A large fire erupted at the Ball Corporation in Verona Monday afternoon. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Just before 3 p.m., Augusta County Fire and Rescue received a call for a fire at the factory, which produces aluminum cans. Trucks and firefighters from several agencies in the area responded to a fire blazing through the roof and a huge plume of dense smoke roiling through the air. A portion of the roof collapsed.
TRAVIS MOYERS: Management had evacuated the entire complex when we arrived … and we confirmed that everybody was out of the structure, so we knew that there were no victims.
Travis Moyers is a lieutenant with Augusta County Fire and Rescue.
MOYERS: So, basically, now, we'll continue flowing the ladder trucks until we can verify that most of the fire is knocked down. If we deem it's safe to put personnel inside, then we'll go in with our hand lines like we traditionally would, put out any hotspots. … Once that's done, then the investigation can start.
Just after 4 p.m., he said it was still too early to determine the cause of the fire.
MOYERS: These big, open, manufacturing industrial buildings have a lot of movement that the fire can take, and that's what can allow them to spread as quickly as it did here.
Gas and electric company representatives were on site to shut off the utilities and prevent further damage.
