Fire levels city slaughterhouse
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Rutland City firefighters attack a fire at Fresh Farm’s Beef on Park Street in Rutland on Monday morning. The building was destroyed, sending smoke across the city. VYTO STARINSKAS / RUTLAND HERALD |
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By Alan J. Keays Herald Staff - Published: July 25, 2006
A general alarm fire early Monday destroyed the state's largest slaughterhouse, keeping dozens of firefighters busy for hours and sending large, dark clouds of smoke billowing into the clear sky over Rutland.
No one was injured in the blaze that burned the Fresh Farm's Beef slaughterhouse on Park Street in Rutland. Roughly 40 lambs, sheep and goats that had been at the slaughterhouse survived the fire when they were set free by city police, firefighters and the passersby who first spotted the blaze.
The loose animals did pose a bit of a problem for firefighters driving up the dirt driveway off Park Street to the slaughterhouse. "There were some sheep going down the road in front of Engine 3," city Deputy Fire Chief Fran Robillard said late Monday morning, adding that some of the free animals appeared scared by the lights and sirens of the fire trucks. "Some of them ran back into the building and some of the guys went in and chased them back out."
As firefighters fought the blaze, the animals were seen grazing on overgrown grass surrounding the slaughterhouse.
Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. James Cruise, a fire investigator, was called to the scene to help determine the cause of the blaze. Robillard concluded late Monday afternoon the fire's cause was electrical.
"It had to do with the failure of a motor on a hoist," the deputy chief said. "We believe the motor shorted out and overheated and was the source of the fire."
Firefighters remained on the scene through the afternoon, returning to the city station around 4 p.m. Monday. The charred remains of the building's concrete walls were knocked down by a bulldozer as they were no longer stable.
No one was in the building at the time of the fire. The business was set to open for the day at 8 a.m.
More than 70 firefighters helped extinguish the fire, either at the scene or helping to manage the water supply and providing station coverage. Firefighters came from Rutland City, Rutland Town, West Rutland and Pittsford.
In addition to firefighters, Vermont State Police, Rutland City Police, Rutland City Public Works Department and Regional Ambulance Service members assisted at the scene.
The fire churned out thick brown smoke that drifted over the city, visible to drivers traveling down Route 4 into the city from Killington and from Route 7 heading to Rutland City from Rutland Town and Clarendon.
Nick Greeno of Subdury, the slaughterhouse owner, said he took over the business in 1996, adding that he believed the slaughterhouse had been on the site since the 1920s.
He said the business had five employees; two federal inspectors also worked at the building.
"I was on my way in when they called and told me about the fire," Greeno said, standing in the parking lot and watching firefighters pour water onto the building.
He said the facility was insured, and he planned to rebuild to get the business back up and running. "I've always been in the business," he said.
Each year, the slaughterhouse processes 10,000 to 12,000 lambs and sheep, 3,000 to 4,000 goats and 5,000 to 6,000 cattle, Greeno said.
He said he expected the animals that survived the fire will be taken to another slaughterhouse.
Getting water to the scene proved to be a challenge, with firefighters having to put down more than 2,000 feet of hose to reach the nearest hydrant. Another hose line was run to Otter Creek, also about a half-mile away from the fire scene.
"We've probably got between three or four thousand feet of hose to get water supply here," Robillard said. Once firefighters determined no one was in the building, they decided on a strategy to fight the blaze.
"We just tried to control the front of the building and vented the back of the building," the deputy chief said. "The roof started to fail and we just tried to control the venting of the building to the rear. For the most part, all our water was directed from the front to push the fire to the rear."
It took firefighters a little more than two hours to get the fire under control.
"The fire was beyond what we were going to extinguish when we arrived here," Robillard said. "When we go defensive, our priority is to maintain safety."
The building was assessed by the city at about $106,000, not including the inventory and equipment, according to city records. The roughly 12,000-square-foot building had concrete walls, wooden rafters and a metal roof, the deputy chief said.
"Essentially, it was like having an oven burning," Robillard said of the slaughterhouse. "There were no windows into the area that was burning, just overhead doors."
Three large propane tanks located next to the building also were quickly disconnected by arriving firefighters, the deputy chief said.
City Fire Chief Robert Schlachter said the next closest building was about 700 feet away.
"This is probably the most isolated place in the city," the fire chief said of the slaughterhouse, which has a dirt parking lot surrounded by a large meadow and overgrown grass.
Contact Alan J. Keays at alan.keays@rutlandherald.com.
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