A giant new Niagara Falls paper and cardboard manufacturing complex is buying its own fire-fighting equipment in the wake of two fires.
The Greenpac plant takes paper and cardboard and recycles it into new uses. That means a vast accumulation of baled paper on-site, ready to go into the high-tech re-manufacturing process. A year ago, that stored paper began to burn and the Niagara Falls Fire Department and mutual aid volunteers spent several days pouring water to stop the fire.
Now, Norampac has bought its own fire truck and giant water cannons.
Mayor Paul Dyster says history shows the need for quicker fire reaction.
"That we have that much flammable material stored on site, having some in-house capability to go out and suppress fires at the early phase before they become a big problem can be very cost-effective investment," Dyster said.
Greenpac has also given dozens of employees emergency response training for initial fire fighting. The company and the city have struck a deal to store some of the paper stockpile in a former Nabisco warehouse on the edge of Downtown, with Dyster saying there will be inspections of the fire-fighting facilities in that warehouse before paper is moved in.
