PALATKA, Fla. — Fire crews in Putnam County are working to determine what caused a fire at the Georgia-Pacific paper mill Tuesday morning.
Crews were able to put the flames out, according to the Putnam County Fire Department, after a fire ignited above the tissue machine. No injuries have been reported, the fire department said.
Emergency services confirmed the fire was a "smoldering dust fire" on top of the facility's tissue machine. The Palatka Fire Chief was reportedly on the scene.
A Georgia-Pacific spokesperson said there are several large tissue machines in the plant, and sometimes the dust collects on top of the machine, causing it to smolder. When this happens, the company calls the fire department to manage and monitor it. There was no major damage, the spokesperson said.
The Putnam County Fire Department says a firefighter was treated on the scene for heat exhaustion and released back to full duty.
It's not the first time fire crews have responded to the tissue side of the building. In July 2019, the Putnam County Fire and Rescue Department were called in to determine what cased an incident at the mill on 215 County Rd. that left that part of the building filled with smoke.
According to the Georgia-Pacific Corporation's website, the company is one of the worlds leading makers of tissue products including paper towels, toilet paper, napkins and facial tissue.