MERRILL, Wis. (WSAU) — A Merrill factory is shut down today as officials clean up and inspect the plant after a Thursday afternoon fire. The Weinbrenner Shoe Company fire broke out about 1:30 p.m., and all of the workers evacuated quickly and safely.
The problem was in some ductwork, but fire investigators don’t know exactly what caused the fire yet. They confirm there is quite a bit of smoke damage, but hardly any fire damage to the plant.
Company President Pat Miner told WAOW television he isn’t certain about the amount of damage yet. “I don’t know if there’s machine damage at this point in time. I don’t even know what the smoke damage has done to any of the product that might be sitting there.”
The fire caused the plant to shut down about an hour earlier than usual. Miner is optimistic they can get back into operation quickly. “We have customers that have orders in house that we need to fill.”
The Merrill Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire and start airing out the smoke filled plant in about 30 minutes.
