2 min read

No injuries were reported after a fire broke out Saturday at a Baileyville paper mill.

The mill is the site of a January gas leak that resulted in the deaths of two employees and remains under federal investigation.

The fire was reported around 11:45 a.m. at the Woodland Pulp LLC mill on Main Street in the Washington County town. Local firefighters were contacted because a small fire had ignited within a wall above an ash hopper, said mill spokesman Scott Beal. The hopper stores ash from burned wood byproducts.

“It created a lot more smoke than fire and I understand access (to the fire) was the issue that they were dealing with,” Beal said. “They did get it knocked down and taken care of. There was minimal damage and nobody was hurt.”

About 15 firefighters responded, including those from Baileyville, Calais and Princeton, and crews left the scene about an hour later, said Baileyville Fire Chief Brandon Ireland.

“They were able to put the fire out pretty quick,” Ireland said.

Beal said he did not have any information about the cause of the fire. Ireland said it’s not unusual for his department to be dispatched for similar mill fires a few times each year.

Two employees died and several others were injured after a late January gas leak at the Woodland Pulp mill. Workers were believed to be overcome by a toxic gas inside the plant, and federal safety officials have since launched investigations into what caused the release and whether proper safeguards were in place.