A fire that occurred during the evening of October 4 disrupted operations at Allen Harim Foods' poultry processing plant in Harbeson, Delaware, but the company announced it was resuming production.
According to a statement from the company, the fire occurred around 9:30 p.m. in the corner of the box room at the plant. Allen Harim described the fire as “small.” The plant was immediately and professionally evacuated, and the fire suppression system worked according to plan, the company stated.
Production was suspended at the plant, but according to the statement, the plant was to resume normal operations after a two-hour delay.
Multiple fire departments from the area responded to the fire, including the Milton Fire Department and the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company, which posted photos of the fire response on its Facebook page.
“We want to thank all the fire companies who responded and everyone for their calls and texts expressing their concern,” the company stated.
Plant had recently expanded
The plant had recently been in a state of expansion, as the company in 2016 announced that it was consolidating its processing operations into the Harbeson facility. The expansion enabled Allen Harim to add 670,000 birds per week to the plant’s capacity. As a result of the consolidation, the company closed its plant in Cordova, Maryland.
In 2016, Allen Harim Foods produced 8.57 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database. Allen Harim is the 21st largest poultry company in the United States.
