Machine catches fire at an Appleton manufacturing facility

APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - The Appleton Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at a manufacturing facility on the 1600 block of W. Spencer Street around 7:00am on Saturday.

Fire crews arrived on scene and were met by employees saying a machine was on fire. Firefighters found heavy smoke inside a portion of the building, but were able to find the fire and extinguish it within 20 minutes.

Officials say the sprinkler system was working during the fire and helped keep it from spreading to other parts of the facility. Fire crews remained on scene for another hour working with the employees to ventilate the smoke.

One worker was evaluated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.

There is no damage estimate at this time, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Fire officials say the working sprinkler and alarm system kept the fire in-check and alerted everyone to safely leave the building.