SPRINKLERS KEEP DAMAGE DOWN IN ROWE FIRE

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The sprinkler system at Rowe Furniture prevented any major damage when a heater caught fire just after 9 a.m. Friday.

"The fire was in the finish room and we had a heater that helps the finish wood dry," said Gary Dollins, Rowe's general manager. "It appears (the heater) ignited a fire small in and around that area." At the time of the fire there was only one person working in that room, Dollins said.

After seeing the smoke, the worker manually set off the alarm, Dollins said.

According to maintenance man Chuck McFadden, the sprinklers came on shortly after the alarm was activated.

By that time, McFadden said, the worker had shut the door and left the building. "He contained it in a small part of the building," he said.

Although the fire was out upon the arrival of the Poplar Bluff Fire Department, firefighters used the department's ladder truck to access the roof and its thermal imaging camera to check for any hot spots on the roof.

According to Dollins, the heater, which is located on the roof, drops down from the ceiling into the finish room.

Where the heater enters the building is about a 3-foot by 3-foot area, McFadden said.

"It was a very, very small area" that was on fire, McFadden said.

Dollins and it appears the fire was contained to the heater.

Both Dollins and McFadden said they will be checking the heater after the smoke clears out.

"We really don't know if there is any damage to the heater until we have an opportunity to inspect it," Dollins said.

According to McFadden, the heater's "wiring is not charred." It appears that the building did not sustain any structural damage, Dollins said.

"There was no finish wood" in the room, so the factory did not lose any property in the fire, he said.

"The sprinklers definitely worked," Dollins said. "It'll take some time mopping the water." About an hour after the fire began, Dollins said, crews were ready to get back to work.

"We're shut down today doing inventory," Dollins said. "We only had a small crew here." About 70 to 100 workers were evacuated out onto the employee parking lot, Dollins said.