Fire at Southington Manufacturing Company
Fire was at 355 Atwater Street in Plantsville section of Southington.
Tuesday, Jul 31, 2012 | Updated 1:17 PM EDT
Fire damaged part of Rex Forge, a manufacturing company in Southington on Tuesday morning, and businesses in the area had to be evacuated because of smoke.
Rex Forge is located at 355 Atwater Street, a commercial area in the Plantsville section of Southington, and manufactures hot forgings, according to its Web site.
The fire marshal, Assistant Chief T. R. Wisner, said the fire investigation is focusing on an Electrical Discharge Machining that uses high amounts of electricity to “burn” away metal to produce parts.
The Southington Fire Department received a call reporting a structure fire at 7:50 a.m. and brought in help from the Cheshire Fire Department.
State environmental officials from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection helped to contain a 5,000 gallon tank of oil that was on fire and they are assessing it for leaks because the company is located adjacent to the Quinnipiac River.
The South Kensington and Plainville fire departments were also brought in to cover the rest of the town. Initially, state police shut down exit ramps from Interstate 84 in the area but they were reopened fairly quickly.
As of 9 a.m., the flames were dissipating, according to NBC Connecticut's Liz Dahlem, but there were still some visible hot spots.
The fire was out as no noon, according to the fire department, but crews remained at the scene.
Smoke was still rising as of 12:15 p.m. and Atwater Street remains closed.
Smoke was visible from miles away and police said 911 calls reporting the fire came in for 20 minutes.
Fire officials said this fire is more than two alarms.
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