Fire damages potato warehouse

UPDATE; 9/6/2016 4:45 p.m.

Idaho Supreme General Manager Wade Chapman says there will be no permanent layoffs at the Firth plant.
He credited the action of firefighters for keeping damage to a minimum.

Chapman said, an early morning fire Monday was contained to the shop area of the business and none of the processing, shipping or receiving areas were affected.

He said there was some structural damage to the building, but it was not a total loss. He hopes the potato processor will be back in operation in as soon as three weeks to three months, depending on the ultimate extent of damage.

There has been no cost estimate of damage at this time.

Chapman thanked firefighters for their work in fighting the fire and keeping damage to a minimum.

Update 09/06/2016 10:30 am: The Bingham County Sheriff’s office says that crews from the Firth Fire Department had to return to the warehouse fire Tuesday morning when a flare up was found. Teams have been on site this morning to control the flare up.

The owner of Idaho Supreme Bill Chapman said he’s meeting with inspectors all day but does not know how much damage was caused by the fire or what caused it.

“A lot of unanswered questions at this point in the investigation,” Chapman said.

Chapman did not want to comment further on the status of the factory or his employees.

Original Story: Fire crews have extinguished a fire that started early Monday morning at a potato processing plantin Firth.

The fire was reported just before 6 a.m., at Idaho Supreme.

The fire fight lasted the entire morning and much of the afternoon. The Bingham County Sheriff said fire crews have put out the fire before 3 p.m. and many of the firemen were allowed to leave the site late Monday afternoon.

The fire apparently started in the maintenance shop. Earlier reports indicate no one has been hurt.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but are looking at a possible electrical issue.

The Sheriff said the building is severely damaged.

Fire fighters from Shelley-Firth Fire District, Blackfoot, and INL are among those who responded to help fight the fire. A hazardous materials team was also called in.

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