Company officials report no injuries from Tuesday’s blaze
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Representatives of Kikkoman Foods in Walworth did not report any injuries to employees and firefighters from fire in a soy sauce production area Tuesday morning.
Dan Miller, vice president of administration at Kikkoman, said in a statement the fire happened at about 6 a.m. When employees recognized the problem, they worked quickly to address the issue.
“Internal fire suppression systems were activated and kept the fire from spreading until local fire departments arrived,” he said the following day.
According to Miller, officials were still investigating as of Wednesday, but believe a buildup of powder in parts of the system may have sparked the fire.
While the fire did not cause injuries, Miller said, the soy sauce powder production systems remained out of operation until officials completed an investigation. That investigation will be followed by the implementation of corrective actions and necessary repairs.
“It is too early to give a time estimate for when the repairs will be completed,” Miller said.
“Independent experts will be utilized to inspect the system to confirm repairs are completed properly and all safety concerns are addressed before the system is restarted,” he added.
Several fire departments responded to the blaze including Walworth, Sharon and Fontana.
Walworth fire officials did not offer further details related to the fire and referred inquiries to Kikkoman.
“Kikkoman is extremely grateful to the fire, rescue and law enforcement personnel who arrived quickly to assist,” Miller said.
