This news outlet obtained 10 emergency 911 calls about the fire from Fairfield Fire Department, offering a clearer picture of how the incident unfolded at the facility at 635 Commerce Center Drive. Most were placed by Koch Foods’ alarm service, with several others coming from employees.
In a call placed at 12:56 a.m., someone tells dispatchers, “We’ve got the fire alarm going on saying that we have something going on at the mezzanine” at the facility. He added later that “maintenance is telling me that we need the fire department.”
Dispatchers tell the man “We’re going to upgrade it to a structure response, OK?”
“This is not a false alarm,” another man says in the background.
As a dispatcher tells him to evacuate the building, the man says “Yes, we are evacuating. People, get out!”
In a second call, an out-of-breath man tells dispatchers, “I’m, I’m at Koch Foods. I just need to make sure that somebody’s called, the fire department’s on the way.”
“OK, sir, the fire department’s on their way now,” a dispatcher said, “Just make sure you evacuate the building and take anyone you can with you.”
Moments later, in a third call, someone requests an ambulance and the fire department. Amid a considerable amount of background noise that follows, a dispatcher asks “Are you able to get out,” and then, “Can you hear me? Are you able to leave the building?”
The caller replies, “Yes, yes, I’m a (inaudible) supervisor at Koch Foods.”
“We have the fire department on the way,” the dispatcher says, “Are you able to get out of the building?,” to which the man confirms he can.
Koch Foods is a major poultry processor company and one of Fairfield’s largest employers. It has operated its chicken processing and packaging plants on Port Union Road since 1999.
The company has not answered inquiries by this news outlet seeking an update on the site’s status, details on any support being provided or an estimate of the total damage from the incident.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Conn said. The Fairfield Fire Investigations Unit is leading the investigation with assistance from the State Fire Marshal’s office, Conn said.
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