VIDEO, PHOTOS: Fire crews to let Farmstead blaze burn

UPDATE: Firefighters expect another stubborn blaze at a vacant meatpacking plant in Cedar Rapids, with enough corn to fill up to 25 semi trailers impacted by the flames.

Smoke continues to rise from the former Farmstead Foods facility, referred to as the Sinclair property, at 1600 Third St. SE, after fire broke out Tuesday morning. Multiple interconnected buildings on the east side of the property are involved with fire, officials said.

Fire officials decided not to fight this latest fire at the vacant plant, due to safety concerns. Fire Department Spokesman Greg Buelow said crews searched around the building but did not find any signs that anyone was there. Frigid temperatures and the threat of hypothermia also factored into the decision not to fight the blaze, Buelow said.

The temperature at 8 a.m. was around minus 3 and wind chills were closer to minus 20.

“We're not going to flow any water,” Buelow said. “We're just going to let it burn. It's been deemed structurally unsound. At this point, for firefighter safety, we're just going to stand by and monitor it.”

At 10 a.m., officials were evaluating whether a demolition crew was available to tear into the impacted buildings, Buelow said. Doing so may cause flames to flare up, he said, but the ventilation would allow the fire to be extinguished quicker in the long run.

Buelow said a passer-by reported flames shooting from the massive brick structure at 6:36 a.m. The area impacted by fire measures about 125,000 square feet, Buelow said.

One of the buildings on fire was used as the main production building when the facility was a meatpacking plant, Buelow said. The main floor of the building has enough corn inside to fill up to 25 semi trailers, and the floors of the building are made of timber.

The city was allowing companies to store the corn at the site, Buelow said.

“If that corn gets going and smoldering, that's going to burn for a long time,” Buelow said.

The old meatpacking plant has been vacant for years and was without power. Fire broke out at the vacant plant on July 28, and smoldered for months. The blaze was deemed suspicious by investigators, but an official cause was never determined.

During a KCRG-TV9 follow-up report in early November, materials were found still smoldering, which caused firefighters to return for more work.

A cause for this latest blaze is unknown at this point.

“Is it possible somebody was in the structure? Yes,” Buelow said. “Is it possible someone started it intentionally? Yes. Could it have been something else? Yes.”

Buelow said it is “doubtful” that the fire that began in July flared up again Tuesday, because the locations differ. Tuesday's blaze is farther to the east.

“There's nothing to believe that it could have spread from that other fire,” Buelow said.

Buelow said the smoke billowing out of the buildings is not known to be dangerous. He said a team hired by the city determined about a month ago that no asbestos is present in any of the buildings on the property.

The Sinclair site dates back to 1872 and some of the buildings are almost 100 years old. The 2008 flood and the long-burning fire this summer left the building unsalvageable. The city is hoping to get FEMA funding for demolition, which could cost up to $100 million.

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