Treasure Valley fire crews rush to put out blaze at J.R. Simplot facility in Nampa
Multiple agencies responded to a fire inside the J.R. Simplot building on Middleton Road in Nampa on Wednesday morning.
Nampa Fire crews arrived at the scene shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday to find black smoke billowing from one of Simplot’s decommissioned buildings, said Ron Johnson, Nampa Fire marshal and spokesperson. Fire crews from Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Star and Caldwell joined Nampa to contain the fire, he added.
Simplot employees had been evacuated. One person, a firefighter, sustained a minor injury and was treated at the scene, Johnson said.
Nampa Fire Chief Kirk Carpenter said he was happy to see all the different agencies working together in the difficult situation. Navigating the blaze in the large facility was difficult, he said, with farm and production equipment scattered in the former potato processing plant.
“It was an enormous building and it is difficult to get around because you couldn’t see anything with the smoke,” Carpenter said. “It took a lot of teamwork to get this one under control.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown and will be under investigation, according to Nampa Fire.
