GREEN BAY (NBC26) — A fire at a Green Bay paper mill early Saturday morning required multiple fire departments to respond and left one firefighter needing medical attention.
The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says they responded to the blaze at a local paper mill on Eastman Avenue where crews found smoke coming from two paper machines.
Firefighters discovered the fire originated in an area where paper dust accumulates during the manufacturing process.
The situation prompted officials to upgrade the alarm to the 1st Box level, bringing in additional resources to battle the flames.
Crews worked both on the roof and inside the facility, facing challenging conditions including poor visibility from heavy smoke and intense heat generated by the yankee dryers.
Due to these hazardous conditions, firefighting teams had to be rotated out regularly to prevent exhaustion and heat-related injuries.
The incident, which began around 4 a.m., lasted more than four hours. One firefighter was transported to a medical facility for evaluation.
The Green Bay Metro Fire Department thanked several agencies for their assistance, including Brown County Public Safety Communications, Howard Fire Rescue, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, De Pere Fire Rescue, New Franken Fire Department and Ledgeview Fire Department.
No information was provided about damage estimates or whether the paper mill's operations were affected by the fire.
