By: Jim Rosenberg Smoke from what was believed to be an early morning fire brought firefighters to a Flint Group Pigments plant just north of Cincinnati, in Woodlawn, Ohio.
A shift was at work when fire departments arrived, at about 2 a.m.
"We didn't see flames," a Flint Group North America spokeswoman told E&P, but the presence of smoke led to an evacuation. "There wasn't really a fire, as far as we know," she continued, adding, "we don't see any damage to that equipment at all -- it only needs to be cleaned."
E.W. Scripps' kypost.com reported no injuries, but Hearst-Argyle television's WLWT.com said a firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.
After a mixing machine caught fire, firefighters opened and sprayed water into an ink tank, which splashed red ink over his crew and their equipment, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer's Cincinnati.com. A fire in the same plant 20 years ago left Woodlawn firefighters with "a hose that is blue," Woodlawn Deputy Fire Chief Dan Ficke said.
"We lost fire gear and equipment, plus hoses and our thermal imaging helmet," Ficke told Enquirer reporter Sharon Coolidge. He estimated $55,000 in firefighting equipment losses. Smaller losses were sustained by other departments that also responded.
Last spring, kypost.com reported the local sewer district saying that process water discharged from the same plant had turned an area creek red. Officials said the discharge was not toxic, but warned people to stay out of the creek.
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