Kempsey Fire and Rescue crews were called to a fire at Smithtown's Nestle factory yesterday afternoon.
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The call came in at 4pm and two trucks from Kempsey Fire and Rescue were deployed to the factory, along with a truck from South West Rocks Fire and Rescue, a rehab vehicle from Bellingen and two Hazmat units from Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie.
The fire had started in a ventilating fan for a battery bank.
"The fire was impinging on the back up battery bank in the processing part of the factory," Kempsey Fire and Rescue station commander Tony Hackenberg said.
Crews wearing breathing apparatus worked to extinguish the blaze, using a cooling process before it was completely extinguished.
The crews were decontaminated and due to the smoke throughout the building, the factory was ventilated.
"The only damage was to the immediate area of the fan and battery bank," Mr Hackenberg said.
"The factory is a big asset to the community, a lot of people are employed there and we're fortunate this fire wasn't more serious. There was the potential for a larger fire in this particular situation and greater damage."
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