Wax coating machine malfunctions; sprinkler system helps keep
fire contained
Gilroy – Smoke poured out of the doorways of Temple Inland Box Plant when a two-alarm fire broke out Monday afternoon. There were no injuries and damage estimates were unavailable at press time.
“These guys were on break and they heard a little pop,” said a worker, who declined to give his name, as he watched Gilroy firefighters set up a waterline. “It doesn’t smell like smoke to me – more like steam. See it evaporates right away.”
The light gray smoke drifted upwards and thinned out along the skyline as firefighters climbed onto the rooftop to open skylights for ventilation purposes.
“We were trying to get the smoke cleared out,” said Gilroy Fire Division Chief Clay Bentson.
The smoke made it difficult for firefighters to see into the building and around the piles of boxes.
“There was a mechanical malfunction in the wax coating machine,” Bentson said. “Fortunately, the sprinkler system kept the fire (contained) in one area.”
The machine is about 50-feet long and 10-feet tall. According to Bentson, about a third was damaged by the fire. Experts will assess the financial loss today.
Three engines and a rescue unit responded, as well as two engines from the South Santa Clara County Fire District/CDF.
According to workers, nobody was inside when the fire began about 5pm. The fire was contained by 6pm, fire officials said.
“I’m not sure if it’s got something to do with the wax,” said neighbor Xavier Garcia, who watched from his home as smoke blew across his property. “I saw the smoke and saw it get thicker and thicker. If it is wax, you can’t put water on it.”
According to Bentson, had the wax caught fire, there would have been a molten lava-like situation on hand that would have made putting out the flames a bit trickier.
“Usually the warehouses out here are packed from floor to ceiling with boxes,” he said. “There’s always the potential (for a bigger fire) because of the fuel.”
