Built-in technology helps put out Simplot fire Sunday
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 1 week AGO
Technology installed in a processing line contributed to extinguishing a fire at the Simplot Columbia Basin facility Sunday night.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 1, 2026 5:29 PM
MOSES LAKE — Technology built into processing machinery at a Moses Lake business helped extinguish a fire before it could spread Sunday night.
The fire at the Simplot – Columbia Basin processing facility, in the 2000 block of Road O Northeast, was reported at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Grant County Fire District 5 crews responded, but by the time they got there, the technology had done its work.
“On our arrival, there was no smoke. The fire was out,” said Kyle Parker, captain with GCFD 5.
Grant County Fire Marshal Nathan Poplawski said the fire started in a fryer that had not been cleaned properly during its previous production cycle.
“Leftover product and oil ignited,” Poplawski said.
That activated both the overhead sprinkler and the system inside the equipment.
“Inside the fryer itself, there’s fire suppression,” Poplawski said, which put out the fire.
Parker said GCFD 5 crews responded with six trucks and got assistance from the Moses Lake Fire Department. Fire crews monitored the scene to ensure the fire was out, he said.
Most GCFD crews were on the scene about two hours, although some remained until midnight, he said.
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