State investigating second fire in six months at Premier Wax

Daisy Creager, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
·2 min read
A Premier Wax employee observes the destruction caused by the fire that engulfed a large portion of the factory, 200 South A St., Ochelata, on Friday.
A Premier Wax employee observes the destruction caused by the fire that engulfed a large portion of the factory, 200 South A St., Ochelata, on Friday.

The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the second fire in six months at an Ochelata wax factory after a Friday fire caused extensive damage, collapsing part of the building’s roof.

The Ochelata Fire Department was called to Premier Wax, Inc., 200 South A St., at 11:34 p.m. on Friday, and the Bartlesville Fire Department was called for assistance at 11:52 p.m., Bartlesville Fire Department's Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Berry said.

“The City of Ochelata had a water leak in the main coming to their city. They had the water shut off to the whole city and got it repaired. When they turned it back on, they heard a loud noise and thought they had caused it, but they didn’t. When they checked, the wax plant was on fire,” Berry said.

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Several other local agencies responded, including Washington County Emergency Management and the fire departments from Washington County, Vera, Ramona and Oglesby. This type of response is typical to a rural fire, as fire departments in towns like Ochelata are small and other agencies respond to assist, Berry said.

Phillips 66 provided the departments a 300-gallon container of foam to assist in smothering the flames. The fire was under control at 3:55 a.m. on Saturday and the last fire unit left at 4:24 a.m. on Saturday.

An employee of the State Fire Marshal’s Office arrived and began an investigation shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, Berry said. The Fire Marshal’s Office could not be reached for comment on the status of the investigation before press time.

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A July 23 fire at the same plant also prompted a state investigation. That case concluded without determining a cause for the fire, but Berry said the plant manager told him on Friday he suspected the July fire was caused by an electrical issue.

Premier Wax could not be reached for comment.

The company is a spin-off of Masterank, according to waxreport.com. Masterank specializes in paraffin wax which is used to make various products including paper wrap, candles and water pipe.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: State investigating second fire in six months at Premier Wax