Overnight Fire Causes Damage At Plant In Cranberry Twp.
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - An overnight fire caused significant damage and left a firefighter hurt at a concrete plant in Butler County.
The smoky blaze broke out around 1 a.m. at Thrower Cement on Marshall Road off of Interstate 79 in Cranberry Township.
Officials say a passing driver noticed the fire and called 911 to alert authorities.
The fire is believed to have originated in an office area of the plant.
"No, it's not pleasant but nobody was hurt and it's something that can be fixed," said Jim Thrower, the owner of the plant. "Rebuild and keep going. It's nothing that can keep us down."
There were also concerns over chemicals in the plant.
"Luckily, none of the chemicals were in this area. The only thing that we had was diesel fuel," said Chief Brian Kovac, of the Cranberry Fire Department. "There was a tank feeding it, the tank was shut off and that killed any diesel fuel we had."
One firefighter was treated for mild smoke inhalation at the scene, but is said to be fine.
"The building is a loss in the back," said Chief Kovac. "We did have one minor injury to one of our firefighters, smoke, but he was released at scene."
Officials continue to investigate the cause, but say they believe that it may be electrical in nature.
