Seventeen Dallas Fire-Rescue units responded to a fire at the former Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant at 2300 Hickory Street near downtown Dallas Thursday night.
A tweet from Dallas resident Collin Pruett showed a substantial amount of smoke emanating from a facility near a freeway in Dallas.
However, by the time The Dallas Express arrived on the scene, the fire was largely under control.
A ladder unit was deployed to the top of the building, and firefighters could be seen breaking into one of the factory doors. No smoke was visible at this point. Some firefighters said there was still smoke in the building at the time.
The fire was apparently caused by people working on the building. The workers were using blowtorches and accidentally ignited material in the building. The building is in the process of being torn down, Dallas Fire-Rescue said.
Nobody was injured in the fire.
Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue public information officer, told The Dallas Express that the fire was officially under control within an hour and was likely out long before that.
“There was nothing overly spectacular,” Evans said, explaining that sometimes when additional units are in the area, they are routed to a nearby fire.
He said their response is usually three engines and two trucks but could not say for certain why so many units responded to this fire. He said that sometimes the size of a particular building could cause a heavier response from Dallas Fire-Rescue.
“Better to have more and not need than need and not have,” Evans said.
