Firefighters put out a blaze in the conveyor system tower at the EGT grain terminal dock at the Port of Longview on Saturday morning after a three-hour fight.

According to Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue, the fire started just before 9 a.m. in the conveyor system above a ship that was being loaded with wheat. A bit of burning debris fell into the hull of Panama-registered freighter called Navios Gemini S, but the ship was not damaged, Cowlitz 2 Assistant Chief Alan Headley said. No one was injured, he said.

Firefighters had to climb up the tower, which stands more than 100 feet high, to extinguish the fire, Headley said.

“It was a very labor intensive operation,” he said, adding that firefighters cleared the scene about 2 p.m.

About 40 firefighters from Cowlitz 2, Longview Fire, Woodland Fire, Columbia River Fire and Rescue and Clark County responded to the blaze.

The U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Agriculture and state Department of Ecology also responded to assess damage, Headley said. No grain or contaminants spilled into the river, he said.

“It’s going to slow their ship-loading operations a little bit, but it’s nothing that can’t be repaired,” Headley said.

EGT CEO Larry Clarke said Saturday afternoon that the company has not determined the damage cost. The terminal has two other ship loaders, but the company will keep them offline until investigators determine what caused the fire.

“We’ve got to clean it up, then investigate it, and we’ll see what was damaged,” Clarke said, adding that he expects to keep the loaders offline for days, not weeks.

The $200 million EGT terminal loaded grain on the first ship Feb. 7. A lengthy labor dispute with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union delayed the opening of the terminal, which first unloaded rail cars last September. The two sides reached a settlement in January.