Do you know the layout of local industrial and manufacturing facilities? Are you familiar with how their ventilation systems are laid out?
A fire occurred in the Darling International livestock rendering plant on Sunday, Nov. 4 around 1:15 p.m. The Lexington Volunteer Fire Department, with the assistance of the Overton Volunteer Fire Department, fought the fire throughout the afternoon.
The State Fire Marshal conducted an initial investigation and found that the cause could have been attributed to either a bearing on a conveyer belt near the fire or spontaneous combustion of beef tallow in the burner.
Fire officials say the fire was difficult to attack because of the layout of the plant the firefighters had to travel through multiple rooms to find the source of the fire, all of which were filled with smoke. The fire spread through a ventilation system that scrubs fumes from the facility, and because of this, secondary fires were caused throughout the facility.
From the Kearney Hub
Read more about the fire here.
