LONGVIEW, Washington (From news reports) -- Public records show employees at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview raised alarms about deteriorating equipment and maintenance needs years before last month's chemical tank rupture that killed 11 people and injured seven others.

Investigation reports following a 2023 wood chip fire at the plant suggest the company had cut back on equipment upkeep and maintenance projects, instead asking employees to perform maintenance on their days off for overtime pay -- pay that was cut about a month before the fire broke out.

The July 2023 fire started on a wood chip conveyer belt before it spread to a barge, a dock, and a maintenance building, according to investigators. The fire burned through the night, took three days for firefighters to fully extinguish and clear the scene, and caused an estimated $3.5 million in damage.

Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue investigators ruled the fire accidental -- there's no evidence it was connected to the white liquor tank that collapsed last month.

Investigators said they couldn't determine the exact cause of the 2023 fire, but they concluded it was "probable that the fire was mechanical in nature secondary to the decrease in maintenance on the aging equipment."

Two Nippon Dynawave employees told investigators that "the company dissolved maintenance of the conveyors approximately 6-7 years" before the fire. Workers also said Nippon Dynawave had been "paying overtime for the past year and a half for the employees to come and perform maintenance on their time off," according to investigation documents.

One employee said the company had been ordering greaseless conveyor belt rollers, with some sourced from sites like Amazon, in an effort to reduce ongoing upkeep needs.

The more recent disaster -- a rupture of a 900,000-gallon white liquor tank on May 26, 2026 -- is under investigation by multiple government agencies, with its cause still undetermined.

Outside the mill in Longview, a memorial honors the victims, with their names and photos displayed alongside flowers, tributes, and some of their favorite snacks and candies.

Since the tank collapse, Nippon Dynawave leadership has largely deflected questions about equipment maintenance and inspections.

"We approach it with the utmost care in everything that we do, I'll let the facts speak for themselves," said Brian Wood, Nippon Dynawave director of support services, during a news press conference after being asked about the structural integrity of plant equipment.

The company said it will continue paying employees who can't return to work due to the tank collapse through at least August 8. The company did not immediately respond to KGW's questions Monday about the 2023 fire and the maintenance concerns raised by employees at that time.

Washington's Department of Labor and Industries has said its investigation into the May implosion could take up to six months.