Firefighters put out fire at metal crushing facility in Canton Township

CANTON TWP. − Firefighters responded late Thursday morning to a fire in the metal crushing facility at Galt Alloys on Marietta Avenue SE.

No one was injured or transported to a hospital, said Canton Township Fire Chief Chris Smith and Galt Alloys' general manager, Scott Pennington.

Metal dust ignited, sparking the mainly electrical fire at the site at 1550 Marietta Ave. SE, shortly before 11:39 a.m., both said. The location, which melts and crushes metal to make titanium and steel alloys, has about 19 employees.

Pennington said the fire destroyed two of the facility's five crushing machines and rubber conveyer belts, causing the release of black smoke. He said employees used garden hoses to get the fire mostly under control before firefighters arrived.

Smith said the fire was under control within 30 minutes. He said damage to the crushing machines and the facility would likely exceed $500,000, which would prompt an investigation by the Ohio fire marshal's office.

Pennington said Galt Alloys had fire insurance coverage. He said the site had no hazardous materials. And it would take a couple of weeks before crushing operations would return to normal.

A stretch of Marietta Avenue SE was closed for about half an hour. The street is off of Orchard View Drive SE, which connects to state Route 43 and Waynesburg Drive SE by Waco Market.

Smith said Canton, Osnaburg Township, Nimishillen Township, Tri-Division and Louisville firefighters provided mutual aid assistance.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Galt Alloys fire damages equipment in Canton Township