Fire extinguishers used by the DCI sawmill’s six employees lay on the ground outside the mill after a fire was put out with the work of seven fire-departments in Royalton, Vt., Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Fire extinguishers used by the DCI sawmill’s six employees lay on the ground outside the mill after a fire was put out with the work of seven fire-departments in Royalton, Vt., Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: James M. Patterson

Royalton — There were no injuries in a Tuesday fire that started in the band saw head at the Design Contempo Inc. sawmill in South Royalton. Six people, including manager Chris Gramling, were working at the mill when the fire started at about 1 p.m.

“It’s normal,” he said of fires starting when the saw blade strikes hardware in a log or when a hot motor sets sawdust alight. “If you’re here, you just notice it and put it out.

Gramling and his co-workers fought the fire with a garden hose and fire extinguishers until firefighters from Royalton and Bethel arrived.

“The first crews went in and did a good job of knocking the fire out,” Royalton Fire Chief Paul Brock said.

They were assisted by the Tunbridge, Sharon, Barnard, Randolph Center and East Randolph fire departments.

A previous fire in 1999 caused more damage to the mill, which ships hardwood lumber to DCI’s Lisbon, N.H., location where it is made into “rugged, easy to assemble” furniture for college and military dormitories, Gramling said.

Access to an underground water tank holding 200,000 gallons at the neighboring GW Plastics helped firefighters bring the fire under control by 2:30 p.m., Chief Brock said. Walking through the metal framed building Gramling noticed un-used fire extinguishers still hanging on the walls.

“Three of them here we didn’t even grab because the smoke was so heavy,” he said. “They say run, but if it’s your business, you don’t run.”