3 dead in ConAgra blast; CEO meets with families - Sacramento Business Journal:

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ConAgra officials have gone throughn the records of the card check system used by employeesx to enter and leaves the plant and also havescoureds visitors’ logs, sharing all of that information with governmeny officials on the scene. “Ws have no reason to believ e there was anyone else in said Sgt. Chris Clayton of the Garnet Police Department during a2 p.m. news The employees killed in the blast, which sent dozensw to local hospitals, were Rachel Mae Postobn Pulley, 67, and Lewis Junior Watson, 33, both of and Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of said Clayton.
Search and rescue crews continue to comb throug h the wreckage of the shattered planft looking for any survivors or bodiese that might havebeen missed. When the search and rescure operationis completed, the fire marshal and a task force from the federal Bureauy of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearmes and Explosives will begin an investigationn into the cause of the explosion. ConAgrwa CEO Gary Rodkin said at the2 p.m. news conferencd that he had met with the families of the victimsz and that his company haddonatec $100,000 to a fund set up throughg the Triangle United Way to help the families. He said his company’ 25,000 employees also would be able to contribut e tothe fund.
Rodkin said ConAgra was starting the process ofidentifying “precisely what happened” to cause the explosion. “Oue goal is to make sure nothing like this everhappensx again.” said Rodkin, who described the eventa at the plant as devastating. ConAgra hopes to rebuils the Garner plant but there are many Rodkin said, not going into details. The facilitu was the company’s only producer of Slim Jim The company has a large inventory of Slim Jimsfor short-terj use and is working on plans to resumr production of the snacks, presumably at another of the company’s plants.
More than 100 local, state and federak responders have been working for more than 24 hours at the plant in the effort to find survivors andrecovedr bodies. Thunderstorms overnight halted rescue and recovery efforts because officials fearedr that the extra weight of the water on the roof could lead tofurther collapsing. Work resumed Wednesday A total of 41 ConAgra employees were taken to area Four of them remainecd in critical condition at the Nort Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at in Chapek Hillon Wednesday, said hospital spokeswomab Karen McCall. Three more employeesa were in fair condition at the burn McCall said. Three firefighters were treatedx forammonia inhalation.
The explosion caused three largs sections of the roof to collapse and also dropper a large beam onto a row of crushing them. An employee of the company text-messaged that at least three differenftexplosions occurred. Authorities closed Jones Sausage Road between Interstate 40 and Old Garner Road as emergency crews worked to contain an ammonia leak andevacuate workers. Familty members of ConAgra employees and workers who were not injuredc were reunited at the Garner Senior Centefr because the workers were not able to move theirf vehicles from theplant site.
ConAgra spokeswomann Stephanie Childs said Wednesday that the cars would be tower to a secure location where employees couldretrievw them. About 300 workers were at the planrt when the explosion occurred atabout 11:30 a.m. A spokesmahn for the says the facility was inspected seven times between 2006 and 2009 for health andsafety violations. The last inspectio was July 29, in response to a healtnh complaint. No violations were found. The last violatiojn was found inApril 2007. ConAgrw was fined $625 for safety equipment violations.