Havco sawdust fire put out Friday morning

Firefighters from six departments or districts battled until 5:38 a.m. Friday, putting out a silo fire at Havco Wood Products.

Scott City's fire department responded to the fire at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

There were no injuries.

"It's been a long day," said Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout Friday afternoon. "Firefighting is bad enough for paid people, but it's real hard on the volunteers who have to turn around and go back to their regular jobs. It's tough."

Scott City called for help from Cape Girardeau, Delta, Oran, Morley, Chaffee and the MBC Fire District. Cassout said the extra help was needed to assist with manpower. With temperatures as cold as they were, Cassout said the firefighters rotated every 10 or 15 minutes.

The reason it took so long to contain the fire is because firefighters had to empty the silos -- filled with sawdust -- to put out the blaze. The fire burned from the top down.

The fine sawdust powder made for dangerous conditions, Cassout said.

The plant was closed off to workers yesterday, and a receptionist said Friday that employees won't get back to work until next week. The plant employs about 200 people.