Fire Damages GP Muskogee Mill

A forklift exploded and sparked a fire that ripped through two converting and parent roll storage buildings at Georgia-Pacific's (GP) 352,000-tpy Muskogee, OK, tissue paper mill complex on May 13.

Some parent rolls were damaged by either fire and or water, and while GP was assessing the overall impact and had begun cleanup, the company believed much of the damage was "only to some of our converting machines," GP official Kelly Ferguson told PPI Pulp & Paper Week May 16. Two buildings, Nos. 27 and 10, were the primary areas affected by the fire. Ferguson said the No. 27 has the most visible damage.

Ferguson added that "At this point, we believe the damage was only to some of our converting machines" and that "at least some parent rolls were damaged.

"We're in the process of bringing online the parts of the mill that we can, and we've asked all employees to report to work on Monday (May 20)," Ferguson said. "While some parts of the mill affected by the fire and water can't be restarted right away, there is work for our employees to do across the mill while we continue to assess the long-term impact."

The mill's five tissue paper machines consume an estimated 435,000 tpy of recovered fiber, including sorted office paper (SOP), coated book stock (CBS), heavily printed SBS (solid bleached sulfate), and coated groundwood sections (CGS). It's one of the largest mills in the US that consumes high grades.

While none of the more than 750 employees were seriously injured, Ferguson said a couple workers were treated on-site and two were taken to a hospital due to smoke inhalation and for observation.

"Those employees are OK," Ferguson said. "Several employees attempted to extinguish the fire, but recognized that they could not. They called for an evacuation of the area, which was successful. Our understanding is that the propane tank on the forklift exploded, but we are still investigating the causes of the fire."

Some parts of the mill have already begun restarting. Yet, it's unclear when the plant will be running in full again. Contacts this week that sell recovered fiber to the mill said shipments were suspended this week, and it's not clear when they will pick up again. One contact said it could take six months to one year to rebuild, although that could not be confirmed.

"Now that we have ensured the structural integrity of the area affected by the fire, we are assessing the damage both from the fire and the water used to extinguish the fire and working to bring parts of the mill back online in a safe and orderly manner," Ferguson said.

One contact who sells deinking grades to the Muskogee mill said that the fire was "catastrophic." Large GP tissue paper mills in Savannah Rincon, GA, and Green Bay, WI, will be running "at unprecedented rates for an extended period to cover the Oklahoma shortfall of finished product," the contact said.

He added: "Given the amount of recovered paper volume that is received at this location, this is devastating news for the producers of deinking grades, both regionally and across the US."

Like a fire at the Soundview Paper Marcal mill in New Jersey in late January, the tissue machines at Muskogee, where five operate, were not affected.

"This means that, relatively soon, GP may be able to produce parent rolls to be shipped elsewhere for converting. While there are some logistics barriers to overcome, this is important," a contact said.

Another contact said GP is using a warehouse in Tulsa for storage. "So, material isn't backing up as some might think," he added.

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