DATE: Monday, June 30, 1997                 TAG: 9706300047

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   36 lines

SPARK FROM WELDER'S TORCH STARTS FIRE AT FORD CO.'S BERKLEY PLANT

A two-alarm fire at the Ford Motor Co. plant sent two people to hospitals and heavily damaged the plant's paint operation Sunday afternoon, fire officials said.

The victims were contractors who suffered smoke inhalation and exposure to chemicals used with the paint, said Jack Goldhorn, spokesman for the Norfolk Fire Department. At least 20 other contractors were examined at the scene by paramedics, he said.

The plant is in the 2400 block of Ford Drive, off Indian River Road in the Berkley section. Goldhorn said the blaze began about 1:35 p.m. after a spark from a welder's torch ignited flammable materials.

No Ford employees were inside because the plant is shut down for two weeks for maintenance and for the July Fourth holiday, he said.

At least 75 firefighters from Norfolk and Chesapeake were on the scene and had the blaze under control by 2:20 p.m. The second alarm was called, Goldhorn said, because of the hazardous paint-related materials.

The blaze was mostly contained in a first-floor booth area, but extended to the second floor, he said. No damage estimate was available. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Before leaving the scene of a fire at the Ford Motor Co. plant,

firefighters from Norfolk and Chesapeake cleaned their gear in a

makeshift shower of water and chemicals. No Ford employees were

inside Sunday afternoon during the fire; the plant is shut down for

maintenance. KEYWORDS: FIRE

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