North Haven firefighters battled a toxic blaze at an industrial plant in the pre-dawn hours Saturday

Nov. 24--Flames were shooting through the roof of the Parker-Hannifin Corp. building on Defco Park Road when North Haven firefighters rolled up at 3:11 a.m. Saturday, and the presence of acids and other chemicals turned the scene into a hazardous-materials incident, officials said.

A police officer working an extra-duty job nearby called in a report of smoke in the area, North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said. Fire crews were confronted with heavy fire in the back of the 32,000-square foot manufacturing plant, which makes aviation seals and gaskets.

Hamden and Wallingford firefighters responded to the scene to help North Haven, and North Branford covered the town station.

The blaze punched through the roof even though the sprinkler system was activated. The fire was extinguished by 5 a.m.North Haven fire officials called in the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a private contractor to begin clean-up.

The chief said construction work was going on in the plant and he noted that the fire alarm had not been tripped.

"This was a challenging fire, with a large facility, bitterly cold conditions and the added element of unknown and potentially dangerous chemicals present at the scene," Januszewski said.

He said he was impressed with the effort "despite the fire's head start with a non-functioning alarm system present in the building. Additionally, had it not been for the alert police officer in the area, the outcome may have been much worse."

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