By Don Simmons Jr.

Archives Reprint

   don.simmons@roanoke.com

   381-1669

    DUBLIN - An early morning fire Thursday at a Dublin metal-plating plant could put part of the company's operations out of commission for several days.

    The fire, which originated in the boiler room at Electroplate-Rite Corp. on U.S. 11 around 4 a.m., was contained by firefighters in about 30 minutes, but not before it damaged two of 10 production lines at the Dublin plant, which specializes in applying thin protective coatings to metal parts.

    "That boiler heated our cleaning vats," Electroplate-Rite owner Keith Dickerson said as firefighters looked for remaining hot spots around 6:30 Thursday morning. "I'd say it's knocked out about 15 percent of our capacity. We may be able to use a temporary generator or something once we get the OK from an electrician."

    Only three employees were working in the plant when the fire started, Dickerson said. None was injured.

    The fire damaged Electroplate-Rite's zinc- and chrome-plating production areas, according to Dublin Fire Chief Robbie Cecil. The roof also partially collapsed.

    "The first couple of units that went inside prevented that fire from possibly burning the entire plant," said Cecil, who added that it caused an estimated $500,000 in damage to the building. Fire crews from Dublin, Newbern and Pulaski responded to the blaze.

    Jason Sage, who was moving parts at the time, first noticed the fire. He used five fire extinguishers trying to douse the flames as he hurried co-workers out of the plant, called 911 and moved flammable liquid propane tanks away from the flames.

    "Jason did a great job of securing the area and the fire department put it out really quick," said Dickerson. "But our customers expect a quick turnaround, a couple of days for most jobs. There's no way, this early on, to put a figure on how much it will cost us."

    Because the plant uses a variety of caustic chemicals, including sulfuric acid, firefighters on the scene underwent decontamination procedures before being cleared from duty, Cecil said.

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