Jefferson Weaver reported on an early morning fire at a Smithfield Foods feed mill in Bladenboro, North Carolina for Columbus County News. The fire is currently under investigation by Smithfield Foods and Bladen County Emergency Management. The incident, which caused damage to the facility, occurred without any injuries.
Firefighters were dispatched to the plant on Friday. They worked for several hours to get the fire under control. According to Joey Coleman from Bladen County Emergency Management, the cause of the fire appears to be related to combustion, though this has yet to be officially confirmed.
The Bladenboro facility, which had not experienced an event of this magnitude before, is used to mix feed for Smithfield Foods’ contract livestock farms.
Coleman deferred all further inquiries to Smithfield Foods. Ray Atkinson, a spokesperson for Smithfield, confirmed that the incident is under active investigation and reassured that all employees are safe following the incident.
