Jan. 25--JAY -- Fifteen firefighters from Jay and Livermore Falls battled a fire at Verso Paper Corp.'s Androscoggin Mill in subzero temperatures Wednesday afternoon, Jay Assistant Fire Chief Mike Booker said Thursday.
No one was injured and minimal damage was done to the Riley Road mill, he said.
"The cause is unknown," Booker said.
The fire was around a bin where wood chips are emptied from a conveyor belt, Booker said.
Jay firefighters used their ladder truck to go up about six stories to get to the bin, he said. Firefighters took up some boards on the floor to extinguish a small fire, he said.
It was difficult to get to the fire, he said.
The mill's firefighters had attempted to put the fire out but couldn't, so they called Jay.
Livermore Falls used its ladder truck to put out a small fire on a roof below where the initial fire was, he said.
One of the firetrucks had its water pipes freeze in the subzero temperatures, Booker said.
"It was very cold," he said.
Firefighters were on the scene for about 90 minutes after the 1:24 p.m. call came in.
"The Jay fire and rescue were called in as a precaution because of the extremely cold temperatures. The fire was really a minor situation and no one was ever in any danger," mill Communications Manager Cherilee Budrick said.
Copyright 2013 - Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine
