Stubborn fire at meatpacking plant extinguished
CUDAHY, Wis. (AP) — The fire that gutted part of a sprawling meatpacking plant in suburban Milwaukee is out. That declaration came Wednesday afternoon as the damage estimate soared to at least $50 million.
The fire broke out Sunday night in the Patrick Cudahy Inc. plant in Cudahy. Heavy smoke and fears of toxic fumes caused authorities to order a 12-hour evacuation of the surrounding area Monday before air monitors showed no danger.
Company President William Otis says the damage could total more than $50 million, based on the value of equipment and supplies as well as structures involved. But he says it’s just a "ballpark figure“ until the more than 1 million-square-foot plant can be assessed.
He says if all goes well, production in unaffected areas could be phased in starting next week.
Jul 8, 2009 at 10:01 p.m.
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Beware of any "fire sale" on "smoked" hams in the next weeks at grocery stores!!!! HA!!!
Jul 8, 2009 at 5:49 p.m.
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Considering the scale and intensity, it's very fortunate no employees or firefighters were injured!
Jul 8, 2009 at 5:37 p.m.
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What hasn't been reported that I am aware of, is that many other area fire departments were also dispatched for fire crew relief. Burlington, Lake Geneva, Sharon, Bloomfield all assisted as well as those from Milwaukee County. All in all, a very hard job well done by all involved.
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