beer & fire firegeezer on 30 May 2008 09:00 am
Matt Brewery Fire Update
Observer-Dispatch
THE FIRE THAT DESTROYED THE BOTTLING PLANT at the F. X. Matt Brewery in Utica, New York, last night is calmed down now. See last night’s Firegeezer report HERE.
As of midnight, Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks said that the fire still was not under control. But after 3:00 am it was apparent that the heart of the blaze had been knocked down and this morning the FD is just working on the hot spots.
Company president Nicholas Matt told the Observer-Dispatch:
“It’s obviously serious,” Matt said by telephone late Thursday. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’ve lost our canning operation. The bottling operation is still in question.”
He said he’ll meet at 9 a.m. today with the employees of the brewery. He said he hopes to know more by then and have a better idea of what lies ahead.
The brewery employs close to 130 people. Its mainstay products in recent years have included the Saranac line of beers and Utica Club, whose popularity has been renewed this decade as a younger generation finds a beer once beloved by its grandparents.
The firm has already been contacted by several other breweries with offers of whatever help they need to keep production going, whether it be brewing or bottling the product. The fire has not affected the brew house, but the bottling/canning operation accounts for about 20% of the company’s business.
The story is being constantly updated by the Utica Observer-Dispatch HERE and by WKTV Ch. 2 HERE.
WSYR-TV Ch. 9 has this video report this morning with some fire footage:
