Date: October 26, 2018
Location: Washington, Indiana (USA)
Address: 1510 W 450 N, 47501
Type: Dust Fire
Fuel: Grain Dust
Industry: Animal Feed (Food Processing)
Equipment: Dust Collector
Company: Perdue Farms
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: Unknown
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to the company website, Perdue Farms is a family-run business with operations across the globe. It was established in 1920 and is headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland. It is the parent company of Perdue Foods, which is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company and Perdue AgriBusiness, which ranks among the top United States grain companies. Perdue Farms has 2016 annual sales of $6.7 billion.
Incident Description:
On October 26, 2018, the Washington Times-Herald reported a fire at a feed mill north of Washington, Indiana. According to the Washington Township fire chief, a grain dust collection bin was undergoing maintenance when a spark was ignited and set the collected dust on fire.
Employees tried to put out the fire but failed because it was on the caked-on dust inside the machine, making it difficult for them to apply enough water to douse the flames.
When firefighters arrived, they used an aerial truck to get 40 to 50 feet into the air and pour over 6,000 gallons of water onto the fire. The weather was rainy, which wet down additional grain dust and kept the fire from spreading, but according to Powder & Bulk Solids, crews had to call for backup units to get it under control.
The fire was limited to the bin, which had to be taken apart. Officials estimated that the fire, although contained, still did thousands of dollars in damage. No injuries were reported.
OSHA Inspections:
An establishment search turned up three OSHA inspections for Perdue Farms in Washington, Indiana, but they are not reported to involve combustible dust.
