A fire in a ventilation duct shut down a Villa Rica plant for a few hours Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Carroll County Fire Rescue responded to a fire at Printpack Inc. on Andrew Way around 3 p.m., Deputy Chief Bud Benefield said.

“The fire was contained to the ventilation system in the plant,” he said. “Damage was minimal, but it had the potential to create serious damage.”

Benefield said the plant was down for about three hours while smoke was cleared out.

“They make potato chip bags for a lot of companies, Frito-Lay being one of the bigger companies,” he said.

The fire was fueled by residue built up in the ventilation ducts, Benefield said, and extinguished in half an hour. Firefighters were at Printpack for three hours helping to air out smoke.

“We used very little water,” Benefield said. “We actually carried some of the burning material out of the building.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but firefighters believe it was a malfunction that sparked it.

“We tend to believe that could have been the cause. We do know it was an accidental fire,” Benefield said. “It occurred while the plant was in production.”

Benefield said no one was injured.