CHARLESTON - The president of a Charleston pallet company damaged by fire Tuesday said the fire could have been worse as firefighters saved parts of the plant that will allow the company to continue operations.
Medlock Forest Products President Phil White said he was searching Wednesday for another building the company could use to assemble pallets to keep its 24 employees working.
A fire that appeared to have started in the assembly building at the southeast corner of the property was reported about 8:30 p.m., office manager LaVanda Clark said. She said a passer-by on nearby U.S. 22 saw the smoke and called authorities.
When she first arrived at the property, Clark said she saw flames rising from the assembly building.
“It’s all wood,” she said of the contents. “It spread quickly.”
Firefighters from Charleston, Branch, Big Creek and Lavaca fire departments responded and were able to save the adjoining wood mill building, the office, a large propane tank and the home where Clark lives on the property.
The cause of the fire had not been determined Wednesday, she said.
White estimated the value of the loss at $300,000 to $400,000. The buildings were insured, he said.
Also inside the building and destroyed in the fire were about 4,000 pallets that were scheduled to be shipped out Wednesday, White said.
The milling work can continue to be done at the plant, he said, but the wood will have to be transported to another location to be assembled until the assembly building can be rebuilt.
He said he hoped the operation could be back up and running in two to three weeks.
Clark said the plant had reopened in late March after being closed during a slow period over the winter.
Medlock Forest Products, which initially opened in Charleston in 1962, is a subsidiary of General Pallets in Fort Smith that also has a facility in Goodman, Mo., Clark said.
White acquired the company in 2008.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 04/11/2013