Processing facility damaged by early Friday morning two-alarm fire

Published 8:29 am Friday, March 17, 2023

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More than 50 firefighters from Suffolk and the region battled a commercial structure fire overnight in the 1300 block of Progress Road.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue was dispatched when emergency communications dispatched a fire alarm at 2:40 a.m. for a water flow alarm.
Engine 3 and Ladder 3 arrived at 2:56 a.m. with no smoke or fire showing. The building had been evacuated.
At 3:03 a.m., Engine 3 found smoke in the large commercial building and upgraded the response to a commercial structure fire. Ladder 3’s crew found a fire on the roof and Engine 3’s crew found fire in a processing area of the business.
A “working fire” was struck at 3:07 a.m. and multiple crews worked the fire from the interior and roof to suppress the fire, according to the release. Moderate smoke conditions were present in the interior of the 250,000-square-foot building.
The fire was limited to a processing area in the interior that extended to the roof. Extensive roof operations were required to locate and extinguish fire that was between the vents and membrane that extended and covered the roof. Fire officials said interior crews had to find and extinguish fire that started in a processing area and progressed up the vents towards the roof.
The fire was placed under-control at 04:47 a.m. Units were expected to remain on the scene for several hours to monitor the situation.
Suffolk Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.
Suffolk Police provided traffic control. Nineteen Fire and Rescue units responded to the two alarm fire, with the assistance of the City of Chesapeake Fire Department ladder truck. Chesapeake and Isle of Wight County provided backfills to open Suffolk Fire and Rescue fire stations.

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