The Project Manager found that the fire had occurred in the northwest corner of the plant, which contained a number of large truck tires that were in the middle of the retreading process. The inspection revealed that the fire caused significant heat damage in the immediate area where it occurred and smoke damage throughout the rest of the plant.

There was a concern about the levels of corrosive ionic sulphates in the smoke, released by the burning of the rubber from the tires, as rubber compounds contain large amount of sulphur. This is dangerous because ionic sulphate reacts readily with moisture in the air to form various types of sulphuric and sulphurous acids, which are extremely corrosive.

The inspections and assessment revealed smoke damage to all of the equipment located in the plant area. As well, corrosion resulting from the sulphate in the smoke had already begun to form, especially on the builder and buffing machines. During the inspection it was also brought to our attention by the staff at the plant that the large compressor that fed air to all of the equipment had failed, with no load being generated.

In order to return the damaged equipment to working order and prevent further corrosion, Newtron Group began the on-site decontamination process immediately. Work was done on several pieces of industrial machinery including tire repair stations, inspection stands, a buffing machine, curing chambers, and an industrial-sized air compressor.

Newtron Group also arranged for repairs required on the buffing machine to be completed by the authorized repair vendor. Thus, in less than two weeks Newtron Group was able to clean and decontaminate all the affected equipment and have the plant up and running again with minimal downtime.