It just never happens to you......

[captain2k_ca]

As of 19:00 PST Thursday February 10. I am no longer working at Americold Logistics Canada. In fact nobody is. It is 12 am Friday Feb. 11 and they still don't have the fire out. I dont know what is going to happen, but this is not good at all. Going to have to wait and see I guess. Amazing, this is the type of thing you read about happening to others!!! But not to yourself.

I am still in shock.

I took a few photos, tho they aren't very good.

I probably won't know the total extent of the damage for a while, but just by what I saw it is going to be a long time to get things going again.

http://albertabucks.com/ipw-web/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album67

Dunno......

[gd357]

That's a bummer man. I hope things work out.

gd357

[Andy L]

Wow that is tough.

Best wishes for you and yours. Dont really know what to say....


Andy

[Rocky Raab]

Keep us posted, friend.

It certainly highlights the wisdom of setting a little bit aside every paycheck, instead of buying every new toy that comes along.

Cause ya never know when the "other guy" becomes the one looking out of your mirror.

[captain2k_ca]

Fire forces shutdown

No one injured but blaze forces production shutdown as Lamb-Weston forced to send employees home until further notice

By DAVE SULZ and RIC SWIHART

Lethbridge Herald

TABER -- A fire Thursday night at the Lamb-Weston complex east of Taber has shut down operations at the french fry processing plant until further notice.

The fire at the AmLog Canada storage facility was discovered around 8:15 p.m. Thursday by second-shift employees responding to an automated alarm.

AmLog is a subsidiary of AmeriCold Logistics, an Atlanta-based firm which handles frozen-food storage and distribution for Lamb-Weston.

No one was injured in the incident and the cause of the fire is under investigation. A damage estimate was not available.

Brad Mason, Taber emergency services director, said Friday the roof was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

"You could see from a distance it was a significant fire," said Mason, adding crews were called from Lethbridge, Coaldale, Vauxhall, Grassy Lake and Bow Island to assist in fighting the fire.

While a breeze was blowing at the time of the fire, "the wind was in our favour," said Mason. "It was a prevailing west wind which worked in blowing the heat away from the rest of the facility. That made it easier for containment."

The blaze was contained by about 11:30 p.m. and was out by just after 3 a.m.

AmeriCold said a team from the company was assessing the damage and determining plans for restoring operations at the 166,000-square-foot facility, which stores frozen foods for a number of foodservice customers. Provisions were being made to provide alternative distribution services to minimize customer inconvenience.

Bob McKeon of Omaha, Neb., a Lamb-Weston spokesman, said Friday the plant will remain closed until alternative cold storage warehousing can be found. The company hopes to resume production next week, pending location of warehousing space.

The fire at the firm's french fry processing plant 13 kilometres east of Taber on Highway 3 caused only minor smoke damage to a warehouse on site. The fire was contained mostly to the AmLog operation. AmLog leases the warehouses from Lamb-Weston and contracts to store the frozen potato products until needed for sales.

"There was no fire in our building," said McKeon.

All employees were sent home and none were injured. The plant employs about 200 workers.

McKeon said there was no damage to any of the potato processing equipment or the french fry manufacturing space.

McKeon said there was some processed product loss but he didn't have any firm details.

Consumers, mostly restaurants served by the plant production, won't notice a hitch in product supply, said McKeon. Other Lamb-Weston plants can process similar products and have it in the hands of customers on short notice.

[LoneWolf]

Terrible thing to happen to anyone, and I can only imagine the thoughts going through your mind right now.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you, and hoping for the best.

[iwerk2hard]

Just don't give up.
I had a minor setback with a hospital stay and a few weeks off of work at the end of November. Things didn't look good at all. I got back to work as soon as I could and things are getting back to "normal" a bit quicker than my wife and I thought they would. If we would have just said Oh $#!t now we're sunk, I'm sure we would have sunk. Keep your head up and look for ways to help yourself, and don't ignore help from others. I got a short term disability check to help out a bit. For 2 weeks of missed work it was $86.00. (Then there was withholding for SSI, Medicare and I have to pay income tax on it, it works out to $63.00, or a whopping 79 cents per hour.) My first thought was insult, but then I decided that it's better than nothing. We used it wisely and paid close attention to our finances. I sold a few items I didn't use much and I quit spending money unless it was absolutely necessary. With the support of the family we are recovering well. You will do the same. I didn't lose a place of employment, I had a health problem, you lost a place of employment. That's going to take more to get past, but you can do it.
I'm sure that there are a lot of your co-workers competing for any temporary or part time jobs to get them through this tough time. You are as good as they are, if not better. Present yourself well and get one of the presumably few jobs, even if it isn't up to what you were doing. It's only temporary, and something is better than nothing. Have faith in yourself, your family and your friends, but don't expect anyone to just hand everything to you, you'll find that warm place in the middle that lets you know everything is right.
Best wishes to you and your family.
:)

[Jack]

Captain, you have my sympathy.
It sure is one of the unexpected developmentsa that makes life 'interesting' I guess you could say.
Hope it all works out for you.

[captain2k_ca]

Okee so here is the scoop.

We had a general staff meeting Sunday night. They have decided to get going on rebuilding the freezer. And we are going to do all the clean up. SO the good news is I still have a job. The bad news is I am not going to spend much, if any time on my computer for the next while. Starting Thursday they want to run 24 hours a day 7 days a week full shifts. So they are making the crews into 2 shifts and we are going to work 12 hours a day. 7 days a week. So looks like no days off for anybody for at least 3 weeks. They are also hiring 20 - 25 new people to help out during this time. Its going to be a long road, but they want to be fully operational in as little time as possible!! They are calling this "extreme makeover warehouse edition!!"

Its going to be alot of work!

[TreeDoc]

LMAO! See Cap'n, yesterday you didn't have a job, a paycheck, or an idea when you would. Today you got more work then you'll have time for!

Glad to hear they'll keep you busy. After reading your initial post I reflected on what I would do as a business owner wanting to help my employees. What you're doing is exactly what I was thinking.

On another note, you know how lacking I am in the "serious" department. Do you think maybe you guys now qualify for the Guinness Book of Record's "World's Largest French Fry Cookoff"??? :D What the hell did that smell like?

I'm bracing myself for the elevated prices of French Fries now, dammit...I knew I shouldn't have sold short on those French Fry Futures. This is definitely worse than crude oil or gasoline. :(

[iwerk2hard]

It went from wondering where your paycheck would come from to wondering how you can handle the extra work. Take advantage of as much overtime as you can handle, put a bit of the money in a seperate fund, and when it all blows over take a vacation, even if it's just a long weekend. Put some of the extra money into getting ahead on your housing or utility payments, or just into an interest bearing account that you can set aside for an emergency. If things go wrong it's better to start a week or two ahead of the game than to be up against the wall right from the start.
I'd say your prayers have been answered, put it to the best use without depriving yourself of a bit of R&R.
:D

[Jack]

Great news, Captain !

[gumpokc]

Sorry to hear about the fire Captain, but I know _exactly_ how you feel.

I work at the oil company that burned to the ground just over a month ago in Oklahoma city.

They are rebuilding, but this last month has been "hectic" to say the least.

It's ahell of a way to wake on on saturday morning, turn on the news and see your job on fire :/

Keep your chin up, it does get better.

[captain2k_ca]

On another note, you know how lacking I am in the "serious" department. Do you think maybe you guys now qualify for the Guinness Book of Record's "World's Largest French Fry Cookoff"??? What the hell did that smell like?


Sorry mate, but there werent alot of fries actually cooked :D:D

Just around the outside edges......everything is coated in ice tho.....3 inches thick on the floor...spent all day chipping ice :( :(

[captain2k_ca]

Small update for you all

We got finished removing the last pallet Saturday Feb. 26.

It was glorious to finally be done!!!!!! It was a long, grueling 13 days of non stop work....amazing the way that the people all pulled together to get the job done! I also want to thank the several Americans that Americold sent to us to help out with the effort!! It was really nice to have an extra set of experienced eyes watching our backs!!

No injuries during the whole thing, few mishaps(Pieces of roof falling, part of the racking system fell during removla, one lift truck rolled over)Pretty amazing when you consider that approximately 19000 pallets were moved in less than 2 weeks!!! We averaged to get out around 6 million + pounds every single day!! I know we are getting some video clips and pictures once its gets all put together, so I will share with you what I can

So Monday is basically back to normal shifts......we are all getting cut back 8 hours a week until the freezer is rebuilt, but have been told that we are going to still get a full 40 hours pay every week Thank God for insurance!!:D

[Valigator]

Good for you...thank God