A fire that heavily damaged a House of Raeford Farms poultry plant in Teachey, North Carolina, appears to have been accidental, investigators told the company.
The fire, which broke out during the evening of February 25, is being investigated by a team from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobbacco Firearms and Explosives; Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the Duplin County Fire Marshal’s Office.
The investigation is still in progress, but according to a press release from House of Raeford Farms, preliminary findings indicate the cause of the fire was accidental. The investigative team confirmed on March 1 that the fire started in an office on the second floor of the building. The investigation also revealed that nobody was in or around that area for quite some time prior to the onset of the fire, leading investigators to determine that there was no evidence that the cause of the fire was intentional.
An official written report on the fire investigation is not expected to be made available until the middle of March.
While the investigation continues, some of the workers from the plant in Teachey have been reassigned to work at a House of Raeford plant in Rose Hill, North Carolina.
