Fire at Oak Creek Wood Products in Slinger caused 'significant ... - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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The pallet company that was affected by the massive fire earlier this week in Slinger said Wednesday that the vast majority of its products were not affected by the blaze and the company will be fully operational by the end of the week.

Oak Creek Wood Products said in a statement that total damage is still being determined, but added it was "significant." One of the two buildings that caught fire was the repair facility and therefore some pallets were not delivered to customers, but the fire did not affect new pallet production or the lumber mill.

The biggest impact the fire had on the production facility located at 3247 Sherman Way was on its mulch products. A pile of mulch is where the fire originated. No one was injured in the blaze, officials said.

Officials originally said more than 20 fire departments reported to the fire, however the company clarified Wednesday that 45 fire departments across six different counties, and over 200 firefighters responded to the scene. The fire spread quickly consuming mulch, stacks of wood pallets and the two buildings.

The company said the location of the fire caused many disadvantages for crews. The company ended up needing to use excavators to dig trenches to reduce the size of the mulch piles.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department has not determined a cause of the fire.

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