Four injured in Green Township business fire

Four people are being treated for smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a business in Green Township Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out in the 3600 block of Muddy Creek Road just before 8:30 a.m., said Lt. Mike Nie, public information officer for Green Township Fire Department. Crews remained on scene until almost 10 a.m.

Crews had the fire under control by about 8:30 a.m., but continued to search the building for victims, according to emergency communications.

Four men were transported to area hospitals for smoke inhalation. They were split between Mercy Hospital West and Good Samaritan Western Ridge Hospital, Nie said. He was not sure of their conditions, but said all four walked out of the building on their own.

According to Hamilton County documents, the building where the fire broke out is owned by Zwanenberg Food Group USA Inc., a European producer of deli meats and exporter of meat products.

Duke Energy crews also responded to the scene to shut off power to the building.

Nie said the fire began with an electrical problem in a vacuum motor. There is no exact damage estimate yet, but since some of the food product was exposed, it could be costly.

"The motor itself is probably worth $5,000, but the more significant problem is, because it's a food processing plant, there is now some contamination," he said. "The motor part itself is probably the minor part of the damage when you consider how much product is going to have to be thrown away."