Live Oak/Milstar Complex and Carpet Service Center Fire - (LaGrange, Georgia - January 31, 1995) » Building History and Occupancy

The Live Oak/Milstar Complex and Carpet Service Center is located on the south side of LaGrange on Lukken Industrial Drive West (See Appendix A). The area is a combination of established and developing industrial sites along a primary east-west road. The area is either industrial building or open land except for a group of single story wood frame dwellings immediately to the north. According to LaGrange Fire Department’s Public Information Officer, approximately 50 homes were evacuated during the fire and for about three days thereafter.

The first building on the site was constructed in 1968 as a 270 feet by 420 feet single-story with partial mezzanine, Carpet Service Center. This facility received carpet manufactured elsewhere, stored it in carpet roll racks, and cut carpet rolls to size for orders. This function continued in operation at the time of the fire although on a reportedly smaller scale.

In 1970, the Service Center was expanded to the north and to the east by a roughly 118,000 square feet addition. At the time of the fire, this area contained carpet roll storage in racks and cardboard boxed carpet tile stored in racks and in the aisles. The former exterior walls became fire separations between the original building and the 1970 addition. Large lift truck door openings were indicated to be protected by single or double rolling fire doors.

The Live Oak/Milstar Complex is the manufacturing plant and was constructed in 1972 by an addition of about 280,000 square feet to the then existing complex’s north and east sides. Besides manufacturing, the 1972 addition provided more storage area, offices and support facilities, such as testing laboratory and maintenance shops.

In 1973, a 24,000 square feet addition filled an open area on the south side of the complex. Originally the addition was for use as warehouse and shipping space. At the time of the fire, this area was being used for the cutting and packaging of carpet tile squares which was the plant’s product. A small shipping/staging area of about 8,000 square feet was added on the complex’s west side near the northwest corner in 1986. The addition contained numerous truck dock doors and was separated from the warehouse area by the former masonry outside wall with openings protected by rolling fire doors.

A thermal transfer fluid system was installed in the northeast corner of the manufacturing plant. Thermal transfer fluid systems are often referred to as “hot oil” systems. The system at the Live Oak Complex consisted of a main fluid supply and return loop with three separate heat consumer or load loops. The main loop consisted of two direct fired heaters with two circulating fluid pumps located outside the northeast corner of the complex. This equipment was located under a protective metal canopy. Milliken indicated that the main fluid loop operated at 50 to 60 pounds per square inch (psi) pressure with an estimated flow rate of 200 gallons per minute (gpm). A 500 gallon capacity expansion tank was located above the roof of the two-story mixing and blending building and reportedly was connected to the main fluid circulating loop. It was estimated that the total system - main loop and the three load loops - contained about 3,000 gallons of hot oil (heat transfer fluid).

Each of the heat consumer or load loops were described as having independent circulating pumps which moved the hot oil around the loops. Each load loop had a temperature control valve which admitted heated oil from the main loop and returned cooled oil to the main loop’s return path for reheating. The circulating flow rates of the load loops were not identified but operating pressures were thought to be similar to the main loop. Control and shut-down of each load loop was reported to be independent of the main loop.

According to the LaGrange Fire Department, the manufacturing equipment in the area of fire origin was last modified in 1994. This equipment was identified as “Laminating Range Number 6” and it attached different types of backing materials to rolls of carpeting. The range is an assembly of a continuous adhesive coater and heated rollers through which the carpet product passes. The laminating range consisted of two equipment levels and was 15 to 20 feet wide and 100 to 150-feet long. The heated proprietary adhesive was described by Milliken as a molten plasticizer rather than a solvent based material. It was blended in heated mixing vats located in an area adjacent to the range in the northeast corner of the complex. At the time of the fire, this laminating range was processing carpeting and a cushion type backing material described as a roll of felt with a urethane foam cushion.

The roll of backing material and roll of carpet are each coated on one side with the heated plasticizer adhesive in a continuous process. The two components are joined as they pass through rollers heated by the hot oil. Operating temperature of the rollers was about 3800 F. Each heated roller was supplied with hot oil through a 1-1/2 inch diameter rotary coupling. Another rotating coupling returns the oil to the closed loop circulating system. Each coupling was supplied from a 3-inch diameter insulated pipe with a similar size pipe on the oil return line.

After the carpet and backing are joined, the product is rolled at the end of the laminating range to await further processing. These in-process rolls were temporarily stored at various locations throughout the manufacturing area. The additional processing included cutting the rolled product into carpet squares and usually adding an adhesive and protective cover over it. The squares would be packaged into cardboard boxes, marked, stacked into a pallet load and moved to storage.

Nearby Range 6 was a similar piece of equipment, identified as “Laminating Range Number 400.” This unit was also served by the main hot oil circulating loop and also attached backing material to rolls of carpeting. The third load loop on the hot oil system was the adhesive mixing vats located on the second floor of the adjoining building. The operating temperature and characteristics of this load were not available. The 500 gallon hot oil system expansion tank was located above the roof on this building.

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