Goodyear is currently investigating the causes of two fires that occurred this week at both the company’s tire plant in Danville, Va., and synthetic rubber and chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas.
“Goodyear experienced two incidents over the past week: a contained fire at our Danville, Va., tire plant and an injury at our Beaumont, Texas, chemical plant. The safety of our people is Goodyear’s primary concern. We take all such situations very seriously and are investigating both incidents fully,” the company said in a statement.
The Danville Fire Department responded Nov. 20 night at approximately 6:06 p.m. to a call reporting a fire in the banbury mixing unit at the Goodyear Plant on Goodyear Boulevard in Danville.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes and met with the lead of the Goodyear Emergency Response Brigade (ERB), who said they had a fire in a banbury unit and it had extended towards the roof by way of the duct system, according to Brian K. Alderson, Battalion Chief.
“The ERB had been working to contain the fire for approximately 40 minutes prior to Danville Fire Department’s arrival and needed assistance,” Alderson said. “The fire was mostly contained as we arrived by a deluge system in the duct system. DFD personnel assisted on the roof and in the banbury area. The fire was then marked under control.”
According to Alderson, Goodyear said there was no significant damage and production would not be affected by the incident.
The company has indicated that the fire at the Danville plant involved a single piece of equipment and that there were no injuries. The fire in Beaumont resulted in one injury. The employee was treated at the hospital and has since been released.
