A Cargill Animal Nutrition plant in Salem, New York, suffered a fire September 15. Officials say the fire was caused by combustion of dust in a grain bin.
The fire broke out in a silo just after midnight on September 15, according to reports. The fire was contained in the silo and did not spread anywhere else on the property.
The blaze broke out on the third floor of the silo, and firefighters had to drag hoses to the fifth floor to get to the fire. It took crews about two hours to get to the fire. In total, crews from seven fire departments fought the fire for more than four hours. Multiple fire departments were called to respond due to concern about a possible explosion.
“It was confined to the silo itself so we knew there was no structural damage. It took us a long time. We wanted to make sure we had our bases covered so we didn’t have an explosion. We talked to the Cargill representatives and got their info on what to do and not to do and we proceeded forward,” said Salem Fire Chief Bob Graham.
Cargill makes animal feed and other products at that location. No injuries were reported.
