Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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Cudahy Mayor Ryan McCue'w declaration at a Monday afternoon press conferencre will potentially give the city access to county andstated resources. Smoke from the blazr could be seen for several miles and was easily visiblr in downtown MilwaukeeMonday morning, more than 12 hours after the fire firsty was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were reported. “It’sd a devastating day for said an obviously shaken Bill chief operating officer atPatrick Cudahy, which is ownee by (NYSE: SFD), of Smithfield, Va. “I’m sure this is goingh to set us back.
” Otis said at a middaty press conference that the company was working to contactits 1,80 employees, as well as various customers. Management of Patrick Cudahgy also has been in contact with Smithfield to determine if some meat processing operationx could be temporarily shifted to otherSmithfield plants. The buildint affected by the fire is used for microwavr bacon processing and also is used for dry Otis said. The lower level of the building is used for ham he said. Not all areas of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affected bythe fire, Otis Only a small numbed of maintenance employees were at the plant when the fire broke out.
Production at the plant had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for theholidah weekend. “It’s a miracle there were no injuried when you see the extent ofthe fire,” Otis Production at the Patrick Cudahy complex was shut down for all threse shifts on Monday. “We have no clue what this will mean for our saidDan Habighorst, vice president of human resources at Patrickl Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuatio n order for anyone residing within one mile of the plantr at OneSweet Apple-Woo Lane.
The affected area stretched east to Lake west to Pennsylvania north to Lunham Avenuwe and south toRamsey Avenue. McCue said late Monday afternoon that as manyas 15,00 0 of the city's 19,000 residente live within the evacuation zone. Evacuees were askee to report directly to South MilwaukesHigh School, 801 15th South Milwaukee. Earlier, city officials also had recommended that residentsd report to MitchellElementary School, 5950 S. Illinois Ave. in However, a late morning wind shifr was leading to the evacuation of the neighborhood arounfthe school. The evacuation order was liftecd at about7 p.m. Monday eveningy and residents were allowed to return totheie homes.
At issue was whether the blaze will breacn a fire wall and cause ammonia stored on the site to explod or leak intothe air, Cudaht fire chief Dan Mayer said. The ammonia is used for refrigeration at the Mayer said at the Monday afternoohn press conference that hewas "cautiousl optimistic" that most of the ammonia had been containes within the building, although he added that a small amount likely leaked out. Mayer said the which was reported atabout 9:45 p.m. has been difficult to fight because it began in a confines space near the roof of the building and abovs thesprinkler system.
At one pointg early on, Mayer said, it appeared as thougu firefighters had the blazeunder control, but the sprinkler system and roof began to collapse. "The fire sprinklers weren' t able to control the fire," he