Air conditioner fire evacuates Praxair
by NICHOLAS J. PRIMERANO Ken-Ton Editor

Firefighters were on location at Praxair within one minute of learning that there was a fire inside a warehouse. Fire companies from Kenmore, Tonawanda, Snyder, Eggertsville and Clarence assisted with the fire, which caused $200,000 in damage. Photo by David F. Sherman Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

More than 50 employees at Praxair were evacuated on Thursday after an air conditioner caught fire at the facility.

According to Sheridan Park Chief Randy Rider, firefighters were dispatched at 11:15 a.m. to Building 70 on Praxair's campus. The warehouse-style building is 300 by 300-feet and has a trailer inside.

An air-conditioning unit on the trailer was apparently faulty, causing the blaze, which Rider said was fully involved when firefighters arrived.

"We originally thought it might've been a rooftop ventilation problem," Rider said.

The trailer is about two stories tall and according to Rider, the whole second floor was fully involved. The trailer's second floor comprises mostly office space; the first floor contains locker room areas.

"Due to the size of buildings and not knowing what was inside it, we called out a second alarm and had some companies from Amherst assist us," he said.

Rider said that the firefighters from Sheridan Park did an excellent job.

"The first three crews through the door did a great job," he said. "It was textbook - I couldn't have asked for it any better."

Firefighters at the scene stated that all the exterior walls of the complex were glowing red because of the high magnitude of heat involved.

"Every hand-line crew that went through the front door did an amazing job," Rider said. "Our biggest concern was the conditions inside with it being a completely metal structure."

Kenmore Fire Department was stationed on the roof and Rider stated that its contribution to the blaze also was exceptional.

"Praxair is more than happy with the job we did, as far as our ability to fight the fire," he said. "There was an extensive overhaul and cleanup effort after also. It took us more than an hour after the fire was first knocked down to continue the effort while we were looking for hot spots and things of that nature."

No employees were injured in the blaze. But more than 50 employees were moved around the complex due to the fire's inclusion.

"All of the other buildings at Praxair maintained their daily duties," Rider said. "It didn't disrupt a lot of the workday."

There were some hazardous chemicals inside the warehouse that were not affected by the fire, but crews were instructed to treat the situation extremely carefully due to the presence of those chemicals.

One firefighter injured his shoulder while fighting the fire, but refused hospital treatment and was treated at the scene.

"Like I said earlier - I can't praise them enough for what they did. It is a testament to the manner in which they train. For a bad situation that they found, they made it better really quick. It could have proven to be disastrous with both serious injuries to firefighters and the building," Rider added.

Firefighters from Eggertsville were brought in with their ladder truck to assist in the effort, as well as a Firefighter Assist and Search Team (FAST) from Snyder, a hazardous materials team from Clarence and the North Bailey Fire Department filled Sheridan Park's hall, responding to one call at the Sheridan Parkside Community Building, where a faulty fuse box was reported.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion.

The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others.