Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - New Mexico Business Weekly:

ykyhola.blogspot.com
Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue's declaration at a Monday afternoobn press conference will potentially give the city access to count andstate resources. Smoke from the blazed could be seen for several miles and was easily visible in downtownb MilwaukeeMonday morning, more than 12 hours after the fire firstf was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were reported. “It’d a devastating day for said an obviously shakenBill Otis, chief operating officer at Patricki Cudahy, which is owne by (NYSE: SFD), of Smithfield, Va. “I’m sure this is goingg to set us back.
” Otis said at a middag press conference that the company was working to contacyits 1,800 employees, as well as various customers. Managemen of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contact with Smithfield to determinwe if some meat processing operations could be temporarilg shifted to otherSmithfield plants. The building affected by the fire is used for microwavde bacon processing and also is used fordry storage, Otis The lower level of the buildinh is used for ham processing, he said. Not all areass of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affected bythe fire, Otis said. Only a small numberf of maintenance employees were at the plan t when the firebroke out.
Production at the plangt had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for theholidagy weekend. “It’s a miracle thers were no injuries when you see the extenr ofthe fire,” Otis said. Productioj at the Patrick Cudahy complex was shut down for all three shiftwson Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice presidentr of human resources at Patricj Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out first.” The city of Cudaht issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone residing within one mile of the plant at OneSweet Apple-Wood Lane.
The affected area stretched east to Lake west toPennsylvania Avenue, north to Lunham Avenue and sout h to Ramsey Avenue. McCue said late Mondat afternoon that as manyas 15,000 of the city'sw 19,000 residents live within the evacuation Evacuees were asked to reporr directly to South Milwaukee High 801 15th Ave., South Milwaukee. city officials also had recommended that residents report to MitchellElementary School, 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in Cudahy. a late morning wind shift was leading to the evacuation of the neighborhoo d aroundthe school. The evacuation order was lifteed at about7 p.m. Monday evening and residentes were allowed to return totheir homes.
At issue was whethef the blaze will breach a fire wall and cause ammoniq stored on the site to explodw or leak intothe air, Cudahy fire chief Dan Mayed said. The ammonia is used for refrigeration at the Mayer said at the Monday afternoon preses conference that hewas "cautiously optimistic" that most of the ammoniza had been contained within the building, althougj he added that a small amount likeluy leaked out. Mayer said the blaze, which was reported at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, has been difficuly to fight because it begah in a confined space near the roof of the buildinh and above thesprinklerd system.
At one pointr early on, Mayer said, it appeared as thouggh firefighters had the blazeunder control, but the sprinkler system and roof began to collapse. "The fire sprinklers weren't able to controlk the fire," he said.