Videos Capture Destructive Fire at Chicago Food FactoryVideos Capture Destructive Fire at Chicago Food Factory

A five-alarm fire at the Newly Weds Foods production plant on Tuesday left the facility in ruins. Officials said the blaze likely ignited in a piece of drying equipment in the facility. Cooking oil is thought to have allowed the flames to extend to the plant’s roof. 

The facility's roof collapsed as firefighters worked to douse the fire. Officials later declared the building a "total loss." Workers managed to evacuate the facility safely during the incident, but one firefighter received minor injuries while combatting the blaze. Crews put out the flames after about five hours on the scene.

A statement by Newly Weds Foods said the company will work on assessing the damage to the facility on Wednesday. 

Powder & Bulk Solids compiled this list of videos of the fire taken from the scene taken by eyewitnesses and news organizations e to illustrate its massive scale and destructive power. 

FLAMES RIP THROUGH THE PLANT 

The blaze started at about 5 p.m. in a cooking area of the plant. Officials said the blaze likely ignited in a dryer used with breadcrumbs, and then cooking oil allowed the flames to extend rapidly. This footage, captured by YouTube user "PUB DA GREAT" shows the size of the flames firefighters had to contend with during the response. 

A HUGE PLUME OF SMOKE 

This footage captured by YouTube user Bart Shore shows the large plume of smoke generated by the fire at the food processing plant.  Coverage of the incident by local news organizations noted that smoke from the scene was visible across the Chicago area. 

LARGE FIREFIGHTER RESPONSE

About 150 firefighters responded to the fire, according to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times. A video posted to YouTube by user “M Arnold” shows the scale of the effort required to put the fire down. As the creator of the video walked around the plant’s perimeter, viewers can see the large number of firefighting vehicles present at the scene, including several trucks actively spraying water on the flames. 

THE FIRE’S AFTERMATH 

Shot by an NBC Chicago helicopter, this overhead footage of the plant shows the charred remains of the facility after its roof collapsed. Though the majority of the blaze was out when the video was captured, viewers can see some hotspots still burning.

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