Electrical fire calls crews to Buzzi Unicem Friday

Firefighters check out the scene of an electrical fire at Buzzi Unicem on Friday. The damage was limited to this area and no injuries were reported.

Courtesy Cloverdale Township Volunteer Fire Department

Even as they were honoring the life and service of one of their own, firefighters from multiple departments were called out for a fire at Buzzi Unicem on Friday.

A box alarm was dropped at about 11:25 a.m. for an electrical fire in a substation. With the Bainbridge Volunteer Fire Department arriving first, apparatuses came from the Cloverdale Township, Reelsville and Madison Township volunteers, as well as the Putnamville Correctional Facility. Putnam County EMS was also at the scene.

With power cut to the substation, the fire was marked out by 11:50 a.m. Conduits were checked for extensions as the fire’s cause was determined to be electrical short.

No injuries to employees or fire and EMS personnel were reported. Command of the scene was terminated at about 12:50 p.m.

Cloverdale Township Fire Chief Kerry Shepherd and fellow firefighters, including Roachdale Fire Chief Mike Poole, went as a funeral service for retired Greencastle Fire Chief Bill Newgent concluded at Greencastle Christian Church.

“I guess it was just his (Newgent’s) way of telling us all to get back to work,” Shepherd said, noting that many were still wearing their dress uniforms. “That’s basically what we did.”