Bottling plant in Toano catches fire

TOANO, Va. (WAVY) - A Toano bottling plant caught fire Sunday morning.

Kristie Martin, a spokesperson for the company said the fire was determined to have started in the forming area of one of the plant's production lines.

Fire crews responded to the fire at 11:11 a.m. Sunday at the Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc. bottling facility. The impacted line supplied glass bottles for the craft beer industry.

Fire crews bought the fire under control by 12:30 p.m., but the bottling facility suffered limited damage, according to Martin, and is expected to begin production later this week. Martin said there is sufficient supply to continue servicing customers while the line is down; all employees are still working.

There were 50 people inside the facility at the time of the fire.  All of them escaped without injury, Martin said, thanks to the plant's fire suppression system and the James City County Fire Department's rapid response. The facilities fire suppression system activated

The facility employs 180 workers and has been undergoing $20 million in facility improvements since 2009.

The fire did not impact renovations currently underway, Martin told WAVY.com.