A fire at DS Smith Paper Mill in Riceboro Monday morning caused significant damage to a wood chipper at the sprawling plant. According to Riceboro Fire and Rescue Chief, Dennis Fitzgerald, units were dispatched to the facility located on Interstate Paper Road on Feb. 21, shortly after 5 a.m.  

Fitzgerald said when he arrived, he encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from the machinery which sat roughly 80 feet high. Liberty County Fire Station 12 and a unit from the Hinesville Fire Department were called in for mutual aid to help fight the fire. Hinesville was asked to bring out their ladder truck which was high enough to douse the wood chipper from above.

Fitzgerald said the flames were reaching heights of 10 feet or more and even higher as they released sawdust in increments to empty the equipment.

It took nearly four hours to bring the fire under control and units departed the plant around 10:30 a.m. There were no injuries reported.