A fire broke out Wednesday afternoon at the Nestle plant in Jonesboro, causing major damage and burning throughout the night.
At 4:17 PM Wednesday afternoon, the Jonesboro Fire Department engines E7, E3, E1, T1, T2, B1, and B2 responded to a report of a fire in the building at 1 Nestle Way. Engine 7 arrived on scene and made entry into the building where they found the fire burning within a large piece of a production line cooler. Due to the construction makeup of the cooler, fire fighters couldn’t easily get to the fire. Crews from E7, E3, and E1 rotated in and out of the building as suppression efforts continued.
A short time later, while all crews were outside, a large explosion occurred within the structure. Crews were forced to stage back and the immediate area was evacuated. All fire personnel were accounted for at that time and no injuries were sustained.
Due to the nature of the explosion, the immediate area of that particular building was deemed structurally unsafe and all further suppression efforts were forced to take place from the exterior only. Crews remained on scene throughout the night, and were still on the scene Thursday morning continuing efforts to extinguish the fire, the department said in an update posted to social media.
Thank you to Jonesboro 911 dispatchers who handled all radio communication and resource requests with their usual professionalism. Also thanks to Medic One Ambulance crews who remained on scene for medical standby, as well as JPD whose aerial drone provided real time assessment of fire and structural areas that could not otherwise be accessed. Plant maintenance and other plant officials were also a great help in providing details and specifics of machinery and building layout.
Jonesboro Fire Department
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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