Date: June 25, 2018
Location: Lancaster, Ohio (USA)
Address: 3775 Lancaster New Lexington Road SE, 43130-9314
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Cereal Dust
Industry: Cereal Production (Food Processing)
Equipment: Cereal Dryer
Company: TreeHouse Foods Inc
Previous Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, TreeHouse Foods Inc is a multinational food processing company based in Oak Park, Illinois. It was established in 2005 and is best known for food and beverages produced by TreeHouse Private Brands and Bay Valley Foods, LLC (which includes E.D. Smith and Flagstone Foods). The company has more than 16,000 employees and a network of facilities across the U.S., Canada and Italy.
Description of Cereal Dust Fire:
On June 27 2018 Powder & Bulk Solids reported a fire at a cereal processing facility in Lancaster, Ohio. Officials stated that the blaze broke out after cereal dust ignited in the vents of a piece of cereal drying equipment.
Firefighters arrived at the scene at around 9:30 p.m. By that point about 100 workers had been evacuated from the building and some of the flames had reached nearly 50 feet high. Despite its intensity, fire crews were about to extinguish the blaze within an hour.
No injuries were reported during the incident. The Lancaster Fire Department Captain said that dust fires break out at the plant around “once every five years,” but added that staff help to reduce the risk of combustible dust incidents by cleaning.
Previous Incidents:
An earlier fire was reported by the Lancaster Eagle Gazette on April 24, 2017. The fire broke out in a grain hopper but was quickly contained by fire crews. According to the fire department, employees were evacuated and no one was injured.
Sources:
Powder & Bulk Solids
