Patrick Cudahy fire 'devastating,' exec says - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

Firefighters continued to battle a stubborn blaze at the Patrick Cudahy Inc. plant in Cudahy Monday morning, which forced a shutdown of the massive meat processing plant and led to a mandatory evacuation of portions of the city.

Smoke from the blaze could be seen for several miles and was easily visible in downtown Milwaukee Monday morning, more than 12 hours after the fire first was reported on Sunday night. No injuries were reported.

“It’s a devastating day for us,” said an obviously shaken Bill Otis, chief operating officer at Patrick Cudahy, which is owned by Smithfield Foods Inc., of Smithfield, Va. “I’m sure this is going to set us back.”

Otis said the company was working to contact its 1,800 employees, as well as various customers. Patrick Cudahy management also has been in contact with Smithfield to determine if some meat processing operations could be temporarily shifted to other Smithfield plants.

The building affected by the fire is used for microwave bacon processing and also is used for dry storage, Otis said.

The lower level of the building is used for ham processing, he said.

Not all areas of the Patrick Cudahy complex have been affected by the fire, Otis said.

Only a small number of maintenance employees were at the plant the fire broke out. Production at the plant had been shut down since the end of the day on July 3 for the holiday weekend.

“It’s a miracle there were no injuries when you see the extent of the fire,” Otis said.

Production at the Patrick Cudahy complex has been shut down for all three shifts on Monday.

“We have no clue what this will mean for our operations,” said Dan Habighorst, vice president of human resources at Patrick Cudahy. “We’ve got to put the fire out first.”

The city of Cudahy issued a mandatory evacuation order for anyone residing within one mile of the plant at One Sweet Apple-Wood Lane. Evacuees were being asked to report to either Mitchell Elementary School, 5950 S. Illinois Ave., or South Milwaukee High School, 801 15th Ave.

At issue is whether the blaze will breach a fire wall and cause ammonia stored on the site to explode, Cudahy fire chief Dan Mayer said.

“It’s very dangerous at this time,” he said.

The ammonia is used for refrigeration at the plant.

Mayer said the blaze, which was reported at about 9:45 p.m. July 5, has been difficult to fight because it began in a confined space near the roof of the building and above the sprinkler system.

At one point early on, Mayer said, it appeared as though firefighters had the blaze under control, but the sprinkler system and roof began to collapse.

Adding to the challenge of fighting the fire is the fact that the building is an old, wooden structure.