Brief Summary
This video recounts the devastating fire at the Imperial Food Products chicken processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, on September 3, 1991. The fire, which resulted in 25 deaths and 54 injuries, was a consequence of the plant's long-standing neglect of safety regulations and evasion of inspections to cut costs. The summary covers the plant's history, the events leading up to the fire, the disaster itself, and the aftermath, including the legal repercussions and changes in safety regulations.
- The plant had a history of safety violations and neglected maintenance.
- The fire was caused by a faulty hydraulic line and exacerbated by flammable materials.
- Locked and blocked exits contributed to the high death toll.
- The incident led to significant reforms in North Carolina's safety inspection processes.
On September 3, 1991, a fire erupted at the Imperial Food Products chicken processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. The fire proved unusually devastating, and the subsequent investigation revealed a history of regulatory neglect and inspection evasion at the plant. This negligence, driven by cost-cutting measures, ultimately led to a tragic loss of life for the plant's workers.
Imperial Food Products was established by Emmett Rowe in the 1970s, focusing on processing and supplying chicken products to various companies. Rowe expanded his business by acquiring a factory in Hamlet in 1980, which his son, Brad Rowe, managed. The Hamlet plant, formerly an ice cream factory, was strategically located near chicken suppliers and distributors, with access to a cheap labour force due to the area's job shortage. Despite extensive renovations, the plant faced numerous issues from the start, including the owners' failure to obtain necessary licenses to avoid costs and inspections. The plant was also accused of contaminating the town's water supply and experienced several small fires, one of which disabled the sprinkler system, which was never replaced. The Rowe's were able to avoid consequences due to the factory's importance as an employer and contributor to the town's economy, leading officials to overlook the safety violations.
On the day of the fire, workers were repairing a leaking hydraulic line on one of the machines. Despite a request for a new line, the Rowes insisted on using a spare part to save money. The spare line was too long, so workers cut and connected it using an improvised connector while the factory was operational. Shortly after the machine was put back into use, the connector failed, spraying flammable hydraulic fluid across the room. The fluid ignited upon contact with a cooker's heating element, causing a rapid fire. The fire was fuelled by chicken grease, cooking oil vats, and gas supplies, producing intense heat and poisonous gas. Workers tried to escape, but many found fire exits locked or blocked. The manager, Brad Rowe, attempted to call the fire department, but the phone lines had burned through, forcing him to drive to the local fire station. The local volunteer fire department was not called due to the fire chief's personal prejudices, delaying the response. Bystanders and survivors worked to clear exits, but by the time the fire was under control, 25 people had died, and 54 were injured.
Following the fire, OSHA conducted an investigation and found multiple safety violations, including locked fire exits, which workers reported were to prevent theft. It was determined that most deaths could have been avoided if the plant had complied with safety standards. While the plant was inspected for food safety, the same attention was not given to worker safety. Emmett Rowe was charged with 25 counts of involuntary manslaughter but received a plea bargain, resulting in a prison sentence of just over 19 years, of which he served only four. Imperial Food Products was fined $808,150, but the company declared bankruptcy and was unable to pay. The site remained a reminder of the tragedy until it was cleared in 2002. The state of North Carolina overhauled its inspection processes, focusing on high-risk industries, increasing the number of inspectors, and raising fines for violations. Many food processing companies voluntarily improved safety measures to distance themselves from the Rowes and Imperial Food Products.
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Transcript
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0:07 [Music] on the 3rd of september 1991 a fire began at the imperial food products chicken processing plant in hamlet north carolina the fire was an unusually devastating one and during the investigation which followed it would be revealed that the plant had a long history of ignoring regulation and evading inspection an attempt to reduce costs that ultimately cost those who worked there everything imperial food products was founded by a man named emmett rowe in the 1970s its main business was the processing and supply of chicken products to other companies including restaurants and retailers
0:52 rowe owned several facilities with the factory and hamlet being acquired in 1980 to add to his growing portfolio this particular plant would be managed by emmett's son brad rowe this factory had been sitting empty for a while it had started life as the mellow buttercup ice cream plant but was ideally situated to be turned into a chicken processing facility standing in the town of hamlet in north carolina the plant was geographically close to both suppliers of chicken and distributors of chicken products not only that but labor in the area was cheap as there was a serious shortage of jobs once acquired by imperial food products
1:38 the building was renovated extensively and quickly became the home of one of the largest employers in the area even from the very beginning though there were a lot of problems at the plant the rose never applied for many of the licenses required to run the business as doing so would have cost a great deal of money and caused them to be subject to surprise inspections by the state the plant was accused of contaminating the town's water supply with chicken grease and furthermore suffered several small fires in 1980 1983 and 1987. one of these fires disabled the sprinkler system that had been put in place by the previous tenant of the building it was not replaced
2:23 for any other business this consistent refusal to comply with licensing and safety regulations might have resulted in an investigation a massive fine and perhaps further legal consequences for the responsible parties however in the case of the imperial food products plant in hamlet the rows were able to get away with an extraordinary amount of non-compliance for one simple reason the factory was a vital employer for the town and contributed hugely to its economy should anything cause the factory to close or relocate it would be devastating for the people of hamlet for this reason officials often turned a blind eye an attitude they later described as benign neglect
3:10 in the days leading up to the disaster workers at the hamlet plant made some repairs to a leaking hydraulic line on one of the machines the head mechanic had requested a brand new replacement line but was told by the rose that it would be too expensive and to use a spare part instead workers fitted a spare line but were unhappy with the result the line was too long and presented a trip hazard to tidy up their work they sliced the line into pieces with a saw and used an improvised connector to shorten it it's worth noting that this was all done while the factory was fully operational it was standard practice to do so as closing down the production line could be extremely costly and any worker who
3:56 did so risked losing their job as soon as the repair was made then the machine was put back into use it was around 8 15 am and there were approximately 90 staff members on site at this point in time as soon as the line was put back into action the improvised connector failed the hose snapped spraying flammable hydraulic fluid across the room on contact with the heating element of a cooker this fluid ignited and a fire spread rapidly through the factory there was plenty of fuel for this fire many surfaces in the factory were coated with residual chicken grease and there were large vats of cooking oil and multiple gas supplies throughout the building these flammable materials
4:43 contributed to a fire that was so hot it easily melted materials that were supposed to be fireproof and produced huge quantities of poisonous gas that could kill with just a single breath workers fled through any exit they could reach those on one side of the fire were able to leave through the main door but those on the far side were trapped and found multiple fire exits locked or blocked in one case workers were prevented from escaping through a delivery dock because it was obstructed by a truck in the cab of which the driver had fallen asleep desperate to escape the smoke and flames workers tried to kick out air conditioning units break down doors and even take shelter inside a walk-in
5:30 fridge manager brad rowe tried to place a cool to the fire department but by the time he did so the phone lines had burned through and were inoperable he was forced to drive to the local fire station to report the fire in person instead hamlet had only a tiny official fire department and so further help was requested from several nearby towns there was a volunteer fire department based just five minutes away from the factory firefighters there were on standby and available to assist however this volunteer department was based in a largely african-american area for reasons that are officially uncertain but may have been connected to
6:16 personal prejudices the hamlet fire chief made the decision not to call on them and to await help from further afield instead while this help was on its way bystanders and survivors did what they could they woke the sleeping truck driver and had him pull away from the loading bay to create a way out while at the same time a tractor was used to haul aside a dumpster that was blocking another exit by 10 am the fire was under control for two hours firefighters searched the ruins of the building hoping to find survivors there were few at 12 20 the same day their work became a recovery operation 25 people had lost their lives and a
7:01 further 54 had been injured the vast majority of the dead were employees of the factory although one visitor had also died a delivery driver who had been restocking vending machines on site at the time of the fire in the aftermath of the disaster the occupational safety and health administration carried out a detailed investigation multiple safety issues were identified not least of which were the locked fire exit doors something which many workers reported was done to prevent theft had the plant complied with the safety standards it should have complied with it was suggested that the majority of deaths that had taken place during the fire could have been avoided it was noted that the plant had been
7:48 inspected to ensure that it was producing food that was safe to eat and that time money and energy had been put into maintaining compliance with food safety standards but unfortunately the same energy had not been dedicated to ensuring the safety of the people working there emmett rowe as the owner of the plant was charged with 25 counts of involuntary manslaughter but negotiated a plea bargain no charges were made against his son brad rowe but emmett rowe was sent to prison for a little over 19 years after serving just four he was let out early and went on to enjoy a quiet retirement in georgia imperial food product was handed an unprecedented fine of eight hundred and
8:34 eight thousand one hundred and fifty dollars so huge was the fine in fact that the company immediately went bankrupt and was unable to pay it emmet rowe also declared personal bankruptcy and so it was left to his insurers to foot the bill in the many many civil suits which followed for many years the ruins of the plant remained in place a constant reminder of the tragedy that had devastated hamlet it was only in 2002 that the site was finally cleared though the trauma of the fire remains a serious issue for many survivors and families in hamlet to this day soon after the disaster the state of north carolina overhauled its inspection processes with a new focus on high-risk
9:20 industries more inspectors and higher fines for violations many other food processing companies made voluntary improvements to safety and record keeping and sought to distance themselves from the rose and imperial food products the hamlet chicken processing plant fire remains a horrifying example of how costly attempting to save money can be an attempt to save the cost of a new hydraulic line ended up costing the company everything allowing a factory to operate in an unsafe condition in an effort to retain a valuable employer ended up costing the town not just the factory but the very lives of the people who had worked there
10:27 you
