PENNSYLVANIA Fire marshal probes blaze at tear-gas factory

Firefighters from five departments fought the blaze.
JAMESTOWN, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal's office is investigating a fire in a tear-gas factory that spewed a large cloud of tear-gas-laden smoke from the plant, forcing a three-hour evacuation of about 50 homes in a two-mile radius.
Damage was estimated at $250,000 by the company and firefighters.
The fire erupted shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Combined Tactical Systems Inc. plant on state Route 58, also known as Kinsman Road. About 40 firefighters from the Jamestown, Kinsman, Hempfield, Greenville and West Salem fire departments were at the scene. The last firefighters left the scene around 6:30 p.m.
A man living nearby was taken by private vehicle to UPMC Horizon Hospital in Greenville to be treated for tear-gas inhalation, and some firefighters were treated for minor burns at the scene.
Cause undetermined
The cause of the fire is undetermined, said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Albaugh. The blaze was confined to the steel building in which it originated, and that building was destroyed, he added. Other buildings at the plant remain intact, Albaugh said. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took samples of runoff water from the fire. A creek runs 300 to 400 yards from the plant, Albaugh said.
All firefighters at or near the scene or downwind had to wear self-contained air packs, Albaugh said. "When the first crews got there, it was a very hot fire," he added. A major concern was the irritant effect of the tear gas, including the burns it can cause on exposed skin, he said.
James Brown, fire department spokesman, said the equipment of firefighters fighting the blaze was contaminated by the tear gas. It all had to be cleaned before it could be returned to service, he said this morning.
Combined Tactical has been at its Kinsman Road location since 1994, said Sally Cyphert, the company's office manager.
The company's Web site said it manufactures "less-lethal" and chemical munitions such as tear gas and flash-bang grenades.
Cyphert said the half-dozen employees who work in the tear gas building were on break when the fire broke out.
Another employee and neighbors across the street were the first to spot smoke coming from the building, she said.
Not planning to rebuild
The company won't rebuild the destroyed structure, Cyphert said, noting that it recently built a new tear-gas building and was preparing to move that part of its operation into the new building within a couple of weeks.
Equipment from the old building that was to be moved into the new structure was destroyed in the fire and that will delay resumption of tear-gas production, she said.
All other operations were back to normal today. The company employs 104 people, she said.