Food Processing, Manufacturing Kansas City, KS – Sprinklers activate in blaze at Kellogg plant after oven malfunction July 12, 2016 viking210 Three firefighters were treated for heat-related illness after fighting a fire July 6 at the Kellogg plant at 801 Sunshine Road in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kan. Damage to the plant and its product were estimated at $1.5 million, the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department spokesman said. The building was valued at $60 million before the fire. There were no injuries to the plant workers when the fire broke out, according to the Fire Department spokesman. The plant, which makes Cheez-Its, was in production at the time of the fire. The plant is currently closed while it is being cleaned up, according to the Fire Department, and it is estimated to be closed for several days to a week. Health officials will need to inspect it before it reopens. The plant’s workers were in the process of being evacuated when firefighters arrived, the spokesman said. The call came in around 9:01 p.m. Wednesday, with the first firefighters arriving about 3 minutes later. The Fire Department spokesman said the fire started in one of the ovens at the plant that malfunctioned. The plant has four ovens, around 400 feet long, with a conveyor belt through them. The sprinkler system activated during the fire. The fire was near the end of one of the ovens, and the product was burning there, the spokesman said. The Fire Department spokesman estimated that the firefighters faced temperatures of 120 to 130 degrees inside the building during the fire. It was also hot outdoors.
