CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Multiple agencies responded to the scene of a two-alarm fire in northeast Charlotte on Wednesday.
Charlotte Fire said the "significant fire incident" in the 200 block of East 28th Street, which is just off North Tryon Street, just after 3 p.m. Crews arrived on the scene within three minutes and saw a "large pile of debris engulfed in flames, with heavy smoke extending toward a nearby building," CFD said.
Thick smoke filled the air during their efforts, but crews were able to still extinguish the fire before it spread to the building.
However, despite that work, smoke continued to hang in the air, which significantly hindered fire crews' visibility. That's when a second alarm was activated so the second crew could bring another ladder and engine to the scene. After the fire was mostly contained, crews were able to use heavy machinery to extinguish hot spots. The fire was fully under control by 4:34 p.m., only an hour-and-a-half after it was first reported.
The address is for the International Paper Recycling Center, which is near the intersection of North Tryon Street and Matheson Avenue, so crews closed Tryon for hours while it battled the fire. That street reopened around 6:00 p.m.
A large cloud of smoke was visible on the north side of Charlotte in the NoDa community when it was burning.
Multiple Medic units were dispatched to the fire, but the agency said it didn't have any injuries.
International Paper is a global producer of sustainable packaging, pulp and other fiber-based products.
A company spokesperson confirmed none of their employees were injured and they wished to express their appreciation to local firefighters.
On Oct. 31, International Paper announced it would be closing its paper mill in Georgetown, South Carolina, impacting around 650 total employees. The company also closed its Statesville, North Carolina, plant, impacting dozens of workers. The Statesville plant will begin terminating employees next month, state records show.