Fire at Cedar Rapids Quaker Oats plant follows explosion

A fire broke out at the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday after what the Cedar Rapids Fire Department described as an apparent explosion. Workers evacuated safely, and officials reported no injuries among employees or firefighters. Firefighters responded at about 4:45 p.m., the department said. Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said all workers were accounted for and the fire began in a product-handling area that was not heavily populated with employees. The department later reported that most of the fire had been extinguished, with limited interior operations continuing at about 6:25 p.m. The cause of the explosion and fire had not been determined. PepsiCo Foods US said responders went to the scene and that the cause would be investigated. No findings from that investigation were reported. The plant’s scale made the fire a significant industrial incident for Cedar Rapids. The company’s website describes the facility as the world’s largest milling facility, processing more than 2 million pounds of oats daily. The plant is part of Quaker Oats, which is owned by PepsiCo. The mayor said the affected section handled products and was not typically a heavily staffed area....