Catastrophe struck the Greenberg Smoked Turkey plant in Tyler, Texas, when at least one explosion occurred at the facility in the leadup to the Thanksgiving holiday. As of Tuesday evening, no one had been reported injured in the Tyler, Texas explosion, according to local Fire Marshal Paul Findley.
The company, located in eastern Texas, sells about 200,000 smoked turkeys every holiday season. The explosion (or pair of explosions) resulted in major damage to the plant, forcing it to shut down completely. Greenberg Smoked Turkey Inc. in Tyler, Texas, will halt production for the rest of 2020 after some sort of mechanical failure ignited a fire that resulted in a freezer holding 87,000 turkeys to explode. A team of 24 firefighters were called in to battle the intense blaze following the turkey plant explosion.
An investigation into the cause of the blast commenced once firefighters managed to put the blaze at the Tyler turkey plant out. Information about the cause of the turkey plant explosion is only beginning to come together. At this early juncture, there is also a question as to whether there was one or two explosions at the Greenburg Smoked Turkey plant. There is evidence that two explosions may have occurred in generally the same part of the facility in quick succession.
A preliminary report from investigators and the company itself indicates that there was some sort of yet to be identified “mechanical failure” at the plant. The unidentified mechanical failure is thought to have some resulted in an intense and quickly spreading fire. The fire engulfed a freezer unit at the facility that contained over 87,000 turkeys. Ultimately, the refrigeration unit exploded, resulting in further damage to the facility, including sending more of the plant up in flames.
As mentioned a moment ago, no one appears to have been injured in the Tyler, Texas turkey plant explosion. An undetermined number of turkeys that were contained in the freezer were blown clear of the facility and landed on the grounds of the plant and on surrounding roadways, making for a macabre scene as we lead up to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Greenburg Smoked Turkeys is a family business that fired up its smokers for the first time in 1938. The Tyler, Texas plant produces about 200,000 turkeys each year during the holiday season. The company explained that a secret family recipe is used to season turkeys before they are smoked for at least 14 hours at the plant. Firefighters evidently estimated that they spent twice this amount of time bringing the blaze at the plant following the explosion under control. There is some speculation that the fire may have started as a result of a mechanical breakdown in the smoking process. With that said, the company has not confirmed that this was the cause.
The owner of the company and grandson of the founder announced that the Tyler, Texas turkey smoking plant will be back in operation in 2021, in time for the next holiday season. He also advised that anyone who ordered a turkey from the company will receive a full refund.
The Tyler Texas turkey plant blast stands apart from other similar industrial accidents involving explosions and ferocious fires because no one has been reported to be injured. That simply is not the normal result of an industrial explosion and fire of this nature.
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