The Tri-Town fire
departments responded late on Tuesday to a fire atop the coke oven battery
at ArcelorMittal’s Burns Harbor facility, the Burns Harbor FD is reporting.
Fire Chief Bill
Arney told the Chesterton Tribune today that, at 10:30 p.m., the BHFD--later
joined by the Chesterton and Porter FDs--was dispatched to the battery to
assist ArcelorMittal’s contracted fire protection service, Allied Universal,
after a power failure disrupted operations and caused a pusher to become
stuck.
With the pusher not
working, “stuff go hot and a couple of small fires started on top of the
battery,” Arney said.
Firefighters used
Allied Universal’s 100-foot tower truck to access the battery and began
flowing water to keep the materials cool until the battery “got back up to
running,” Arney said.
One Porter
firefighter was transported to Porter Regional Hospital after sustaining
“respiratory issues” but was later released, Arney added.
The BHFD cleared
the scene at 2:42 a.m.