SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. (From news reports) -- - A Friday night fire damaged the Sonoco warehouse.
At 7:05 p.m. Friday, the South Brunswick police officers and members of several area fire companies were dispatched to the Sonoco warehouse at 5 Stults Road on a report of a fire in the building, according to police.
No injuries were reported at the scene.
"Firefighters encountered frozen hydrants on the property and on Stults Road, and had to use tankers from Cranbury, Jamesburg, Plainsboro and Monroe to supply water to fight the fire," Monmouth Junction Fire Chief Scott Smith said.
The fire involved the finished cardboard canisters manufactured by the facility, which were stored on plastic pallets and shrink-wrapped, then stacked three pallets high, according to authorities.
"Fortunately the sprinkler system and fire pump contained the fire to several stacks of the palletizing goods," Smith said. "Unfortunately, the fire and water caused several pallets to collapse, making it difficult for firefighters to locate and extinguish the seat of the fire."
Firefighting crews had to be rotated frequently because of the manpower-intensive efforts to reach the seat of the fire, which was approximately 300 feet deep into the warehouse. A heavy smoke conditions further complicated efforts, and took several hours to ventilate, authorities said.
Over 50 firefighters from all three South Brunswick Companies (Monmouth Junction, Kingston and Kendall Park), Monroe Fire District 3, Jamesburg, Plainsboro, North Brunswick Fire Company 2, East Brunswick's Old Bridge and Brookview Fire Companies, Griggstown and Montgomery Township responded to the two-alarm fire.
The fire is under investigation by the South Brunswick Township Fire Safety Bureau.
