Firefighters from the Salina Fired Department and Rural Fire District 2 battled a large fire at a battery manufacturing plant in south Salina late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday evening.
Salina Fire Marshal Joe Kvacik tells KSAL News at 4:04 pm dispatch received multiple calls of smoke coming from the Stryten Energy battery facility in the South Salina industrial area. Employees were already evacuating when the first crews arrived on scene. First responders encountered a large, active fire.
According to Kvacik, the fire was in the northwest corner of the facility. Firefighters made a quick entry and encountered heavy smoke on both the second and third floors of the facility. The fire also extended onto the roof.
Kvacik says the department issued a second, and then a third alarm for the incident, making sure there were enough firefighters at the scene and also at the stations to cover the city.
Along with the Salina Fire Department and RFD 2, Saline County Emergency Management, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, the Salina Police Department, and the Kansas Highway Patrol also responded to assist at the scene.
Kvacik says no first responders were injured, and there no reports of any injuries to Stryten employees.
Officials were working to determine the exact cause of the fire.
Stryten Energy operates the former Exide facility. The Salina Stryten Energy manufacturing facility is one of 12 the company operates. It is a 24/7 operation which employs more than 700 people.. The Salina facility produces transportation batteries.
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ORIGINAL: Firefighters from the Salina Fire Department and Saline County Rural Firefighters responded to a fire call at the Stryten Energy battery facility in the south Salina industrial area late Wednesday afternoon.
Employees were already evacuated and were outside the facility when the first crews arrived on scene. First responders encountered an active fire, which extended onto the roof.
KSAL News spoke with Saline County Emergency Management at the scene, but not a lot of details were immediately available. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Stryten Energy operates the former Exide facility. The Salina Stryten Energy manufacturing facility is one of 12 the company operates. It is a 24/7 operation which employs more than 700 people.. The Salina facility produces transportation batteries.
This story will be updated when more details become available.
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All Photos by Tanner Colvin. Click to Enlarge.
