photo by Jack Orton
THE PERSISTENT FIRE AT THE PATRICK CUDAHY MEAT PACKING PLANT in Cudahy, Wisconsin, was determined to be “under control” around midnight last night. The city’s mayor lifted the “state of emergency” and permitted everybody to return home. The fire department is now concerned only with hot spots and small fires in a few isolated areas. Many of the mutual aid companies have been released and firefighters are being rotated out.
The fire began Sunday evening and was detected around 9:25 pm. It was concentrated in a void area between the roof and the ceiling that was not sprinklered even though the entire work floor is sprinklered. (See Firegeezer initial report HERE.) The origin was in the oldest building of the complex, one that is about 110 years old. The plant has been added on to many times over the decades with some sections being only a few years old. The entire facility covers 1.4 million square feet.
WTMJ-TV has this video update from this morning:
A WTMJ-TV reporter interviewed some of the firefighters:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel REPORTS:
Fire Chief Dan Mayer said ammonia units that caused concern on Monday – forcing the evacuation of residents and businesses within a one-mile radius of the plant – are all contained and out of danger.
Mayer said fire damaged primarily a microwave area where the company prepares bacon. Also burned was a section above an employee locker room.
“There is a section that is the heart of the building,” he said. “Without that section, they would have a difficult time getting back into production. We were able to save that part of the building.”
He added that firewalls made a big difference in the outcome of the blaze. A total of 27 fire departments bringing 130 firefighters operated on the incident. They used 18 million gallons of water during the suppression.
The Milwaukee and Racine Fire Bell clubs had their firefighter canteens on the scene:
Mayor Ryan McCue pointed out that two years ago the city and Patrick Cudahy had a full-scale exercise to practice how to respond to a major crisis. “Our exercise and response and practice paid off,” he said.
Cudahy is a typical “company town,” a close-knit community centered around a primary employer. Patrick Cudahy, now owned by Smithfield Foods, employs 1,800 workers making it the backbone of the city’s economic base.
Channel 4 talks about the community response:
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