DATE: Monday, July 21, 1997                 TAG: 9707210062

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   26 lines

3-ALARM FIRE BURNS BALES OF JUTE AT CARPET PADDING WAREHOUSE

A three-alarm fire Sunday night burned bales of jute in the warehouse of a company that makes carpet padding, fire officials said.

No one was injured and no structural damage was done by the blaze at Dixie Manufacturing Co. in the 100 block of Colley Ave.

About 75 firefighters fought the blaze that was reported by a security guard just after 7 p.m. Second and third alarms for more personnel were called shortly after, said Jack Goldhorn, Fire Department spokesman.

The blaze was confined to a storage area. A sprinkler system helped to keep the fire from burning out of control, Goldhorn said.

Firefighters used an air unit to pump fresh air into the blocklong building and vent the smoke.

The cause of the fire had not been determined Sunday night, and no damage estimate was available, Goldhorn said.

Once the fire was contained, Dixie employees used small forklifts to move the rolls of smoldering jute out of the building so they could be pulled apart and soaked. KEYWORDS: FIRE

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