JONESBORO -- Fire damaged a bran drying building at Riceland Foods in Jonesboro on Saturday evening, and officials with the company say it will take two to four months before the facility can reopen.
No one was injured in the blaze at the plant at 216 N. Gee St., said Eric Simmons, a division chief of training with the Jonesboro Fire Department. The fire -- which was reported at 11 p.m. Saturday -- began in a machine used for extracting oil from rice bran.
Bill Reed, a spokesman for Riceland Foods in Stuttgart, which oversees the Jonesboro facility, said one employee works in the building during each shift and will be assigned other duties in Jonesboro while repairs are made.
Damage was estimated at about $500,000, Reed said.
Workers will transport rice bran to the Stuttgart facility to extract oil while the Jonesboro building is repaired.
State Desk on 01/12/2016