LIVINGSTON — Firefighters worked to contain a large structure fire today at a state-of-the-art sawmill in Livingston, R-Y timber. Park County Rural Fire Chief Dann Babcox said two people were injured and three structures have been lost so far.
“We got a report of an explosion from sawdust,” said Babcox. “One of the injuries is serious and one is minor.”
Chief Babcox confirmed that the injured people are employees of R-Y. At 6 AM, multiple agencies responded to the fire which started in one building and spread to three others.
One of the buildings was used to plane the lumber, which according to the R-Y Timber website, makes up 16 percent of lumber manufactured in the state of Montana. R-Y also produces over 60 million board feet per year from raw materials. At R-Y, 85 people are employed.
Representatives from R-Y said damage from the fire will not halt production and jobs will not be lost.
Chief Babcox said one of the buildings used for maintenance had hydraulic fluid in it. Luckily firefighters were able to get it under control.
“We were able to get the water flow to the tower truck, which saved it from getting into any other buildings,” said Babcox.
Babcox said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“We have a light containment on it,” said Babcox. “I'm not going to say that it won't rekindle if something goes wrong, but right now the forward progression of the fire has stopped.”
