Butterball fire follow up

Butterball management promised short-term employment Tuesday for the 17 workers displaced from its Kinston slicing facility as the company continued to decide to rebuild or relocate the plant that suffered extensive fire damage Monday.

Administrators with the Garner-based corporation told its Kinston associates during a meeting on Tuesday that provided information on employee assistance, compensation and work schedules, they will move them to Butterball’s Mt. Olive facility for now, said Meredith Schneider, a publicist for Butterball.

She added that officials assured employees that transportation and other issues will be worked out for the mutual benefit of the company and the employees.

The Kinston Department of Public Safety released Tuesday the findings of an investigation it conducted on the fire, with the assistance of the SBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice.

“It was ruled as accidental,” said KDPS spokesman Woody Spencer. “The fire started in the loading dock area with some workers cutting some bolts. It caught onto the walls and spread through the attic to the other side of the building.”

The building’s owner, Walter Poole — who has leased the facility since 2001 to Butterball, formerly Carolina Turkeys — said he gave Butterball the green light in April to expand the loading dock on the west end of the plant and that contractors worked Monday on the project. The plant, at 4125 Berkeley Ave. behind Staples off U.S. 70, processes bulk and prepackaged sliced turkey products.

The KDPS has not released a damage estimate yet. Despite the efforts of the Kinston Department of Public Safety’s Fire and Rescue Division and North Lenoir Volunteer Fire Department, Butterball representatives said the fire damaged the entire facility, including partially collapsing the second-floor and melting vinyl siding from the walls.

“At this time, Butterball representatives indicated that decisions were not yet finalized as the damage to the current structure is still under evaluation,” said Schneider, who described the company’s decision of whether to reopen the facility or relocate it to a nearby building as an “ongoing business determination.”

A counselor for the company’s Employee Assistance Program was also at the meeting and available to talk with associates, Schneider said. This program is provided to all Butterball associates and includes assistance for individuals going through difficult times or dealing with traumatic events, such as the loss of the facility and the effects on them and their families.

Officials with Butterball thanked the associates at the Kinston facility for their contributions to the company and the efforts they made during Monday’s unfortunate event.

“The Kinston facility employees reacted in a professional and very prompt manner resulting in the safe evacuation of all employees. Butterball conducts numerous drills throughout the year to prepare in case of such incidents,” said Brian Rodgers, director of safety and risk management at Butterball. “We are happy to report that there are no injuries resulting from the incident.”

Schneider said Butterball, the largest producer of turkey products in the U.S., greatly appreciated the emergency rescue teams for their rapid response and professional manner in which they worked.

The quick action of these groups limited the damage sustained by the facility as firefighters protected the blaze from spreading to a tower adjoining the facility filled with liquid nitrogen, which, if ruptured, could have caused an explosion.

Wesley Brown can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wbrown@freedomenc.com.