More than 80 firefighters battled another large fire for hours at Novelis plant (photos, video)

Scriba, N.Y. — More than 80 firefighters from 20 departments battled a large five-alarm fire for hours Thursday at the Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego County.

Crews fought the blaze from inside the plant’s hot mill section and also extended at least four ladder trucks high into the air to spray water on the roof.

Tanker trucks ferried water to and from the facility to supplement water onsite. Firefighters also connected a hose to a nearby property to bring in more water.

Firefighters from Oswego and Onondaga counties responded to the fire at the Scriba plant, according to Terry Bennett, the emergency services program coordinator in Oswego County. It was the second major fire there in two months.

So many fire departments were called in because it was difficult to muster enough volunteer firefighters during the middle of the day to fight the fire, she said.

The blaze was reported at about 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Heavy smoke and fire was seen in the plant’s hot mill section and was spreading into the roll shop, according to dispatches from the Oswego County 911 Center.

The fire was mostly knocked down by 12:20 p.m., Bennett said. Some crews were starting to depart the facility at 2:15 p.m.

Everyone working at the plant was safely evacuated, Novelis said in a statement.

Bennett said Novelis will lead the investigation into the cause of the fire.

The company said in a statement at 4 p.m. that the fire was fully out but it hasn’t been able to fully assess the fire damage yet or investigate the cause of the fire.

Around 5 p.m., firefighters were still on the scene working, Bennet said.

The fire could deal a blow to efforts to get the plant running again after an earlier fire in September.

That fire damaged the roof and halted the plant’s ability to heat up aluminum ingots, the first step to make rolls of aluminum sheets.

Novelis says it is the world’s largest supplier of aluminum sheets to the automotive industry, with a global market share of about 50%.

The Sept. 16 fire severely disrupted the American auto industry supply chain. The loss of the plant’s aluminum sheets temporarily shut down auto plants in Tennessee and Michigan. Ford Motor Co. estimates the issues cost the company $1 billion.

Novelis officials had previously said they were hoping to bring the plant back online next month.

The company has touted that it was running a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation to repair the plant. Stadium lights were brought in so crews could work around the clock.

Novelis employs more than 1,100 people at the plant in Scriba, just east of Oswego. It is one of Oswego County’s largest employers.