Damage clears $1 million

A fire late Saturday left a local business with more than $1 million in damage.
The Fisher family was left to assess its building and equipment while considering steps forward Sunday and this morning after the fire destroyed most of the equipment in the north side of its building located near the intersection of High and Ship streets in Portland. The fire was contained in the processing section of the building and away from the retail side because of a firewall.
The retail side is closed today, but Brad Fisher said this morning that the goal is to re-open Tuesday. The fire did not affect the area of the business that handles butcher shop products, and all of the completed processed products are kept in a separate building on the southeast corner of the property.
“We can use that stuff to be able to run and operate,” said Fisher. “When that’s gone, then it’s questionable.”
Portland Fire Department was called at 10:43 p.m. Saturday and arrived four minutes later. A total of 20 firefighters and three trucks responded.
Initially, flames could be seen coming from the seam atop the roof of the building, but most of what was visible throughout the next hour was smoke.
Firefighters entered the building first through a second-level door that faces High Street and then through a main-floor door that faces an alley on the west side of the building. They had the fire substantially under control by about 11:45 p.m. but remained on scene until 2:16 a.m. in an effort to clear smoke from the building and make sure no fire remained.
Portland Fire Chief Mike Weitzel said this morning that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, though Fisher noted that initial indications point to an electrical fire.
Fisher estimated equipment losses to be at least $1 million, in addition to at least $100,000 in products that will have to be thrown away. The shell of the building remained in tact, but the structure inside will need to be rebuilt.
“This is where all of our expensive equipment is,” said Fisher. “And it’s completely toast.”
“Everything is torched.”
The biggest concern for the business now is being able to service all of its accounts. For instance, it recently got sausage into Kroger stores through northern Indiana company Fair Oaks Farms. Beyond the two-to-three week supply it has already delivered, it will likely not be able to fulfill that commitment.
It faces a similar situation with other accounts.
“That’s the scary thing,” Fisher said. “All these accounts that we’ve worked so hard to get and build up and make the product for them, they could go somewhere else.”
Fisher Packing also has a Muncie location, but that is a retail site only. All of the meat processing was done in Portland.
On Sunday night, Fisher and his family had scouted a building in Greenville, Ohio, as part of an effort to find a new site for its meat processing to get up and running as soon as possible.
He said the company would need at least 5,000 square feet, and ideally 15,000 square feet, in order to operate.
He noted that the processing side of the operation could be down for six months or more depending on whether used equipment could be purchased or new machines would have to be ordered.
“We can open up and take care of our local customers,” said Fisher, whose family has more than 30 employees. “The guys in other areas that we’ve worked so hard over the last five to seven years to build that business, that’s the one we’re worried about.
“The two main things are, one, we want to take care of our customers and, two, we want to take care of our employees.”