Fire Crews Contain Small Chemical Fire At STERIS In Mentor

MENTOR, OH — Fire crews found thick, pungent smoke billowing from a laboratory in the Mentor STERIS facility on Wednesday afternoon. The smoke came from a fire in a lab storing chemicals, but the chemicals were deemed not to be a public health hazard, officials said. No one was hurt in the fire.

An alarm went off at the STERIS facility at about noon on Wednesday. Fire crews rushed to the Heisley Road-based company.

Firefighters initially thought it had been a false alarm, but then found acrid smoke coming from an unoccupied lab known to contain chemicals. All employees were evacuated safely and fire crews from neighboring cities were called to the scene.

Investigators initially could not determine if the chemicals were dangerous or if there was an abundance of chemicals in the lab. Eventually, firefighters were able to determine there was not a public health hazard, the city of Mentor said in a statement. The fire was contained.

Fire crews remained on scene at STERIS throughout the afternoon, ventilating the building and helping employees collect their personal belongings.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Investigators have not yet explored the extent of the damage or the cause of the fire. Right now, the damage to STERIS is believed to be relatively minor, the city said.

STERIS' second shift employees will not report Wednesday night, but staff will report Thursday morning as scheduled.

Photo from Shutterstock