Severn Peanut fire rekindles

By Calvin Bryant (Contact) | Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald

Published Saturday, August 29, 2009

SEVERN – A fire that broke out Aug. 11 at Severn Peanut Company rekindled here Saturday afternoon.

Firefighters from several area departments, including Severn and Murfreesboro, returned to the scene where smoke was seen billowing from the top of a domed storage facility used by the company to store peanuts.

Unconfirmed sources say the domed storage facility was capable of storing over 500 tractor-trailer loads of peanuts.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Northampton County Sheriff’s deputies and the Conway Police Department positioned vehicles in and around the scene for traffic control.

Dark smoke, carried by a southwest breeze, blew north and away from downtown Severn.

The entire top of the dome was lost in the original fire, one discovered around 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

At the fire’s outset over two weeks ago, Northampton County Emergency Management along with North Carolina Emergency Management were on the scene, as were officials with Public Health Regional Surveillance Team for Region 1, North Carolina Regional Response Team and Industrial Fumigant Company of Winston-Salem.

Precautionary steps were taken to ensure the safety of the community and an evacuation plan was put into place if needed.

As of Aug. 14, the fire was deemed “stabilized” until it flared up again today.

What caused the initial blaze remains Saturday.

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