CFD battles northside titanium facility fire in electrically

COLUMBUS - Columbus Fire crews need nearly an hour to bring a metal refining facility fire under control.

CFD confirms they were dispatched to Unico Alloys and Metals at 1177 Joyce Avenue at 10:44 a.m. after someone at the business pulled the fire alarm station on one of the facility's loading docks. Crews were on scene and setting up fire command with-in five minutes.

The fire was quickly located in a container and in spite of creating a lot of smoke, it was confined and flames couldn't spread to other parts of the building.

The "electrically energized container" held titanium and it created some complications in fighting the flames.

"Instead of applying water to the titanium, our strategy was to just cool down the container to stop the chain reaction of the fire," said Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin.

CFD deals with electric-related fires often, mostly in the form of fallen wires. Fires in electrically charged containers are rarer according to Chief Martin.

The fire was fully contained at 11:43 a.m. and some crews remained on the scene to continue cooling the container.

No injuries were reported.

Unico Alloys and Metals is part of United Alloys and Metals, a Los Angeles-based company owned by the Cronimet Group. According to their website, they are one of the world's leading processors of titanium scrap and super alloy scrap. Property records indicate they've operated the Joyce Avenue facility since 2005.




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