BARTON, Ala. — This story is no longer updated. Click here for our coverage of the second day of this incident.
An early morning fire at the Essity paper plant in Barton, AL sent flames hundreds of feet into the air and called on the resources of dozens of firefighters from multiple fire departments to subdue the blaze.
"The black smoke was probably half a mile, mile up in the sky," said Randy Linbblab, a worker for RMS Waste Disposal who lives nearby the scene of the fire. "It was a very intense fire."
Amy Bellcourt, Vice President of Communications for Essity, said it is understood the fire started in a paper storage warehouse. The standalone building has no employees in it on weekends, and no Essity employees were injured in the fire.
Bellcourt said company officials have temporarily stopped operations in the adjoining paper mill and converting facility.
The Barton Volunteer Fire Department posted this on their Facebook page:
Sheffield Fire and many other local agencies posted requests for prayers for first responders and those affected by the fire. An area Jack's restaurant stepped up to provide food for firefighters who were called to the scene. We're told they brought enough food for more than 150 staffers across the numerous agencies that responded.
Essity is a Stockholm, Sweden-based hygiene and health company. Its plants manufacture single-use tissue and paper goods, diapers, feminine care and other assorted medical products and supplies. The Alabama location primarily makes tissue products under the Tork sub-brand, leading to locals referring to it simply as "the tissue plant."
According to the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, approximately 500 people are employed by the plant, which opened under different ownership in 2003.
It is believed the fire may continue to burn into Sunday; more teams are being called to watch over hotspots. A search for the cause will begin once the fire is completely doused.
Essity says it is cooperating with local officials to determine the cause of the fire and assessing the damage impact to operations.
