Patrick Cudahy fire in Wisconsin

Monday, July 6, 2009 at 9:24 pm

CHICAGO, Patrick Cudahy — Fire crews battled a large blaze at a meatpacking plant in a crowded suburb south of Milwaukee on Monday, leading authorities to warn residents within a mile of the plant to evacuate the area because of the threat of toxic fumes.

About 100 firefighters worked through the night and were still fighting the blaze Monday morning at the Patrick Cudahy Inc. plant in Cudahy. No injuries were reported.

Residents living within a mile of the plant were told to evacuate the area because of possible ammonia fumes, Mayor Ryan McCue said. A local school was made available for evacuees and their pets to take shelter.

Rebecca Spencer, who lives about a quarter mile from the plant, left her home with her dog and two cats. She said she wasn’t worried when she saw huge plumes of black smoke because she was confident firefighters would contain the blaze.

Carla Peterson, assistant human resources manager at Patrick Cudahy, said only a few of the company’s roughly 2,000 workers were at the 128-year-old plant when the fire started, and that no one was hurt.

Cudahy Fire Chief Dan Mayer says the fire has been difficult to fight because it is in a confined space.

He says there has been heavy fire, water and smoke damage to the plant.