(Photo courtesy of the Hutchinson Fire Department)

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The investigation of the Sonoco plant fire revealed that a front-end loader bucket scraped the concrete and caused a spark that ignited the paper products.

In normal operations, Sonoco utilizes a self-leveling bucket that stays at a predetermined height off the ground when scooping product. This unit was in for repairs, so a non-leveling unit was used by a Sonoco employee.

The fire started just after 1 p.m. Thursday.

Hutchinson Fire units reported a working fire in an outside recycling area on the south side of the Sonoco structure. Strong southerly winds quickly fanned the fire through the paper and cardboard, which quickly spread to the building and cardboard pile north of the building.

In addition, crews had to contain spot fires that were igniting grass north of Sherman Street.

The deep-seated fires quickly created many challenges for firefighters. This included fighting fires in multiple locations, water supply, and the high heat conditions.

Heavy equipment was utilized to assist in breaking up the tightly packed material.

The Hutchinson Fire Department was assisted by Reno County EMS, South Hutchinson Mobile Incident Command Unit, Reno County Sheriff’s mobile lighting unit, and Sonoco employees.

Fire officials also wanted to thank the Hutchinson Water Department and the Department of Public Works for their assistance in mitigation of this situation.