Cargill plant in Wichita ‘safely restarted’ after fire this week

The Cargill plant in Wichita has reopened after a fire Monday night, Cargill spokesperson April Nelson said Thursday morning.

“Our facility has safely restarted and will begin accepting soybean deliveries again this week,” Nelson said, responding to questions from Tuesday. Nelson did not address questions about the extent of damage or the size of the soybean dryer that caught fire.

Firefighters were called after 9 p.m. Monday to check an appliance at 1401 North Mosley. While en route, firefighters saw heavy smoke coming from the plant and called for more fire crews. They found a large soybean dryer on fire, and that was determined to be the cause of the fire.

No one was injured.

“Initial fire attack lines were stretched but due to the smoke and heat conditions aerial operations were put in place on two (sides of) the building,” Wichita fire battalion chief Jose Ocadiz previous said, adding firefighters then shot water through the building’s vents. “Fire crews remained on scene all night and will continue to monitor the fire (Tuesday).”