Firefighters respond to incident on McMinnville Highway

At approximately 10:45 a.m., Jan. 6, 2023, volunteers from Mt. Gilead, Central View, Doyle, and Hickory Valley volunteer fire departments were notified of a commercial building fire, at 1500 McMinnville Highway, at the former location of S&S Screw.

As the first members arrived at the large outbuilding located away from the main plant, a large volume of black smoke was coming from the building which prompted a request for Sparta Fire Department to respond to the scene as well.

On contact with a Cooper Recycling employee, it was determined that while using a torch to disassemble old equipment from the building, a fire began in surrounding materials. The employee had several fire extinguishers nearby and attempted to extinguish the fire unsuccessfully. Firefighters entered the structure and extinguished the fire in a room beside the machine being disassembled.

On scene at the incident were one member from Mt. Gilead Volunteer Fire Department, three from Central View Volunteer Fire Department, one from Hickory Valley Volunteer Fire Department, and one from Sparta Fire Department. Assisting at the scene were White County Emergency Medical Service, and White County Sheriff’s Office.

"It is a difficult time for the volunteer fire service,” Mt. Gilead Fire Chief Thomas Steele said. “We are fortunate and extremely grateful that the five volunteers and the career captain from Sparta were available to respond to the incident today and that no one was injured. We encourage anyone interested in becoming a firefighter to contact your local volunteer fire department to see if you can help. There are jobs that do not require running into the building that provide a great service to ensure we can continue to provide a level of service necessary to protect our neighbors.”