from three volunteer fire companies responded late Monday night to a fire at Curtis Packaging Corporation’s factory at 44 Berkshire Road in Sandy Hook, in which a large printing press accidentally caught fire creating heavy smoke conditions within the building.

The company manufactures folding printed cardboard containers for various consumer products.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Assistant Chief Kent Bonsignore, who was the incident commander, said that one Sandy Hook firefighter received a hand burn, but did not require hospital transport.

Sandy Hook, Newtown Hook & Ladder, and Botsford firefighters were dispatched to the factory in 12 fire trucks at 11:49 pm Monday. Firefighters remained at the scene until 3:21 am on Tuesday, after having used powerful exhaust fans to purge the building of residual smoke.

Asst Chief Bonsignore said the fire that occurred in a sheet-fed printing press was under control in about 20 minutes with the use of about 2,000 gallons of water, but added that clearing the dense dark smoke from the building was a lengthy process. Firefighters opened many doors to vent the smoke from the structure.

The factory is equipped with fire sprinklers, but the sprinklers did not discharge water because the fire did not generate enough heat to set them off, Asst Chief Bonsignore said.

On arriving on the scene, firefighters faced a challenge in finding the fire in the smoky building, he said, noting that flames were located underneath the massive printing press.

Deputy Fire Marshal Rich Frampton said it is unclear how the accidental fire started. Workers at the factory had just completed an automated cleaning of the printing press, which occurs at the end of each work shift, he said.

After the blaze was discovered, factory workers attempted to put it out with fire extinguishers, but then called for help from firefighters, he said.

Mr Frampton said the damaged printing press will be repaired. Fire damage was limited to a relatively small area of the large machine, he said. The press is approximately 75 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet tall.

Because the fire occurred at the change of a factory work shift, many employees were present at the time, he said, noting that 61 workers were in the building. The factory was evacuated after the fire was discovered.

Don Droppo, Sr, chairman and chief executive officer of Curtis Packaging, said Wednesday the firm’s employees worked hard to confine the fire to a relatively small area. The firefighters who responded did a great job in extinguishing the blaze, he said.

Mr Droppo said that the dollar value of the damage that the fire caused to the KBA Rapida seven-color printing press is unclear. The machine, which is five years old, cost approximately $4 million to purchase, he said. The firm is insured for fire damage, he said.

Mr Droppo said he expects it will take at least several weeks to repair the press, which received moderate damage in the fire. It is unclear what caused the fire, but it may have been an electrical problem, he said. Fire damage was confined to the first three units of the nine-unit press, he said.

Besides the exhaust fans used by firefighters to vent smoke from the building, the factory used its air conditioning units to purge smoke from the area, Mr Droppo said.

About 175 people are employed at the 150,000-square-foot Curtis Packaging industrial complex, which includes factory space, warehousing, and offices.