An employee had made an emergency call at about 9:20 AM, stating that there was a fire in the plant, located at 1022 12th Street NW. The employee thought the fire was contained and that the building was being evacuated.
Upon arrival, firefighters were directed to the NE corner of the building in the processing area. Employee advised that there was a ventilation system that had caught on fire and they thought that maybe a rag was sucked up into the ventilation tube, causing the fire and activating the sprinkler system. They stated they had extinguished and small fire with a dry chemical extinguisher in the room below where the sprinkler had activated.
After determination that the fire was out, the sprinkler system was shut down and the head replaced by department. The sprinkler system was turned back on and Kraft was going to notify Black hawk Sprinkler to check the system.
Investigation found that something – most likely the rag the employee had mentioned upon arrival – was involved with starting the fire in the ventilation ductwork. A combination of the cotton rag and the chemicals being ventilated most likely caused a chemical reaction spontaneously igniting the rag.
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