GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — Absecon Mills, a textile plant in the Cologne section of the township, was partially destroyed in a......Continue Reading
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Fire Rescue News - Fire partially destroys Absecon Mills textile plant in Galloway Township
Posted: Monday, April 4, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 7:35 am, Mon Apr 4, 2011.
Sunday night fire. No one was injured, officials said.
The fire was primarily confined to a loading, shipping and storage area in the plant located at the intersection of Aloe Street and Cologne Road. The factory was closed when the fire started, Galloway Fire Chief Ron Garbutt said.
The fire was called in at about 7 p.m. When emergency personnel arrived, large flames were coming from the roof at the west corner of the building. Within about 15 minutes on the scene, the west wall of the loading area collapsed, followed shortly after by the roof of the loading area, officials said.
“Fire walls in the building were constructed so that the fire would not spread,” Garbutt said. “That gave us a chance to fight it.”
By 10:30 p.m., the fire was not yet under control. Garbutt said he believed the fire was still being fed was gas inside the building that had not yet been turned off.
Absecon Mills employs about 100 people and is one of the area’s largest manufacturers. The plant is owned by Randolph Taylor, who started the company on Aloe Avenue in 1978.
Galloway Deputy Mayor Don Purdy, who was at the scene, said the building was composed of office space as well as a manufacturing plant.
“It’s amazing to see how quick the response was,” Purdy said. “It absolutely could have been much worse.”
The fire was challenging to fight because there are no nearby fire hydrants. A tanker task force continued to transport water to the site.
At least 25 fire departments from three counties responded to the scene, Garbutt said.
Contact Jennifer Bogdan: 609-272-7239 JBogdan@pressofac.com
