Trade sources indicated orders were being rerouted as needed from other Domino facilities, with some cancellations and delays also noted, but that Domino customers were being covered. “We remain committed to continuing to supply our customers at this time.” “We are confident that the talent and dedication of the Baltimore refinery’s employees will ensure the refinery will quickly overcome this challenge,” said Luis Fernandez, co-president of ASR Group. It’s estimated to produce in excess of 1 million tons of refined sugar annually and is seen as possibly the most critical refinery in the Northeast. The Baltimore refinery is a major supplier of all types of cane sugar to the Northeast, including industrial, retail and foodservice.
#BALTIMORE DOMINO SUGAR FIRE WINDOWS#
The shed became fully engulfed and partially collapsed. Shattered windows of the Domino Sugar plant looked out over South Baltimore last night after an explosion, so powerful that it shook. Firefighters were called around 3:00 Eastern Time on April 20.
Initial reports indicated the fire had spread into the refinery via a conveyor belt that moves raw sugar, but that apparently was not the case.
#BALTIMORE DOMINO SUGAR FIRE FULL#
“No injuries occurred, and employees began to return to work on Wednesday (April 21), when full power was restored to the refinery.” “The fire that began in the raw sugar shed was confined to the shed, a free-standing structure, and did not enter or damage the refinery itself,” ASR said.
Clean-up efforts began April 22 in and around the raw sugar shed where the fire occurred. The cause of the fire still was under investigations.
It should buff right out though.”īaltimore Sun reporter Christine Condon contributed to this article.“Full operations will be restored as soon as possible,” ASR said.Ī vessel loaded with raw sugar was locally available at the Annapolis anchorage and was ready to return to the refinery. “Once the building collapsed, one of our engines took a beating from the heat,” the union tweeted Wednesday. But it would be a third major construction project for a busy facility that is replacing its massive, beloved neon rooftop “Domino Sugars” sign with an LED replica and planning four new on-site finished sugar silos.Ī melted dial on the fire engine’s pump panel looked like a Salvador Dalí painting in a photo tweeted by the International Association of Firefighters Local 734, the union that represents Baltimore firefighters. It’s too soon to know how quickly the simmering sugar shed could be cleared and rebuilt. “We’re going to be utilizing available volume and capacity in our existing network production facilities to fulfill all our customer orders,” O’Malley said. “Tomorrow, we’re going to start cleanup efforts in the raw sugar shed area, moving away the steel structure in coordination with the fire department.”ĭomino’s parent company, American Sugar Refiners, will rely on its refineries in Yonkers, New York, and Chalmette, Louisiana, to backfill orders and seek to avoid any shortages. “Select employees returned to the refinery today, and full power was restored at noon,” O’Malley said Wednesday evening. It planned to resume limited operations Thursday, “processing, packaging and shipping what we have in the refinery already,” O’Malley said. The refinery, which processes about 6.5 million pounds of sugar a day, halted operations Tuesday but brought back some employees Wednesday. Dominos, Kababjees and many-many more In order to check all the restaurants. “We never had any fire inside the refinery,” the Domino spokesman said. The flames climbed sugar conveyor belts, threatening the refinery, but firefighters kept them outside the 99-year-old building, O’Malley said. It’s unclear how much sugar was inside the shed at the time of the blaze. The cause of the blaze, which billowed thick smoke and a strong odor of burnt sugar across the harbor, remains under investigation.ĭomino spokesman Peter O’Malley said a damage estimate was not yet available for the 55-year-old storage shed, which can hold 60 million pounds of raw, unrefined sugar.
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