Fire Causes $2,000 in Damage at Washington Fruit Processing Facility

Date:  March 17, 2019
Location:  Grandview, Washington (USA)
Address:  201 Euclid Road, 98930

Type:  Dust Fire

Fuel: Fruit Seed Powder
Industry:  Fruit Processing (Food Processing)
Equipment:  Dust Collector

Company:  FruitSmart
Database Incidents:  None Recorded

Loss:  No Injuries
Capital Cost:  $2,000

Status:  Open
Confirmation:  Unconfirmed

Company Description:
According to the company website, FruitSmart produces a wide range of fruit juices, purees, concentrates, seed powders and extracts year-round. It was founded in 1982 as BRB Seeds and changed the name to FruitSmart in 2000. The present-day facility in Grandview, Washington is 128,000 square feet, including offices, production area and dry/refrigerated/freezer storage.  FruitSmart also owns and operates a 335,000 square foot outdoor storage facility in nearby Prosser, Washington.

Incident Description:
On March 17, 2019, the Yakima Herald reported a fire at a fruit processing facility in Grandview, Washington.

The Grandview City Fire Department was called to the scene at 12:30 a.m. They located the fire in the dust collector and were able to extinguish it by 1:00 a.m. A department representative told reporters that the dust collector experienced around $2,000 in damage but they managed to keep the flames from spreading into the main building.

No injuries were reported.

OSHA Inspections:
An establishment search turned up three OSHA inspections for FruitSmart but they were not flagged for combustible dust.

Sources:
Yakima Herald