AFD extinguishes two fires at Arconic

Two fires at the Tennessee Operations division of Arconic, 2300 North Wright Road, Alcoa, made for a busy Thursday, Aug. 8, morning for the Alcoa Fire Department.

According to AFD Chief Roger Robinson, the first report of a fire came in around 1:30 a.m., after which three engines and one tower for a total of 13 personnel were dispatched to business. It appeared to firefighters that the fire originated from a crusher full of crushed cans and their various byproducts, although Robinson noted that was unconfirmed at this time.

By 2:30 a.m., firefighters had the fire controlled with no injuries and minimal visible property damage, according to Robinson. They left the scene around 4 a.m.

Then around 9:18 a.m., AFD received another report from Arconic for a different fire. This one appeared to originate from an overheated hopper full of metal fines and shavings, but an official cause is also still unknown. Five engines totaling 34 personnel were dispatched this time and arrived around 9:22 a.m.

“Out of our responders, five were from the air base, four were from the Maryville Fire Department and the rest were from Alcoa Fire,” said Robinson in a phone interview. “A lot of different agencies that worked together, and it ended really well.”

By 12:30 p.m., firefighters had the fire controlled again with no injuries and minimal visible property damage. They left around 1:25 p.m.

As far as fires go, Robinson noted they were relatively mundane, aside from being coincidentally close in time and space.

“Honestly, unless you knew what was going on or saw us driving in, you wouldn’t have even known what was going on,” said Robinson.