Burbank biodiesel plant damaged by fire on 4th
From the Tri-City Herald / July 4, 2009
SUSPICIOUS FIRE BURNS BURBANK BIODIESEL PLANT
By Paula Horton, Herald staff writerBURBANK — A suspicious fire, possibly caused by fireworks, heavily damaged a Burbank biodiesel manufacturing plant early Saturday, officials said.
About 30,000 gallons of vegetable oil spilled when a three-alarm fire broke out. The oil was contained to the plant and no contaminants reached the Snake River, said Dan Partridge, spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.
Ramon M. Benavides, vice president of business development for Gen-X Energy Group, said fire officials told him the blaze started outside the plant and may have been caused by fireworks.
See the full article here.
This follow-up article ran in the Monday (July 6) edition of the Herald:
BURBANK BIODIESEL PLANT WANTS TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS
By Paula Horton, Herald staff writerBURBANK — A suspicious fire that “heavily damaged” a Burbank biodiesel manufacturing plant won’t prevent the facility from operating for long if company officials have their way.
The Gen-X Energy Group’s 18,000-square-foot warehouse at the Port of Walla Walla’s Burbank Industrial Facility is not structurally stable after a fire believed to have started outside spread throughout the building, officials said. The plant will now be idle, but company officials “are making plans to select a new site for production at the Port of Walla Walla in the next 48 hours,” said Ramon Benavides, vice president of business development for Gen-X Energy Group.
Meanwhile, the Mid-Columbia Regional Arson Investigation Team and the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Investigation Unit are looking into what started the blaze early Saturday, Benavides said. …
Update: A follow-up article entitled SALVAGED BIODIESEL MOVING TO MOSES LAKE appeared in the July 8 edition of the Tri-City Herald. KNDO-KNDU has this coverage, which includes video.
