PALATKA, Fla. – Two firefighters and one employee were taken to a hospital after a fire erupted at the Georgia-Pacific factory in Palatka early Wednesday evening, according to a spokesperson for the paper mill.
More than 50 firefighters from the Palatka Fire Department and Putnam and Clay counties responded just before 5 p.m. to the three-alarm fire at the paper mill on County Road 216.
The fire broke out in the mill's converting area, in the mechanics of the broke beater, which is a large industrial-sized mixer that turns pulp into paper, said Terry Hadaway, a spokesperson for Georgia-Pacific.
PHOTOS: Crews respond to fire at Georgia-Pacific mill
Hadaway said crews contained the fire, but due to the heat and smoldering, the fire kept restarting.
It was mostly a "smoke fire," Hadaway said.
After five hours of battling the blaze, crews were able to isolate the fire and put it out.
Two firefighters were transported to a hospital due to heat exhaustion, Hadaway said. An employee was also taken to the hospital after slipping and falling in the water, according to Hadaway.
There is no word yet on the extent of the damage.
The facility employs more than 900 people from Palatka, Putnam County and the surrounding areas.