CENTERBURG — An equipment fire at Mid-Ohio Paving, 6095 Columbus Road north of Centerburg, kept two fire departments tied up for hours Tuesday afternoon as firefighters used water and foam to keep the fire contained.

According to Central Ohio Joint Fire District Chief Joe Porter, his department was dispatched to the fire at 10:24 a.m., and responded with an engine-rescue and a tanker.

Mutual aid was requested from the Hartford Volunteer Fire Department. A Hartford tanker and grass truck responded.

Porter said flames were coming from the bottom of the sealed equipment when firefighters arrived. They used water and foam to bring the temperature of the tanks down enough to allow firefighters to get close enough to fight the fire in the machinery.

“We were trying to keep it cooled down so the guys could walk on top of the machines,” Porter said. “The big thing was keeping it cooled down enough so we could get to the inside.”

Porter said he believed Mid-Oho Paving was last inspected about a year and a half ago, before the equipment which caught fire was installed. He said the equipment, which has large connected steel tanks, was used for cleaning gravel to prepare for making asphalt.

“They had just started up for the day, and apparently something didn’t work right in there,” Porter said. “We’ve got some checking to do inside of there.”