Date: October 15, 2020
Location: Stuttgart, Arkansas (USA)
Address: 100 S. College Street, 72160
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Grain Dust
Industry: Rice Milling (Food Products)
Equipment: Storage Building
Company: Riceland Foods
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: Three Injured
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to its company page, Riceland Foods Inc. was established in 1921 and is one of the largest miller and marketer of rice in the world. Headquartered in Stuttgart, Arkansas, it consists of over 9,000 farmer-members in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. Each year, Riceland Foods Inc. receives, stores, transports, processes and markets more than 125 million bushels of grain, equivalent to roughly 25 percent of the total United States crop.
Incident Description:
On October 16, 2020, AP News reported an explosion at a rice processing facility in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
When firefighters arrived, they were met by a supervisor who told them that there had been an explosion and the sprinkler system had been activated on the first floor but not the upper ones. Crews made their way to the third floor, extinguishing hot spots as they found them.
At the top of the grain bins, they found a long, open room filled with smoke and dust. Around 15 ducts were separated from the bins and seriously damaged. When firefighters found multiple hot spots on the floor and on top of the ducts hanging from the ceiling, they pulled the ductwork down to eliminate the spread of the flames.
Three workers suffered minor injuries, for which they received hospital treatment. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a building used to store rough and milled rice experienced ‘significant’ damage.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but a company representative stated that it appeared to have been caused by a spark igniting grain dust in the rice storage building.
Sources:
AP News
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
