APPARENT EXPLOSION SPARKS FIRE AT QUAKER OATS PLANT

The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said an apparent explosion preceded a fire at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday. Firefighters responded at about 4.45pm local time and found evidence of an explosion and a subsequent fire, the department said. Fire officials reported no injuries, and Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said all workers escaped safely. Photographs and video showed flames at the building and black smoke above the city centre.

O’Donnell said the fire broke out in an area of the plant that handles products. “It’s not heavily populated with employees and team members,” she said in a Facebook video. Officials accounted for all workers about 45 minutes after the fire began. Witnesses told local media they heard a blast and saw thick smoke rising from the plant. Officials had not identified the cause of the apparent explosion or the fire.

PepsiCo Foods US said emergency crews were working to control and extinguish the fire. The company said investigators would examine how the fire started. PepsiCo, which owns Quaker Oats, describes the Cedar Rapids plant as the world’s largest milling facility and says it processes more than 2 million pounds, or about 900,000 kilograms, of oats daily. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said he was “praying for the safety of those in or near the building and for the first responders on the scene”.