1 Injured in Fire at Cargill Protein Processing Plant1 Injured in Fire at Cargill Protein Processing Plant

Firefighters were called to the Cargill protein processing plant in Dodge City, KS on Friday after a fire ignited in the plant’s ventilation system, according to area fire departments and local media. One person was transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation. 

“Fire crews were dispatched to Cargill for a reported fire on the roof. Upon arrival, crews found heavy smoke and fire above the rendering side of the plant,” Ford County Fire & EMS said in a Facebook post. The emergency personnel were at the facility for about an hour. 

Dodge City Fire Chief Robert Heinz told television news station KSNW that the fire isolated to a ventilation system above the plant’s rendering area. The official said the fire is thought to have started when a spark from welding work made contact with grease. 

The Dodge City plant is Cargill’s largest beef processing plant and has over 2700 workers, according to information on the agribusiness’ website. More than 5800 head of cattle per day are processed at the site. 

Earlier this month, Powder & Bulk Solids reported that one person was killed and one person was injured when they were electrocuted while working in a storage bin at a Cargill Ag grain facility in Cummings, KS. Another fire broke out at a Cargill grain facility in Channelview, TX this June after a conveyor malfunctioned.

For more news headlines, articles, and equipment reviews, visit our Equipment Zones