Food Processing, Manufacturing Russell, KS – Grain dust fire at gluten plant extinguished with help from sprinkler system January 1, 2017 viking210 A minor explosion and small fire occurred early Wednesday afternoon at White Energy’s gluten plant in Russell. Russell City Firefighters responded to the fire at about 12:45 PM Wednesday. The Russell Police Department also responded for traffic control. According to Fire Chief Shane Preston, the blaze was mostly extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system, but firefighters had to put out a few hot embers. Preston said the fire started when a piece of equipment in a grain bin overheated. It caught some grain on fire, the fire mixed with grain dust and caused a flash fire, which was the explosion. The blaze was contained to the grain bin. The incident is still under investigation. There were no injuries.
