An overnight fire occurred at the Cal-Maine Foods egg production facility near Chase, Kansas.
A spokesperson for the Rice County Sheriff’s Department said a call reporting the facility came in at 10:56 p.m. on June 3. Crews were still on the scene as of 9 a.m. the next day, although the fire was no longer active. Further details on the fire were not yet available, she said.
The fire chief of a responding agency told KSN that there were no reports of injuries or deaths, and that the cause of the fire is not yet known.
This is the second time in less than two years when a fire has struck the facility. Another fire occurred on November 20, 2019. In that case, six fire departments worked for about four hours to contain the blaze. That building was considered a total loss, but no injuries were reported.
Cal-Maine Foods also experienced a fire at its operation in Dade City, Florida, on December 17, 2020. In that instance, three barns were destroyed, each of which had chickens inside. It was estimated at the time that at least 250,000 birds were killed.
Since the beginning of 2020, fires have also occurred at egg production facilities operated by Hickman’s Family Farms, S&R Egg Farms, Gemperle Farms, Trillium Farms, Michael Foods and Konos.
Cal-Maine Foods, which recently took 100% ownership of Red River Valley Egg Farm, is the world’s largest egg producer. At the conclusion of 2020, the company had a flock of 44.26 million hens. Cal-Maine Foods is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.
