Fire reported at Wichita’s Cargill soybean plant

No one was injured in a Cargill soybean facility fire in Wichita.

The fire was first reported at 9 p.m. Monday and a second alarm was sounded as crews responded at 10:10 p.m. to the soybean crush plant in the 1400 block of Mosley, according to the Wichita Fire Department’s Facebook post, which provided the photo at the top of the story.

A 100-foot tall, large soybean dryer was on fire inside the plant. Battalion Chief 1 arrived on location, set up a command post at 14th and Mosley, and requested a second alarm assignment. “During this time smoke conditions began to rapidly changed, and a large fireball ignited coming off the structure,” the fire department reported. “At one time it was reported that a worker may be trapped in a mechanical room; crews cleared the reported area of anyone trapped and quickly evacuated due to the possibility of additional smoke explosions and structural compromise. Fortunately, the worker was safe; it was later discovered that the reported trapped occupant had been outside the entire time and was missed during a head count.”

Fire crews worked for several hours in a defensive stance to contain the blaze and remained on scene throughout the night, the report said.

“We can confirm there was a fire at our Wichita soybean facility overnight,” according to a Cargill spokeswoman. “Most importantly, all employees are safe. The fire department has been onsite with us to contain the fire.”

Media outlets have reported the fire was caused by a soybean dryer.

The company on its website had posted a note at 8 a.m. March 10 that it was not accepting trucks.

The spokeswoman said more details are expected to be released as they are available.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].