Operations have resumed at the Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Selbyville, Delaware, after a fire occurred there on April 23.
According to a press release from Mountaire, employees returned to work on April 25. The company suspended operations on the day of the fire and also on April 24 so repairs could be made.
About the fire
The fire occurred around 3:45 p.m. after an electrical transformer failed at the Selbyville plant. All Mountaire employees were evacuated safely from the plant, and there were no injuries.
Damages from the fire were limited to the transformer area on the roof, but no internal damage to the facility was reported.
“The crews on scene made a quick stop to the fire and kept the chemical tanks cool. Quick work by the departments on scene brought this potentially damaging fire under control quickly,” a Facebook post from the Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company read.
Selbyville firefighters were assisted by firefighters from the Delaware communities of Roxana, Bishopville, Frankford, Gumboro, Millsboro, Bethany Beach, Millville, Dagsboro and Georgetown, as well as from Bishopville, Maryland.
In its press release, Mountaire expressed its gratitude to all of the firefighting agencies that responded.
“It is a great comfort to know there are such dedicated men and women in our communities, serving to keep us all safe,” the company stated.
Mountaire Farms, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, is the seventh largest broiler company in the United States, slaughtering an estimated 6.63 million chickens on a weekly basis. The privately-owned company provides employment for more than 8,500 people at facilities in Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
