Fire at Rand-Whitney's containerboard mill in Montville, Connecticut, injures two employees; blaze, which is under investigation, started in paper machine's dryer section during maintenance shutdown on Dec. 11

Debra Garcia

MONTVILLE, Connecticut , December 11, 2013 (The Day) – Two employees were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries this afternoon after a fire broke out at the Rand-Whitney Containerboard mill on Route 163, a company official said.

One employee was treated for minor burns and the other for suspected smoke inhalation, Jim Wood, chief administrative officer, said. Wood, reading from a statement, said:

"Around noon today, a fire ignited in the dryer section of the paper machine at our Montville plant. It was quickly contained and extinguished by the Montville Fire Department. Two employees who helped contain the fire were sent to the hospital, one to treat minor burns on his hands and one for suspected smoke inhalation.

"The mill was in the middle of a regularly scheduled maintenance outage. The source of the fire is unknown at this time. We are working with the Montville Fire Marshal's Office to determine its origin."

The two employees were treated at The William W. Backus Hospital and released, according to Fire Marshal Ray Occhialini.

Some 50 firefighters from the Montville town departments, the Quaker Hill and Cohanzie companies in Waterford and the Mohegan tribal department responded to the fire, and all had left the scene by about 3 p.m., Occhialini said.

Sprinklers in the mill's duct work helped contain the fire, he said.

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