A small fire forced Anchor Glass Container Corp. to shut down one of its production lines on 4 September 2006. Firefighters from three stations responded to the blaze at the Elmira plant. About 45 wor…
A small fire forced Anchor Glass Container Corp. to shut down one of its production lines on 4 September 2006. Firefighters from three stations responded to the blaze at the Elmira plant. About 45 workers were in the area known as Shop 11 at the time, but there were no injuries. Elmira Heights Assistant Fire Chief John Peters blamed the fire on a faulty gas line. “It was a gas line break. It caused a small fire. There was no major damage”, Peters said. “I have no idea why it broke … They shut production down on that line, only temporarily. There was not a lot of damage at all, just the broken pipe”. There will be no further investigation by the fire department, Mr. Peters said. Town of Elmira Code Enforcement Officer Gary Patelunas was also in attendance to make sure the plant was safe. Anchor Glass Corp. produces glass containers for Anheuser-Busch, LiDestri Foods, Cadbury Schweppes, F.X. Matt Brewing and High Falls Brewing. Don Brennan, who until July 2006 was president of Local 104 of the Glass Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Skilled Workers International union, said the fire was brought under control quickly thanks to quick work by employees and firefighters. “People did their jobs well as far as putting out the fire. We have a lot of in-house training. They spend a lot of money on safety”, he said. “Structurally, we“re OK. There was a very fast response from the fire departments…The employees did their job to help knock it down”. The cause of the fire could not have been foreseen, said Brennan, who credited Anchor Glass management for creating a safe working environment. “I“ve been here 36 years, and it was nothing out of the ordinary”, he said. “It was nothing like neglect on the company“s part. They are always ensuring our safety”.