CLAYPOOL – For the second time in two weeks, firefighters battled a blaze at Louis Dreyfus, on Ind. 15S, Claypool, early this morning.
The previous fire occurred Jan. 31 in a tank that contained parts of byproducts of biodiesel fuel.
Claypool Fire Department Chief Bob Haines said the call today came in at 12:30 a.m.
No injuries were reported.
As for a cause for today’s fire, he said dust from the hammermill created enough friction that it sparked a fire. A hammermill is used to shred or crush aggregate material into smaller pieces by the repeated blows.
“It started in the bean prep area. It got into the duct system and spread throughout the duct system,” Haines said.
The fire spread from the second floor to the roof, covering three floors through the duct work.
“We had to tear away the duct working to get to it,” Haines said.
A damage estimate was not available this morning.
Forty-five men from six fire departments were on scene, including Claypool, Warsaw, Silver Lake, Burket, Winona Lake and Akron.
