PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. (Warren County) — A three-alarm structure fire broke out Sunday morning at the McWane Ductile manufacturing plant in Phillipsburg, prompting a large multi-agency emergency response, though no injuries were reported, officials said.
Phillipsburg police, fire and EMS units were dispatched at approximately 9:53 a.m. Sunday to the McWane Ductile Plant at 183 Sitgreaves St. following reports of a structure fire and explosion, according to town officials.
Upon arrival, emergency responders found the facility’s paint room — located at the southern end of the approximately 1,000-foot-long main manufacturing building — fully involved in fire. The paint room is the area where finished pipe is coated as the final step in the manufacturing process.
Officials said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for by the time firefighters arrived.
“Sunday morning a fire occurred at the McWane Ductile plant. The plant was not operating at the time. The fire, which was ignited by portable heating equipment, was quickly contained and no injuries were reported among the six employees onsite. There is no ongoing threat to the community. We are grateful for the assistance and prompt response of the local fire department,” the company said in a statement to WRNJ.
All six Phillipsburg fire companies responded to the incident. Additional assistance included a ladder truck and engine from the Alpha Fire Department, an engine and ladder from Harmony Township Fire Department to provide town coverage, and a Rapid Intervention Team from the Good Will Fire Company in Belvidere.
Firefighters contended with cold weather conditions, with air temperatures in the single digits causing water to freeze almost immediately. Despite those challenges, crews brought the fire under control in approximately 30 minutes.
Officials said all water runoff from firefighting operations was contained on the plant property. The Warren County Hazardous Materials Team was notified, and authorities said there was no immediate threat to the public or nearby residents.
Jersey Central Power & Light and Elizabethtown Gas responded to the scene to isolate and disconnect utilities.
The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation by the Phillipsburg Police Department, the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety. An estimate of damage was not immediately available.
