A handful of fire departments responded to a structure fire at Sappi North America woodyard just after 5 a.m Saturday at 98 North St. in Skowhegan.

“It’s an all steel building so damage was very, very limited,” Skowhegan Fire Chief Shawn Howard said. “They were probably back up and running before the end of shift.”

There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown at this point, but is believed to be mechanical. At the site, saw dust, wood dust and wood chips “present a danger,” Howard said.

“The way they design their buildings is so that it minimizes their loss when there is a fire,” Howard said.

The department was on scene for about three and a half hours.

Skowhegan, Waterville and Fairfield fire departments responded on scene, as did Sappi security. Norridgewock Fire Department backed up Skowhegan while Oakland backed up Fairfield.

“Sappi is an important business to our community, and we’re always happy when we can get things under control with minimal damage there and keep them up and running.”

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