Workers accounted for after fire at Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids

All workers were accounted for after a fire at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, October 24, Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said. She reported no injuries. Firefighters found what appeared to be evidence of an explosion followed by a fire, according to a Cedar Rapids Fire Department statement reported by Hindustan Times. The cause has not been established.

What firefighters found at the Quaker Oats plant

Police and firefighters were dispatched at about 4:45 p.m. following a report of an explosion at the building, the fire department said in the statement quoted by Hindustan Times. By 5:30 p.m., all plant workers had been accounted for, while firefighting operations continued. The department described its finding as apparent evidence of an explosion and subsequent fire, rather than a determination of what caused either one.

A separate city statement described the dispatch as a response to a reported structure fire at about 4:44 p.m., Hindustan Times reported. The city and fire department statements quoted by the outlet gave different street designations for the Quaker Oats facility: the city said 2nd Street NE, while the department said 2nd Street Southeast.

Company says the cause will be investigated

PepsiCo Foods US said fire responders had gone to the scene and that how the fire started would be investigated, according to AP. The company did not establish a cause in that account. The fire department’s description of apparent explosion evidence likewise leaves the sequence’s underlying cause unresolved.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley reacted while crews were responding. ‘I’m praying for the safety of those in or near the building and for the first responders on the scene,’ he wrote in a social media post quoted by Hindustan Times. His statement expressed concern for people at the facility and emergency crews; the department’s 5:30 p.m. update subsequently accounted for the plant workers.