Evacuations Lifted After Fire At West Liberty Foods In Tremonton
Oct 2, 2020, 9:19 AM | Updated: 12:46 pm
TREMONTON, Utah – A massive fire sparked early Friday morning at a meat packing plant sent three employees to the hospital with minor injuries.
The incident happened at West Liberty Foods in the area of 700 North and 2000 West.
The fire initially called for a nearby neighborhood to evacuate because of the possibility of ammonia tanks exploding.
Those evacuations have since been lifted.
“We were headed out for sharp tail hunting in northern Utah, and just so happened to run into this fire,” said KSL Outdoors’ Adam Eakle, who caught video of the blaze.
Tremonton fire officials said they received a call at approximately 5:30 a.m. about how something inside a utility room sparked thermal oil and lit a possible leak.
Battalion chief Blair Westergard said one of the three injured employees was transported by ambulance and the other two drove themselves.
The biggest concern during the fire was 50,000 pounds of ammonia that sit under the a cooling system. Out of caution, authorities evacuated the residents directly behind the meat plant in case of a possible explosion.
Thankfully, the ammonia tanks were not impacted.
Three vehicles were also damaged, one of which is a complete loss.
About 350 employees were sent home.
Multiple agencies responded, and an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office will further pinpoint what sparked the fire in the first place.
Posted by KSL Outdoors Show on Friday, October 2, 2020
