Firefighters called to Perdue Farms complex

Firefighters were called to a building under demolition behind a Perdue Farms complex Thursday, January 17.

Onancock Volunteer Fire Department crews were on site of a fire on Perdue Farms property in Accomack County, Virginia, for about 40 minutes. (Onacock Volunteer Fire Department)
Onancock Volunteer Fire Department crews were on site of a fire on Perdue Farms property in Accomack County, Virginia, for about 40 minutes. (Onacock Volunteer Fire Department)

Firefighters were called to a building under demolition behind a Perdue Farms complex in Accomack County, Virginia on January 17. The incident happened at the Valley Proteins Inc. facility on the grounds of the Perdue plant.

One report explained that units from eight different fire stations reported to the scene.

A source from Onancock Volunteer Fire Department Inc. said that crews were on site for about 40 minutes after arriving on location between 10 and 11 a.m.

Shores Daily News reported that this is the third fire at this specific location since June. “Fires there last June and November were inside old storage tanks, but Thursday’s blaze happened when residue inside an old building ignited during demolition,” the report said.

Joey Shevlin, director of corporate communications for Perdue Farms, said in the report, “The incident did not interrupt plant operations and our site team worked with fire officials to contain and resolve the issue quickly and as safely as possible.”

WTKR 3 reported that there were no injuries.

According to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, Perdue Farms is the parent company of poultry integrator Perdue Foods and its sister company Perdue AgriBusiness. Perdue Farms is a family owned company that has become one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S., producing 12 million broilers per week.

Fires break out at Foster Farms, Perdue facilities

This isn’t the first fire to recently impact Perdue Farms. In November, A fire at a Foster Farms feed mill and another fire at the Valley Proteins portion of a Perdue Farms occurred within the same week, with the Foster Farms fire taking place on November 14 and the Valley Proteins/Perdue fire occurred on November 16.

Multiple fire departments responded to both incidents.

Other recent ag related fires

One Eastern Iowa firefighter was killed, and another was seriously injured on January 5 when an explosion occurred at the Clinton, Iowa, Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) plant last weekend.

“Clinton Fire Chief Mike Brown said the initial fire call came in around 5:45 a.m. Saturday," according to a report from the Clinton Herald. "ADM employees had discovered smoldering material in one of the silo storage bins at the loading facility. ADM spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said the employees immediately contacted the Clinton Fire Department.".  

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is looking into the accident.

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