A fire at Weaber Inc. (Lebanon, Pa.) before midnight on Aug. 19 destroyed 300,000 square feet of the company’s combined 3 million square feet of dry-kiln capacity.
No one was injured, but the four-alarm fire lit up the sky and required 600,000 gallons of water from the company’s emergency pond. It looked a lot worse than it was, owner Matt Weaber told Wood Floor Business.
“We only lost 10 percent of capacity, so we won’t miss a single order,” he said. “We already have the rest of our kilns running, and the rest of the facility is operating normally as of [Aug. 22].”
Weaber said the destroyed kiln will be replaced and operational by the end of the year. The emergency pond is fueled by a natural spring and will be refilled in a week or two, Weaber said.
The insurance company is investigating the cause of the fire.
Here's a video of the fire tweeted by the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department.
HVFC assisted Lebanon County at Weber's Saw Mill. Heavy fire was encountered upon arrival. Crews remained on scene until 5:30 this a.m. pic.twitter.com/AqADoUvSXt
— Hershey Fire Dept (@HersheyFire) August 20, 2017
