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Fire, explosions destroy Arkansas meat packing plant; ammonia gas leak forces evacuationsBOONEVILLE, Arkansas (AP)--A fire set off a series of explosions at a meat packing plant, destroying the factory and causing an ammonia gas leak that forced 180 people from their homes, authorities said. There were no reported injuries. The fire started March 23 in a freezer section of the Cargill Meat Solutions plant in this western Arkansas town of 4,000 residents, said Logan County emergency manager Don Fairbanks. Workers "were doing some welding on some fans," Fairbanks said. "The welders had put their equipment up and turned around and there was a fire." "The entire facility is gone," said Tonya Roberts, a spokeswoman for the emergency response effort. At least one fire still burned March 23 night at the plant. The Cargill Inc.-owned plant, which employs about 800 people and produces more than 2 million pounds of ground beef and steak per week, is the town's largest employer, according to the Booneville Chamber of Commerce. "They'll be applying for unemployment and food stamps" if the plant closes, said Manuel Mann, 69, pastor of the Southside Assembly of God in Booneville. "It's really going to hurt and this town is already hurting." Mark Klein, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc., said the plant was closed March 23 but that about 20 contractors and a few other employees were at the site at the time of the fire. "Everybody's good. There's been no injuries," said Gina Kinney, a dispatcher with the Logan County Sheriff's Department. Firefighters were unable to fight the blaze using conventional equipment because of the danger from the gasses, so they opted to let it burn itself out. Authorities said that as the fire grew, a series of small explosions rattled the 150,000-square-foot plant, which consists of metal-framed buildings. By late March 23, a hazardous materials team entered the smoldering plant to check the gauges on the anhydrous ammonia tanks. They all read empty, said Roberts. "It either went up into the atmosphere or burned up," Roberts said at a news conference. "The piping from the tanks runs all throughout the plant, so there are lots of places for it to leak or burn." Cargill officials did not offer a damage estimate, but Logan County Judge Edgar Holt estimated the plant was worth more than $100 million before the fire. "They just did a $40 million expansion and it's gone," Holt said. Cargill Inc. has about 2,000 employees in Arkansas, according to its website. 3/31/08 Date: 3/27/08 Advertisement
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