Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - The Business Review (Albany):

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue's declaration at a Monday afternoon presse conference will potentially give the city access to county andstate resources. Smoke from the blaze could be seen for severalk miles and was easily visible in downtown MilwaukesMonday morning, more than 12 hoursd after the fire first was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were reported. “It’s a devastatintg day for us,” said an obviously shakenh Bill Otis, chief operatin officer at Patrick Cudahy, whichb is owned by (NYSE: SFD), of Smithfield, Va.
“I’j sure this is going to set us Otis said at a midday pressa conference that the company was working to contacftits 1,800 employees, as well as various Management of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contacyt with Smithfield to determine if some meat processing operations could be temporarily shifted to otherd Smithfield plants. The building affectedx by the fire is used for microwave bacon processing and also is used for dry Otis said. The lower level of the buildinvg is used for ham he said. Not all areaz of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affectedd bythe fire, Otis Only a small number of maintenance employeez were at the plant when the fire broke out.
Productiobn at the plant had been shut down sincr the end of the day on July 3 for theholidayt weekend. “It’s a miracle there were no injuries when you see the extengt ofthe fire,” Otis Production at the Patrick Cudahu complex was shut down for all threew shifts on Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice president of human resourcesx at Patrick Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuatiob order for anyone residing within one mile of the planrt at OneSweet Apple-Wood Lane.
The affected area stretched east to Lake west toPennsylvania Avenue, north to Lunhan Avenue and south to Ramsey Avenue. McCue said late Mondahy afternoon that as manyas 15,000 of the city'se 19,000 residents live within the evacuation Evacuees were asked to report directly to Southb Milwaukee High School, 801 15th South Milwaukee. Earlier, city officials also had recommendec that residents report to Mitchell Elementary 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in However, a late morning wind shift was leadintg to the evacuation of the neighborhood around the The evacuation order was lifted at abourt7 p.m.
Monday evening and residentd were allowed to return to their At issue was whether the blaze will breach a fire wall and causew ammonia stored on the site to explode or leak intothe air, Cudahyg fire chief Dan Mayer said. The ammonia is used for refrigeratiojn atthe plant. Mayer said at the Mondag afternoon press conference that hewas "cautiouslu optimistic" that most of the ammonia had been containef within the building, although he added that a small amount likely leaked out. Mayer said the which was reported atabout 9:45 p.m. Sunday, has been difficulft to fight because it began in a confine d space near the roof of the buildint and above thesprinkler system.
At one poin early on, Mayer it appeared as though firefighterws had the blazeunder control, but the sprinklet system and roof began to collapse. "Thee fire sprinklers weren't able to control the fire," he