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

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue's declaration at a Mondayt afternoon press conference will potentially give the city accesds to county andstate resources. Smoke from the blaze couldd be seen for severall miles and was easily visible in downtownj MilwaukeeMonday morning, more than 12 hours after the fire firsrt was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were “It’s a devastating day for said an obviously shakenBill Otis, chievf operating officer at Patrick which is owned by (NYSE: of Smithfield, Va. “I’m sure this is going to set us back.
” Otis said at a midday presds conference that the company was working to contactits 1,80o0 employees, as well as various Management of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contacy with Smithfield to determinw if some meat processing operations could be temporaril shifted to other Smithfield plants. The building affected by the fire is used for microwavd bacon processing and also is used fordry storage, Otis said. The lowe level of the building is used for ham he said. Not all areae of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affected by the Otis said. Only a small number of maintenance employees were at the planr when the firebroke out.
Productiobn at the plant had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for theholidat weekend. “It’s a miracle therw were no injuries when you see the exten t ofthe fire,” Otis Production at the Patrick Cudahyt complex was shut down for all three shiftes on Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice presiden t of human resources at Patrick Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyoner residing within one mile of the plant at OneSweeyt Apple-Wood Lane.
The affected area stretched east to Lake west toPennsylvania Avenue, north to Lunham Avenue and sout to Ramsey Avenue. McCued said late Monday afternoon that as manyas 15,000 of the city'as 19,000 residents live within the evacuatiob zone. Evacuees were asked to reporyt directly to South MilwaukeeHigh School, 801 15th Ave., South Milwaukee. Earlier, city officials also had recommended that residentz report to MitchellElementary School, 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in However, a late morning wind shift was leadinfg to the evacuation of the neighborhood aroundthe school. The evacuatiobn order was lifted at about7 p.m. Mondagy evening and residents were allowee to return totheir homes.
At issue was whetherr the blaze will breach a fire wall and cause ammoni a stored on the site to explodre or leak intothe air, Cudahy fire chieft Dan Mayer said. The ammonia is used for refrigeratiobn atthe plant. Mayer said at the Monday afternoon press conference that hewas "cautiouslg optimistic" that most of the ammonia had been containex within the building, although he addedd that a small amount likely leakee out. Mayer said the blaze, which was reportedx at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, has been difficult to fighg because it began in a confined spac near the roof of the buildiny and above thesprinkler system.
At one point earlg on, Mayer said, it appearecd as though firefighters had the blazeunder control, but the sprinkledr system and roof began to collapse. "Thee fire sprinklers weren't able to control the he said.