A potato processing plant off Highway 91 near Firth, Idaho, sustained some significant damage in a fire last week, but the building is not considered a total loss.
Firth fire chief Bruce Anthony says the fire at Idaho Supreme destroyed a parts room and some upstairs office spaces, as well as a nearby repair shop; however, the area where potatoes are processed only sustained smoke damage.
“The (damaged) rooms were in the middle of the building, and they had built firewalls on each side of the rooms. They did their job,” Anthony said, adding that the flames didn’t spread farther. “The firemen worked really hard to be able to control it, and it was limited to one section.”
Anthony said they are still investigating the cause of the fire, and he was not sure of the estimated value of the damage shortly after the fire. Still, he knows the loss will have an impact.
“It’s devastating to the community,” he said. “They’re the biggest employer here.”
Anthony said the plant had been shut down for a few weeks and was just getting ready to start processing potatoes when the fire started.
He says local growers, businesses and workers will likely be affected by the fire at the plant, but he expects Idaho Supreme officials will work quickly to restore operations.
“They recognize how this affects the community,” he said. “They’re very concerned about getting parts of the plant (up and running) as quickly as possible.”
Idaho Supreme officials were not available for further comment.
The fire started around 5:30 a.m. Sept. 5, and firefighters from Firth, Shelley, Blackfoot, Ammon, Ucon, Idaho National Laboratory, Fort Hall and Bonneville County assisted at the scene.
Firefighters were able to get the main fire controlled, but it was initially too dangerous for them to go in and put out hot spots because of collapsed materials, Anthony said. They stayed on the scene to control any flames until Tuesday, when they were finally able to go in and make sure the fire was completely out.
“I’m thankful for the support we were able to receive from other communities,” Anthony said. “You sometimes question what’s going on in the world today, (but when something like this) takes place, you recognize that people have good hearts and are willing to help out.”
Source: Idaho State Journal