MONROE - A fire Monday at the Badger State Ethanol plant forced about 65 firefighters from eight area departments to battle frigid temperatures for about eight hours to put it out.
The fire was contained to one dryer.
President Gary Kramer of Badget State Ethanol said the corn protein dryer had been off line for servicing yesterday and had mechanical corrections made to it.
Kramer said it took about three tries to relight the dryer, but that the recirculating feed may have become too dry and combusted.
"My guess is that there was a dust explosion on the fluid bed cooler," Kramer said Tuesday morning. "It then could have spread back into the dryer and forward into the ducts."
Kramer said the dryer system shut itself down and personnel immediately shut off the master switch to three dryer units.
The corn protein dryer is only one of four dryers at the plant, and operations at the plant continued during and since the fire.
Kramer said it still is too early to estimate damage costs, which will be assessed for the remainder of the week.
"It's most cosmetic damge," Kramer said.
The steel structure damage is mostly burned paint, and the ducts were accessed by firefighters via "manways" or hatches to inspect and to water down the embers.
The ducts are made of heavy steel and Kramer doubted firefighters had cut through them.
They did remove some insulation of the duct work which had caught fire from the intense heat, he said
By 10 p.m. Monday, most of the firefighters had left the scene, about four hours after bringing the blaze under control. Crews and Badger State personnel monitored the situation throughout the night, and firefighters returned to the scene this morning to complete cleanup and investigate the incident.
The Monroe Fire Department was called to the plant, at 820 W. 17th St., at about 2:15 p.m. Monday for a fire in the grain handling area. Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said crews quickly controlled the fire in a dryer. But the fire extended in the grain handling ductwork and spread to other pieces of equipment.
It was then that the Monroe Police Department and the Brodhead, Juda and Browntown fire departments were called to assist. They later were joined by trucks and crews from Monticello, Cedarville, Orangeville and Freeport City fire departments and Green County EMS. County Emergency Management lighting units and equipment from the Monroe Department of Public Works also were provided.
The fire was under control by 6 p.m., Rausch said.
Crews had to contend with cold temperatures that turned water into slush on the ground and ice on the pipes. Rausch called the conditions "extreme" and the fire "stubborn." He said the fire caused significant damage.
Some firefighting units began picking up their hoses sometime after 8 p.m., even while others still were investigating smoldering embers in the duct work of the processor.
During processing, grain germ is blown through the ductwork.
For almost two hours, firefighters climbed around on the processor, being careful of slippery pipes covered with frozen water, and opening and removing ice-covered hatch doors to peer into the processing unit, to inspect for potential flare-ups. At least one hatch opened at about 8:15 p.m. revealed grain embers still glowing.
Firefighters worked their way down the processor's ducts, as they cleared each level.
"This incident once again demonstrates the commitment that all of the area emergency services provide to protect our citizens," Rausch said.
Kramer said the plant would be starting up each individual component of the dryer to confirm each is working, and to find out how much damage may have been done. That investigation should take about a week or more, he said.
The fire was contained to one dryer.
President Gary Kramer of Badget State Ethanol said the corn protein dryer had been off line for servicing yesterday and had mechanical corrections made to it.
Kramer said it took about three tries to relight the dryer, but that the recirculating feed may have become too dry and combusted.
"My guess is that there was a dust explosion on the fluid bed cooler," Kramer said Tuesday morning. "It then could have spread back into the dryer and forward into the ducts."
Kramer said the dryer system shut itself down and personnel immediately shut off the master switch to three dryer units.
The corn protein dryer is only one of four dryers at the plant, and operations at the plant continued during and since the fire.
Kramer said it still is too early to estimate damage costs, which will be assessed for the remainder of the week.
"It's most cosmetic damge," Kramer said.
The steel structure damage is mostly burned paint, and the ducts were accessed by firefighters via "manways" or hatches to inspect and to water down the embers.
The ducts are made of heavy steel and Kramer doubted firefighters had cut through them.
They did remove some insulation of the duct work which had caught fire from the intense heat, he said
By 10 p.m. Monday, most of the firefighters had left the scene, about four hours after bringing the blaze under control. Crews and Badger State personnel monitored the situation throughout the night, and firefighters returned to the scene this morning to complete cleanup and investigate the incident.
The Monroe Fire Department was called to the plant, at 820 W. 17th St., at about 2:15 p.m. Monday for a fire in the grain handling area. Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said crews quickly controlled the fire in a dryer. But the fire extended in the grain handling ductwork and spread to other pieces of equipment.
It was then that the Monroe Police Department and the Brodhead, Juda and Browntown fire departments were called to assist. They later were joined by trucks and crews from Monticello, Cedarville, Orangeville and Freeport City fire departments and Green County EMS. County Emergency Management lighting units and equipment from the Monroe Department of Public Works also were provided.
The fire was under control by 6 p.m., Rausch said.
Crews had to contend with cold temperatures that turned water into slush on the ground and ice on the pipes. Rausch called the conditions "extreme" and the fire "stubborn." He said the fire caused significant damage.
Some firefighting units began picking up their hoses sometime after 8 p.m., even while others still were investigating smoldering embers in the duct work of the processor.
During processing, grain germ is blown through the ductwork.
For almost two hours, firefighters climbed around on the processor, being careful of slippery pipes covered with frozen water, and opening and removing ice-covered hatch doors to peer into the processing unit, to inspect for potential flare-ups. At least one hatch opened at about 8:15 p.m. revealed grain embers still glowing.
Firefighters worked their way down the processor's ducts, as they cleared each level.
"This incident once again demonstrates the commitment that all of the area emergency services provide to protect our citizens," Rausch said.
Kramer said the plant would be starting up each individual component of the dryer to confirm each is working, and to find out how much damage may have been done. That investigation should take about a week or more, he said.