Baling machine catches fire at Aurora paper plant

A fire that broke out Monday at International Paper in Aurora remains under investigation.

No one was injured in the afternoon fire, according to a news release from the Aurora Fire Department. The majority of the damage was to a large cardboard baling machine that had caught fire, Battalion Chief Jim Rhodes said.

Firefighters were called to 4160 Campus Drive at 2:18 p.m., responding to multiple calls from employees who said that one of the facility's machines was ablaze.

When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke escaping from a loading dock door. The evacuation was still in progress.

A total of 27 firefighters remained on the scene for three hours, first deploying a hose to contain the fire and searching the building to complete the evacuation. Once all employees left the building, crews began extinguishing the fire.

Rhodes said the cause does not appear suspicious.