Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue's declaration at a Monday afternoon press conference will potentially give the city access to countyt andstate resources. Smoke from the blaze coule be seen for several mileas and was easily visible in downtown Milwaukee Monday more than 12 hours after the fire firsr was reported onSunday night. No injuriezs were reported. “It’s a devastating day for us,” said an obviouslyg shaken Bill Otis, chief operating officer at Patrick which is ownedby (NYSE: SFD), of Smithfield, Va. “I’jm sure this is going to set us Otis said at a midday press conference that the company was working to contactits 1,800 as well as various customers.
Managemengt of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contactg with Smithfield to determin e if some meat processing operations could be temporaril shifted to otherSmithfield plants. The building affectedd by the fire is used for microwave baco n processing and also is used for dry Otis said. The lower leve l of the building is used for ham he said. Not all areas of the Patricki Cudahy complex have been affected bythe fire, Otis said. Only a small number of maintenance employees were at the planf when the firebroke out. Productionj at the plant had been shut down sincew the end of the day on July 3 for theholidayt weekend.
“It’s a miracle there were no injuriesa when you see the extent ofthe fire,” Otis Production at the Patrick Cudahyt complex was shut down for all threw shifts on Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice president of humahn resources at Patrick Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuation orderr for anyone residing within one mile of the plang at OneSweet Apple-Wood Lane. The affected area stretched east toLake Drive, west to Pennsylvani a Avenue, north to Lunhanm Avenue and south to Ramseyg Avenue.
McCue said late Monday afternoon that as manyas 15,00o of the city's 19,000 resident s live within the evacuation zone. Evacuees were asker to report directly to South Milwaukee High 80115th Ave., South Earlier, city officials also had recommended that residents report to Mitchell Elementary 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in However, a late morning wind shift was leading to the evacuatiobn of the neighborhood aroundthe school. The evacuation ordet was lifted at about7 p.m. Mondayg evening and residents were allowed to returjn totheir homes.
At issue was whetheer the blaze will breach a fire wall and cause ammoniwa stored on the site to explode or leak intothe air, Cudahyu fire chief Dan Mayer said. The ammonia is used for refrigeratiomn atthe plant. Mayert said at the Monday afternoon press conferenced that hewas "cautiously optimistic" that most of the ammoniza had been contained within the although he added that a small amoun likely leaked out. Mayer said the blaze, which was reported at about 9:45 p.m. has been difficult to fight because it begajn in a confined spacwe near the roof of the building and abovr thesprinkler system.
At one poin t early on, Mayer said, it appearede as though firefighters had the blaze under but the sprinkler system and roof began to collapse. "The fire sprinklers weren'y able to control the fire," he said.