NEW BRUNSWICK (From news reports) -- Firefighters from the Dieppe and Moncton fire departments responded to a fire at the Irving Tissue warehouse in Dieppe shortly after 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21.

Firefighters remained on the scene for about seven hours, and no injuries were reported, said Chief Mark Cormier of the Dieppe Fire Department.

Cormier said 20 firefighters and six engines were at the Dawson Avenue building during the peak of the operation. On arrival, they found people getting out of the building, he said.

"What we saw was racking systems and pallets falling on the floor," he said. "Initially, the firefighters could barely see a couple feet ahead of them."

Cormier said the origin of the fire was a racking system tucked behind pallets and products, which was hard to reach from the inside. Warehouse racking systems are tall horizontal and vertical storage shelves.

He said the company had called in some heavy equipment to move the product and clear the debris.

"We don't want the racking system to fall on the firefighters, so for us, the strategy was to access the area of origin through the outside wall," Cormier said.

Fire crews had to cut a big hole in the back wall of the warehouse building.

"Once we cut the hole through the wall, [the fire] was basically right there, and we were able to put it out quickly."

He said the building's sprinkler system also helped stop the flames from spreading.

Cormier said the building suffered significant smoke and water damage.

Marc Doucette, a spokesperson for J.D. Irving Ltd. called the damage minimal.

"No one was hurt ... and the plant is in the process of restarting production," he wrote iin an email.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cormier said.