Mayday Called During 3-Alarm Fire at Cleveland, NC, Freightliner Plant

Joe Marusak
The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.
(TNS)

A firefighter was hospitalized and several others suffered heat exhaustion and dehydration battling a fire at Daimler Truck’s massive Freightliner plant in the Rowan County community of Cleveland on Saturday, emergency officials said.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and Office of State Fire Marshal are helping investigate how and where the fire started, “with Daimler Freightliner fully cooperating,” officials with Rowan County Emergency Services said Saturday night.

A mayday call was issued after a firefighter fell into a small pit in the paint booth area of the plant during the fire, officials said. The call was canceled after fellow responders helped the firefighter safely exit the building, according to Rowan County Emergency Services.

Huge plumes of smoke billowed from the plant, enveloping the parking lot and Statesville Boulevard (Highway 70), Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported.

Dozens of fire truck drivers extended their ladders to the roof of the plant to extinguish the blaze, a WSOC photo showed.

The plant is in the 11550 block of Statesville Boulevard, about 45 miles northeast of Charlotte.

All workers were safely evacuated, according to Rowan County Emergency Services.

The American Red Cross assisted firefighters who suffered heat exhaustion, and the hospitalized firefighter was sent there for monitoring and is expected to recover, emergency officials said.

At least 20 agencies across Rowan, Iredell and Davie counties responded to the three-alarm fire, including fire departments and EMS, rescue and law enforcement agencies, according to Rowan County Emergency Services.

“We are grateful for the rapid, unified response from so many partner agencies that ensured this incident was contained and that all occupants and personnel remained safe,” Kenny Payne, chief of the Cleveland Community Fire Department, said in a statement. “The strong collaboration between emergency responders and Daimler staff helped limit injuries during a challenging incident.”.

Officials with the Daimler Truck plant didn’t return a phone message by The Charlotte Observer.

Established in 1989, Daimler’s Cleveland location is the largest of its Freightliner Trucks manufacturing plants in the U.S., according to the company website. The complex spans 1.2 million square feet on 178 acres and employs about 2,000 people.