Oregon firefighters late Saturday battled flames aboard a vessel docked at the Port of Toledo, authorities said.
The fire department was dispatched about 8:45 p.m. to the Presque Isle dock and the vessel St. Clair. Arriving firefighters reported seeing smoke and fire from the vessel’s stack.
An aerial ladder was hoisted to attack the blaze.
Nearly two hours later, Oregon residents several miles away reported they smelled burning rubber and saw gray smoke in the air.
The St. Clair has been at the CSX Torco iron ore terminal, said Joe Cappel, vice president of business development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
Typically after Christmas, vessels dock at the Port of Toledo and elsewhere around the Great Lakes for maintenance and repair, “whatever the vessel needs,” Mr. Cappel said.
He said that H Hansen Industries of Toledo was working on the St. Clair, but he had no further details.
The Oregon fire force was aided by crews from several other fire departments -- Jerusalem Township; BP-Husky Toledo Refinery in Oregon; from Ottawa County, the Allen-Clay Joint Fire District, and from Wood County, the Lake Township fire department. Tankers transported water from remote locations to the dock.
Volunteers from the American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio were on hand to help firefighters.
The cause was not immediately known. There were no reports of injury.
The St. Clair was named for St. Clair, Mich., and entered service in May, 1976, according to the American Steamship Co. website. The vessel is used for the long-haul transport of iron ore pellets, coal, and limestone on the Great Lakes.
First Published February 17, 2019, 3:42 a.m.
