Mill fire burns Arlington worker

By Brian Kelly

Herald Writer

ARLINGTON — An employee at West Coast Forest Products suffered burns late Tuesday night when he attempted to put out a fire in a wood-chip container, officials said.

The injured man, 42, was not identified by emergency workers. He was treated at the scene and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

A hospital spokeswoman said the man was in satisfactory condition with burns over 12 percent of his body, including his face and arms.

The fire was reported shortly after 11 p.m. Monday at the business, 19406 68th Drive NE, just east of the Arlington airport.

Arlington Fire Chief Mike Ganz said a mill employee noticed smoke coming from a large, 50-foot-high metal hopper full of wood chips. While one worker called 911, another employee took a hose normally used to water down dust particles and was trying to put out the fire when he was burned, Ganz said.

"It flared up on him," he said.

Arlington firefighters arrived on the scene within five minutes. Three engines, a ladder company, a medic unit and two aid cars responded. In all, about 40 firefighters were on the scene, and personnel from fire districts in Bryant and Arlington Heights were called in to staff Arlington stations during the incident.

No buildings were involved in the fire, and no others nearby appeared to be threatened by the blaze. The wood-chip container, one of five located outside the business, did not appear to be damaged in the fire, Ganz said.

Firefighters were on the scene until 4 a.m., and one crew was left at the building to watch for hot spots.

"We were there throughout the night. Our first priority was to take care of the patient and to work to confine the fire to that main cylinder unit," he said.

West Coast Forest Products declined to give a damage estimate or release the name of the injured employee.

You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.