According to Oil City Fire Chief Derek Long, no one was injured in a fire that occurred at Webco Industries in Oil City at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
However, according to Venango County 911, emergency crews evaluated employees for smoke exposure.
Long said the fire was caused by an accident inside the building when a forklift struck a wall, tearing out gas and water lines and some electrical wiring, after which a spark from the wiring likely ignited the leaking gas and caught the wall on fire.
Webco employees tried to put out the fire with extinguishers, and the broken water line helped, Long said. When emergency personnel arrived, there was “only a little bit of fire left in the roof.”
The fire brought an I-beam down, which fell on top of the forklift, Long said, but the forklift cage “did its job” and protected the operator from injury.
Oil City police and Community Ambulance Service also responded, with mutual aid from Franklin and Seneca fire departments, according to 911.
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