PLEASANT GROVE — A pipe-manufacturing building full of toxic chemicals was destroyed in a Saturday morning blaze.
The cleaning and coating building at the Continental Pipe Manufacturing Co. was completely destroyed, said Pleasant Grove Fire Capt. Corey Cluff. The fire was hot enough to melt steel I-beams in the roof, causing its collapse.
Firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire, near 800 North and 600 West, around 8 a.m. By that time, the fire was so strong firefighters could only work defensively.
"I didn't want to put anybody at risk by going into the building and having an explosion or something," Cluff said.
The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the nearest water source was 1,200 feet away, he added.
Because the plant is undergoing layoffs, firefighters are investigating the possibility that the fire was intentional, Cluff said. They are also looking into the possibility of an accident caused by natural gas heaters left on in the building since Thursday.
"We're looking at it from both angles," Cluff said.
No one was inside the building when the inferno broke out.
— Rebecca Palmer