Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue's declaration at a Mondaty afternoon press conference will potentially give the city accesds to county andstate resources. Smoke from the blazed could be seen for several miles and was easily visible in downtown MilwaukeeMonday morning, more than 12 hours aftee the fire first was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were reported. “It’s a devastatin g day for us,” said an obviously shaken Bill Otis, chief operatinfg officer at Patrick Cudahy, which is owned by (NYSE: of Smithfield, Va. “I’m sure this is goingh to set us back.
” Otis said at a middayt press conference that the company was working to contactits 1,809 employees, as well as variouxs customers. Management of Patrick Cudahy also has been in contact with Smithfield to determine if some meat processinhg operations could be temporarily shifted to otherSmithfieled plants. The building affected by the fire is used for microwave bacon processing and also is used for dry Otis said. The lower level of the buildinyg is used forham processing, he said. Not all area s of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affected by the Otis said. Only a small number of maintenance employeews were at the plant when the firebroke out.
Production at the planr had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for theholidagy weekend. “It’s a miracle there were no injuriesx when you see the extent ofthe fire,” Otis Production at the Patrick Cudahy complex was shut down for all three shifts on Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice president of humanj resources at Patrick Cudahy. “We’vew got to put the fire out The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone residingf within one mile of the plant at OneSweetf Apple-Wood Lane.
The affected area stretchedr east toLake Drive, west to Pennsylvania north to Lunham Avenue and south to Ramseyh Avenue. McCue said late Mondauy afternoon that as manyas 15,000o of the city's 19,000 residents live within the evacuation Evacuees were asked to report directly to Soutg Milwaukee High School, 801 15th Ave., South Earlier, city officials also had recommended that residentz report to Mitchell Elementary School, 5950 S. Illinoix Ave. in Cudahy. However, a late morning wind shif was leading to the evacuation of the neighborhood aroundsthe school. The evacuation order was lifted at abou7 p.m. Monday evening and residents were allowee to return totheir homes.
At issue was whethee the blaze will breac h a fire wall and cause ammonias stored on the site to explodwe or leak intothe air, Cudahy fire chief Dan Maye said. The ammonia is used for refrigeration atthe plant. Mayer said at the Monday afternoon preses conference that hewas "cautiously optimistic" that most of the ammoniqa had been contained within the building, although he added that a small amount likely leaked out. Mayerr said the blaze, which was reportec at about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, has been difficulgt to fight because it begahn in a confined space near the roof of the buildinh and above thesprinkler system.
At one poinrt early on, Mayer said, it appeare as though firefighters had the blazeunder control, but the sprinklert system and roof began to "The fire sprinklers weren't able to contro the fire," he said. Adding to the challenge of fighting the fire is the fact that the buildinb ison old, wooden structure. More than 130 firefighters from 27 area fire departmentx continued to battle the blaze lateMondag afternoon. "We have a lot of sore and stifff firefighters," Mayer said.
As of early Mondahy afternoon, no injuries to firefighters had been Mayer said firefighters hadbeen "gaining on the until winds shifted to the northwest after blowing to the southeast earlier in the day. The shift preventexd the fire, for the time being, from spreadinv to other buildings at the PatrickCudahyt complex, Mayer said. However, the changew in wind direction allowed the fire to spread to anothe r part of the building whers the blazeis focused. Firefighters have been unabls to get water into part of the which has caused the fire to continuseto burn, he said. "This is a very old and largr building," Mayer said.
McCue had called on all residents and businessew in Cudahyand St. Francis to curb theif use of water while firefighters continue to battle a blaze that repeatedlhy flared up throughoutthe day. At about midday, McCu e considered requesting a Nationao Guard presence in Cudahyto "securd the city's streets" should the fire continu e on into the night and force residentse to remain away from their homes. But latert in the day, he said he no longere anticipated that the National Guard would be needed.
In addition to the evacuation of residentx inthe area, businesses within the evacuation area also have including the vast majority along Packard Avenue, McCue The closures include the city's largestg employers. In addition to the city's largest singld employer, Patrick Cudahy, the fire has forced the temporaryy closuresof , , and the Pick 'n Save location on Packard Avenure south of the The chain's operator, Roundy's Supermarkets Inc. of said its Pick 'n Save store in St. on Whitnall Avenue, remained open and providesd water tothe firefighters. Ladish Co. sent its firsy shift of workers home Monday and is askingits second-shift workerss not to report to work.
The forging operationn has yet to decide whether tohave third-shift workers report to the 5481 S. Packard Ave. Patricjk Cudahy posted on its Web , to provide more information for employeesand customers.