The Frankfort Fire Department responded to a basement fire at an industrial structure on State Road 28 Wednesday afternoon with no injuries reported.
The Frankfort Fire Department responded to reports of a fire at the Purina Plant alongside State Road 28 on Wednesday afternoon around 2 p.m. to address an active fire within the basement of the structure. Frankfort Fire Department Chief Matt Stidham stated that the active fire was extinguished efficiently by the crews on the scene.
“When crews arrived, we found heavy smoke coming out of the top of the vents that were above the building,” Stidham said. “We quickly deployed our hand lines and the guys there into the basement and got the fire extinguished fairly quickly. Then, we spent about an hour doing some overhaul.”
Stidham stated that while the fire spread throughout the basement area and smoke radiated out of the vents on the roof of the building, the sprinkler system installed at the facility and the response from the fire crews helped minimize the damage the structure received as a result of the blaze.
“They did have a sprinkler system, and the sprinkler system was working when we got there,” Stidham said. “There was not any major structure damage. It was more, I’d say, electronics that they had in their facilities, and there was some machinery that needed to be repaired.”
Stidham stated that the fire did not result in harm to community members or firefighters, and the quickness of the response resulted in an “all hands on deck” approach to the fire with members of all local fire stations being deployed to the area to ensure the minimum damage and safety of the structure and community.
“There were no injuries,” Stidham said. “Nothing happened. All the occupants got out safely.”
Stidham stated that the fire is still under investigation with no immediate cause identified as of Thursday afternoon.