PORT TOWNSEND — When the fire alarm sounded, the dark cloud rising into the sunlit sky could be seen from Port Townsend to Marrowstone Island. It was 2:40 p.m., and East Jefferson Fire Rescue engines took off for the Port Townsend Paper Corp., reaching the scene in 10 minutes.

Upon arrival, the firefighters were directed to a 200-yard-long wood-chip conveyor belt “fully involved,” as in completely aflame. The structure was also partially collapsed, even as the mill’s first-responder team sprayed it with water.

East Jefferson Fire Rescue Lt. Curtis Kilgore, Lt. Reece Chambers, Lt. Justin Fletcher and their crew attacked the blaze, using a blitz-fire ground monitor and a supply of water from a nearby hydrant.

In the midst of this, firefighters “noticed the conveyor belt structure’s fire sprinkler system was damaged,” according to the incident report for the Jan. 22 blaze.

No one was hurt that day. EJFR’s engines cleared the scene about two hours later, but physical destruction to the mill was substantial. The EJFR report estimates the damage at more than $500,000.

EJFR Chief Bret Black, in an interview Friday, spoke about the mill’s fire suppression system. At the site where the fire broke out, the sprinkler system was compromised, he said.

“There was a part missing,” Black said, adding the system section for the conveyor belt “was not operational.”

Firefighters “were trying to make a stand to keep (the flames) from getting into the main building,” Black said.

The burning conveyor belt, which reaches up to the sixth floor, is on the mill’s water side, facing Port Townsend Bay.

The fire did not spread onto the sixth floor.

Other sections of the mill’s sprinkler system were working, which helped stop the flames from engulfing more of the building, Black said.

EJFR’s investigation of the fire did not determine a cause, he noted. The damage, including the partially collapsed conveyor belt, prevented the crew from finding an obvious ignition source.

As for the mill’s sprinkler system, “there’s room for improvement,” the chief said.

Nick Nachbar, general manager of the mill, said last week that it would take three weeks to return to full operation.

“We are currently producing container board using solely recycled fiber until the pulp mill returns to service,” he wrote in an email to Peninsula Daily News.

“We want to commend Port Townsend Paper Corporation and East Jefferson Fire and Rescue first responders for their efforts that minimized the extent of the blaze,” he added.

When asked about the non-operational sprinkler system, Nachbar declined comment, saying the mill was still investigating the fire.

Businesses such as the paper mill, one of Jefferson County’s largest employers, are subject to inspection by EJFR, Black said. Companies are responsible for maintaining fire suppression systems and for supplying reports on them to the county.

“Our inspection program was suspended due to COVID in the later part of 2020,” Black noted.

“All businesses were noticed. Their compliance is still mandated. However, we could not risk exposing our essential workers for the site visits,” he said.

In recent months, EJFR has restarted its safety and inspection programs, and it is conducting fire extinguisher classes, limited safety presentations and some inspections, Black said.

“We recently purchased new inspection software, which is being implemented in a few weeks,” he said. “We have also trained a cadre of volunteers to augment our inspection programs. Our goal is to complete all of our inspections by the end of the year. We have almost 500 businesses that require inspection within District 1.”

Meantime, EJFR is discussing the repairs and construction of the mill’s conveyor with the county Department of Community Development, since the county will be the agency that would issue a permit for those repairs, Black said.

“One of the permit requirements will be a fire inspection and inspection compliance prior to sign-off. The DCD’s office and mill leadership,” he added, “have been very collaborative in this process.”

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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.