A massive fire late Tuesday night forced the shutdown of Novelis’ aluminium plant in Scriba after flames tore through the roof and damaged the facility’s hot mill.
Image for representational purpose
The blaze began just after 10 pm at 448 County Route 1A, according to Oswego County 911 dispatchers. Flames and thick smoke from the rooftop led firefighters to declare a third alarm.
Roughly 20 fire departments from Oswego and Onondaga counties responded, with crews still on scene into Wednesday morning. The fire was declared out around 2 am, but some firefighters remained at the site until 10 am
Novelis spokesperson Karen Judd said the damage was largely confined to the roof.
“We’re still investigating the cause and the extent, but it was mostly isolated to the roof of the factory,” she said.
Employees were inside when the fire broke out but all were evacuated without injuries, Judd confirmed. One worker told reporters they had been instructed not to return to work till further notice.
The scale of the blaze was visible miles away. John Sheffield, of Oswego, was at Brennan Beach, about 11 miles from the plant, hoping to capture photos of the northern lights. Instead, he saw flames. He added, “It was pretty clear that there was a massive fire. The plume was visible to the naked eye from my vantage point.”
Departments from Altmar, Brewerton, Cody, Fulton, Lacona, Minetto, Mexico, New Haven, Oswego City, Oswego Town, Orwell, Palermo, Parish, Pulaski, Redfield, Richland, Sandy Creek, Scriba, Volney and Williamstown all responded. Fire coordinators and a Menter Ambulance crew also assisted.
The Scriba plant was the company’s first US site and remains its biggest wholly owned fabrication facility in North America. It employs about 1,200 people and produces more than a billion pounds of aluminium sheet annually for the auto, beverage can and construction industries.
The future of operations remains unclear, and the company has not yet provided a timeline for reopening the plant.
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