Sprinkler system saves manufacturing plant from sustaining major damage (Thomasville, NC)

A sprinkler system saved a manufacturing plant from sustaining major damage, said Robbie Binkley, battalion chief for the Thomasville Fire Department.  Rocky Watts, division chief of code enforcement/fire marshal for the TFD, said the plant housed 100 gallons of sulfuric acid mixed with water in a chemical open system. He explained the fire was around the system. Watts said it appears the fire was a result of a shortage in the electrical wiring in the heating element of a chemical holding tank.  There was no structural damage and minimal smoke damage, the battalion chief reported. 

A fire destroyed the same business 10 years ago, at which time it did not have a sprinkler system, he said.  The sprinkler system “kept the fire in check and saved the building,” Binkley said. Watts said the company cleans racing parts and places a coating on them.