Fire at aerosol plant quickly extinguished

Employees from Westech Aerosol Corp. extinguished a fire at their South Kitsap manufacturing plant, then fled the scene around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday.

“It was very scary for the people here,” said Alex Ginieis, company general manager. “There was a very loud explosion and some fire inside the building.”

Employees participate in an internal safety training program each month, so they knew what to do right away, Ginieis said.

“Employees did what they’d been trained to do,” he said. “Put down the fire and run. Very smart.”

The fire had been extinguished by the time emergency workers from South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and Bremerton arrived at the scene.

“It looks like the workers saw some kind of electrical fire, what we’d call an arching sparking,” said Doug Richards, SKFR battalion chief.

“When our crews got there, they discovered that there was no fire and no smoke,” he said. “No additional problems were found except for (an electrical) panel.”

Damage to the panel was estimated to cost around $2,000.

“There was no damage to the structure itself,” Richards said.

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