By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

AUBURN – An afternoon fire at Formed Fiber Technologies on Tuesday may have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, fire officials said.

The 4:45 p.m. fire at the Washington Street plant brought all available firefighters from both Lewiston and Auburn as flames spread from a processing oven into a network of ducts.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze, but firefighters had to remove more than a half-dozen roof vents and cut through pipes in order to get at the flames.

Soon after the fire was reported, Auburn sounded a second alarm for more firefighters. At the same time, Lewiston called back its firefighters who were on their way home.

Police controlled traffic around the plant, formerly named Gates Formed-Fibre, as firetrucks arrived from all directions. The plant is near the Maine Turnpike exit in Auburn.

The flames were knocked down in about an hour, but crews remained at the scene until around 8 p.m. as they mopped up and searched for hot spots.

The exact amount of damage was not expected to be known until Wednesday at the soonest. However, Auburn fire Platoon Chief Richard McFadden said there is a good chance estimates will reach several hundred thousand dollars.

Formed Fiber also had to be evacuated as the fire was being battled.

“They had to shut their production down and get all the employees out of the building,” McFadden said. “That gets expensive.”

Firefighters who climbed to the top of the building found themselves faced with an estimated 20 acres of sprawling rooftop. Formed Fiber managers assisted the crews by providing information about the building and other help.

“They’re always very helpful,” McFadden said. “They’re right on the ball when it comes to that.”

The cause of the blaze was still being investigated Tuesday night.

Formed Fiber is one of North America’s largest manufacturers of needle-punched, non-woven fabrics and polyester staple fibers. The company recycles polyester plastics used to make items such as soda bottles, and uses the raw materials to provide such things as linings for car trunks and trimming.