ME Firefighters Use Duct Tape to Reach Burning Debris

Lewiston firefighters came up with the tool after they were unable to reach the material.

By Joaquin Contreras

Source Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine (TNS)

Aug. 17, 2022

Aug. 16—LEWISTON — Firefighters battled a smoldering fire for nearly five hours at Elmet Technologies at 1560 Lisbon St. Monday afternoon before employing a duct-taped pole to reach burning material in a duct and extinguish it.

At 4:19 p.m., the department responded to reports of heavy smoke blowing out from a duct near the top of the building. Firefighters identified a burning buildup of tungsten oxide power within a T-section of external duct work as the source, said Paul Ouellette, fire investigator for the Lewiston Fire Department.

The area could not be directly accessed because it was blocked by a hydrogen gas furnace. Ladder 1 was deployed and firefighters used a 4-foot shovel with a hook duct taped to a pike pole to reach into the duct and pull the smoldering debris out and onto the ground below, where it was extinguished.

Another crew was called in to relieve the responding firefighters after several hours of exhaustive work locating and battling the smoldering fire. No injuries were reported and smoke damage was little to none, said Ouellette.

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