Explosion and fire hit Quaker Oats plant in Iowa
World's largest oat mill processes more than two million pounds of oats a day, all workers safe as cause remains unknown
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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the plant
foxbusiness.com
Firefighters use a water hose near a plant after an explosion and fire
foxbusiness.com
Firefighters work near a plant after an explosion and fire.
foxbusiness.com
An apparent explosion sparked a fire at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, drawing firefighters from three neighboring jurisdictions to a facility described as the world's largest oat mill. All workers were safe and accounted for and no injuries were reported, Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell said.
Firefighters were called to the plant at around 4:44 p.m. after reports of an explosion and fire. Arriving crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the north side of the building, and additional firefighters were called in from Marion, Hiawatha and Linn County to assist. Most of the fire was out by 6:25 p.m., the Cedar Rapids Fire Department said, though firefighters continued to work inside the building afterward. O'Donnell said in a video posted to Facebook that the fire occurred in an area of the plant that was not heavily populated with employees.
PepsiCo Foods US, which owns the brand, said the cause of the fire would be investigated. The plant processes more than two million pounds of oats each day, a throughput that routes a large share of the country's oat supply through a single building in eastern Iowa. The company gave no timeline for a restart.
Authorities said they have not yet determined the cause of the explosion — or how much of those two million daily pounds the fire took out of service.