THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260227
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 35 lines
Inside the Thomas J. Lipton Inc. plant Friday afternoon, employees heard an announcement that the fire alarm going off was just a test.
But outside, a construction worker saw smoke billowing from an exhaust fan on the roof and ran inside, where he saw an ``inferno'' - heavy smoke and fire shooting out of overhead vents.
The construction worker - Richard C. ``Rick'' Ensley, project supervisor for Hoy Construction Inc., - ran through the plant and burst into the office, yelling, ``Hey, man, you've got a fire.''
The blaze, which was reported about 2:25 p.m., started in a hopper, a two-story dust collector in the blending department, said Jeff Messinger, Suffolk Fire Department spokesman. Firefighters had the fire contained within an hour, though smoke continued to pour outside as the 146 employees stood in the parking lot of the processing plant on West Washington Street.
No one was injured, plant and fire officials said.
Plant manager Ralph R. Roberts, reached at home Friday afternoon, said the 41-year-old plant had never had a serious fire.
``I wouldn't call this a serious fire,'' said Roberts, who had taken the day off to go fishing.
The incident was ``just a minor equipment fire,'' he said.
Employees were sent home about 4 p.m. Technicians would evaluate the tea for smoke damage, Roberts said, then the plant would reopen this morning.
Employees said a production run had finished just before the fire broke out, and most of the tea was contained in heavy metal chests.
The cause of the fire had not been determined Friday, and no estimate of damage had been made.
KEYWORDS: FIRE SUFFOLK by CNB