Fire At Florida's Natural Plant

    Units from Umatilla, Eustis, and Lake County responded to a fire at the Florida’s Natural packing plant on Friday, June 30. The fire, which occurred around 5 p.m. was located in the Umatilla plant’s southern section, at a building that is used to package Florida’s Natural brand products.
   No injuries were reported from the fire, nor was its cause available at press deadline Monday, other than being deemed ‘accidental’.
   “An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing,” said Nikki Hayde, of Florida’s Natural. “Damages are being assessed and deliveries of product should not be interrupted while clean up and repairs are completed.”
   Lake County officials on Monday said its fire rescue units arrived at the scene around 4:55 p.m., four minutes after being called, with the fire well underway.
   "Dona Vista station arrived …. to find a large fire on the exterior of the building near the loading docks," said James Frye. "The building's automatic sprinkler system kept the fire fire entering the building, allowing fire crews to extinguish the fire without incident."
   Frye estimated losses at around $50,000.
   “However, smoke entered the refrigerated portion of the warehouse, and the product loss is unknown at this time.
   “The fire damage was limited to the exterior of the building, and the cause of the fire is accidental,” Frye said.
   Florida's Natural, based in Winter Haven, operates the sprawling facility, which is located just outside of Umatilla on SR 19 and employs an estimated 100 people. An area near the site of the fire is currently under construction, but it is unknown if the blaze was a result of that activity.