Fire at Suffolk warehouse prompts evacuation of employees; no injuries reported

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Suffolk Fire & Rescue responded to a fire at a large distribution center on Northgate Commerce Parkway overnight.

According to officials, crews were dispatched to the 2000 block of Northgate Commerce Parkway just before 1:20 a.m. on Tuesday for reports of a commercial structure fire.

Crews arrived to the scene and found a fire coming from a recycling compactor attached to the rear of the multi-story warehouse. Smoke conditions within the warehouse were considered moderate and employees were ordered to evacuate.

According to fire crews, the fire was contained to a metal container that collected recycled cardboard. The origin was determined to be where a large auger within the compacter spun in order to reduce the size of the cardboard boxes.

After working to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the warehouse, crews were able to remove the compactor from inside of the warehouse.

The fire was considered under control by 1:53 a.m. and employees were able to return to the warehouse by 4 a.m. after a ventilation check.

No injuries were reported during the incident and the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.

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