Contract food packaging plant attacked by blaze

Operations at the Mooresville, Indiana factory run by contract food processing and packaging firm PacMoore​ were struck by a fire at 8pm. No-one was hurt in the incident on Wednesday, and the damage to the structure and equipment inside was reportedly minimal.

Possible cause​

Carson McCleary, assistant fire chief of the Mooresville Fire Department, told FoodProductionDaily.com that spray-drying equipment on the roof likely malfunctioned and overheated.

“The fire was fairly contained within the space of 20 minutes; we spent the next couple of hours checking that the rest of the building​ was safe​,” he said.

Safe and sound​

Chris Bekermeier, vice president of sales and marketing for PacMoore, said second-shift production staff and supervisors working at the time of the fire were swiftly and safely evacuated.

“No-one was hurt—that was the greatest blessing​,” he said.

Back up and running​

Bekermeier said that while the precise cause of the blaze is not yet known, he reported the incident originated in the baghouse of a spray-drying system. He added that no other equipment appears to have been affected by the blaze and while the affected spray-drying gear is still out of commission, the rest of the facility was back up and running Thursday.

“When you look at the potential for further damage, we were certainly lucky​,” he said.

PacMoore offers a range of processing and packaging services at its Mooresville and Hammond, Indiana facilities. In 2008, the Mooresville location became gluten-free to help meet growing demand for such products.