Crime & Safety

St. Charles Firefighters Douse Fire at Manufacturing Site

Employees reported the structure fire at 315 S. Kirk Road. None were injured.

Firefighters from St. Charles and four other departments were able to knock down a commercial fire in a building along Kirk Road on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 3, 2013, limiting damage to the building to just $5,000.

The St. Charles Fire Department arrived at 12:36 p.m. at Pactiv Corporation, 315 S. Kirk Road, where firefighters found flames showing near bar joists supporting the roof in the manufacturing area.

In a release issued late Thursday afternoon, acting Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet said the fire was reported at 12:34 p.m. by employees working in the area who observed a fire of about 10 by 15 feet and spreading. All employees evacuated, he said, and there were no injuries to employees or to firefighters.

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Schelstreet said the fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes, although firefighters remained on the scene until about 3 p.m. while conducting the fire investigation. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious.

The loss is estimated at $5,000 to the structure and a yet undetermined amount to product.

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Pactiv bills itself as a leading North American provider of food service and food packaging, whose products are used by the supermarket, packer/processor, institutional, food service, and restaurant industries. With 55 manufacturing facilities in seven countries around the world, the company boasts 12,300 employees, and more than 1,600 customers.

Schelstreet said the St. Charles Fire Department was assisted by the Geneva, Batavia, Fermilab and West Chicago fire departments.

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