Cause of fire at Missouri Better Bean plant is still unknown

As of Monday afternoon, the cause of the fire that destroyed the Missouri Better Bean plant in Bunceton is undetermined.

Mike O’Connell, Missouri Department of Public Safety Communications Director, said an electrical cause could not be eliminated due to the extent of the damage.

Investigators have determined the fire started in the lower level of the plant where electrical lines enter the building through a concrete wall. O’Connell said this is where one plant employee originally observed the fire.

After working several hours Saturday to put out a fire at the Missouri Better Bean plant, fire officials said the building is destroyed.

“It will be a total loss other than the office building in the front and the one elevator could be contained, but the actual plant itself is going to be a total loss,” said Ryan Reuter, Cooper County Fire Division Chief.

Firefighters first responded to the fire at 136 West Main Street around 11:15 a.m., Cooper County EMA said.

Multiple Mid-Missouri Fire Departments were called in to assist, including bringing in water from surrounding towns and bringing in ladder trucks.

“It’s taken every department that we have,” Reuter said. “We’re not able to get a full staff here, but we’re getting by with support of all the other departments. There’s probably well over 10 departments here helping us today.”

It is still unclear what caused the fire. Reuter said they do know the fire started inside the plant

Rhys Minnick, who lives just down the street from the plant, said he heard several loud sounds before the fire.

“Just explosions or what we thought were explosions,” he said. “When we first stepped out it was pretty much just black smoke covering the air, then it died down for a minute and then the yellow smoke from the chemicals built up.”

Inside the plant are several propane gas tanks and tanks containing oil.

“Propane you just have to let it burn out and keep the tank from getting to a temperature that’s uncontrollable,” said Reuter. “So that was a several hour process just getting the propane to leak off.”

Authorities advised people living in a half mile radius of the soybean plant to evacuate. As of Saturday evening, it was safe for residents to be in their homes.

No one was inside the plant at the time of the fire and no one was injured.

Local fire crews stayed at the plant until late Saturday evening to monitor hot spots in the building.

Reuter said the EPA will also most likely be called in to assess the oil and water runoff that made its way into some waterways in the town.

The fire still remains under investigation.