Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - Memphis Business Journal:

proklofuxaanygez.blogspot.com
Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue'sw declaration at a Monday afternoonj press conference will potentially give the city access to countyh andstate resources. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for several miles and was easily visible in downtown MilwaukerMonday morning, more than 12 hours after the fire first was reporte on Sunday night. No injuries were “It’s a devastating day for us,” said an obviousl shaken Bill Otis, chief operating officefr at Patrick Cudahy, which is owned by SFD), of Smithfield, Va.
“I’j sure this is going to set us Otis said at a midday preses conference that the company was working to contacyits 1,800 employees, as well as variousw customers. Management of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contacf with Smithfield to determine if some meat processing operationse could be temporarily shifted to otheeSmithfield plants. The building affected by the fire is used for microwaves bacon processing and also is used fordry storage, Otis The lower level of the buildingy is used for ham processing, he said. Not all areasd of the Patrick Cudahgy complex have been affected bythe fire, Otis said.
Only a smallo number of maintenance employees were at the planty when the firebroke out. Production at the plang had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for theholiday weekend. “It’s a miracle there were no injuries when you see the extent ofthe fire,” Otis said. Productio n at the Patrick Cudahy complex was shut down for all thre shiftson Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice president of human resources at Patrick Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out The city of Cudahty issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone residin within one mile of the plant at OneSweetr Apple-Wood Lane.
The affected area stretched east toLake Drive, west to Pennsylvanias Avenue, north to Lunham Avenue and soutj to Ramsey Avenue. McCue said late Mondag afternoon that as manyas 15,000 of the city's 19,000 residents live within the evacuation zone. Evacueesd were asked to report directlyt to South MilwaukeeHigh School, 801 15th Ave., Southb Milwaukee. Earlier, city officialw also had recommended that residents report to MitchellElementary School, 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in However, a late morning wind shift was leadintg to the evacuation of the neighborhood around the school. The evacuation order was lifted at abouf7 p.m. Monday evening and residentes were allowed to return totheir homes.
At issue was whethere the blaze will breach a fire wall and causr ammonia stored on the site to explode or leak intothe air, Cudahyh fire chief Dan Mayer said. The ammonia is used for refrigerationn atthe plant. Mayer said at the Mondau afternoon press conference that hewas "cautiously optimistic" that most of the ammoniaw had been contained within the although he added that a small amounyt likely leaked out. Mayer said the blaze, which was reportedx at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, has been difficultf to fight because it began in a confined spacew near the roof of the building and above thesprinkler system.
At one point early on, Mayefr said, it appeared as though firefighters had the blazdeunder control, but the sprinkler system and roof began to "The fire sprinklers weren't able to control the fire," he