Firefighters from three departments battled a blaze at the Jennie-O feed mill in Barron, Wisconsin, on April 16.
According to reports, firefighters were alerted to the fire in the cyclone room at the feed mill just before 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Two Jennie-O employees, who were trying to extinguish the fire, had to flee to the roof of the building where they were rescued with the help of a ladder truck.
Ben Cole, Barron-Maple Grove fire chief, said the facility sustained significant damage. Some feed continued to smolder on Monday, but it was isolated from the rest of the facility.
There were no injuries reported.
Chemical leak in November 2022
This same feed mill facility sustained a chemical leak in November 2022 prompting a precautionary shelter-in-place order for the community.
Emergency responders determined two chemicals, anatox and lysine, had been accidentally mixed together and were off-gassing a poisonous vapor into the atmosphere.
Jennie-O immediately evacuated the facility to protect employees against inhalation hazards, while the shelter-in-place was issued to the north and south sides of the plant. After two hours it was determined the leak posed no further danger to public health and the shelters-in-place were lifted.
Two employees drove themselves to local hospitals to be examined. No other injuries were reported.
Facility fire in September 2019
A fire also broke out at this Jennie-O location in September 2019. The fire began in part of the structure housing the grain tower. No injuries were reported at that time.
