A fire was reported at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on Monday, where military contractors manufacture the 155 mm round. The cause of the ammunition plant’s fire currently remains under investigation.
In a statement released on Facebook, the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant explained that emergency crews responded to a fire at the ammunition plant’s heat treat building at roughly 3:30 p.m. The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant noted that the fire was completely extinguished and that no injuries had been caused by the incident.
“We are currently assessing the damage to determine possible impacts to facilities or production,” The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant stated. “The safety of our workforce is our primary concern, and we appreciate the quick response of our emergency personnel.”
According to WNEP 16, firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire after responding to the fire. The outlet reported that the fire remains under investigation by Lackawanna County officials and that officials were working to assess the damage sustained in the fire and the potential impact it could have on ammunition production.
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According to the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command’s website, the ammunition plant, which houses seven different buildings and a storage capacity of over 500,000 square feet, produces “large caliber metal projectiles and mortar projectiles.” According to WNEP 16, the main focus of the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, which is operated by General Dynamics, is the 155 mm round.
A picture shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Colby Badhwar, a security columnist, shows smoke rising from the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant. Badhwar tweeted, “There is a fire at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant. The Scranton Plant, a government owned contractor operated facility, is the main producer of 155mm artillery shell bodies in the United States.”
During a Tuesday press conference Jeff Schogol, a Task and Purpose reporter, asked Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, who serves as the Pentagon’s press secretary, about Monday’s Scranton Army Ammunition Plant fire.
“There was as a fire at the Army’s ammunition plant in Scranton yesterday,” Schogol said. “At the risk of invoking Billy Joel, do we know who started the fire?” In response to the reporter’s question, Ryder said, “I’d have to refer you to the Army because we didn’t start the fire.”
