No injuries have been reported, but a fire at the Hola Nola Foods facility was finally contained this morning, after burning since early Tuesday, officials say.
The Louisiana company, which produces tortillas, chips, popcorn, dips and seasonings that are sold in several Acadiana stores, has a processing facility in Geismar. We've reached out to the company for an update, but haven't yet heard back.
Allison Hudson, a spokesperson with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, told WAFB that deputies and firefighters were initially called out to the food processing facility in the 6000 block of Industrial Drive shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, June 15.
The Geismar Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post that more than 100 firefighters responded to help fight the fire.
"We cannot begin to thank nearly 100 Firefighters, volunteer, paid, and industrial that responded to this major Commercial structure fire at Hola Nola Foods for the past 20 hours," states the post, dated at midnight Wednesday. "Thank you City of Gonzales Fire, Sorrento Fire, 5th Ward Vol. Fire,Prairieville Fire, Galvez-Lake VFD, East Iberville Fire, 7th District Fire St. Amant Fire, BASF Geismar, Methanex Geismar, Nova Chemicals, Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal, Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana State Police, Acadian Ambulance, Southland Fire & Safety, and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for the amazing response to such a tragic event."
Some of the firefighters worked a regular shift between fighting the fire, the post states.
"We say this a lot, but we are BEYOND blessed with the dedication and response we get from near 100+ firefighters who responded to this fire, went to their regular jobs, then came BACK to fight this massive Fire Fight we’ve seen in a long time in the area," the post states. "We also ask everyone to pray for the employees and the families that will be affected by this tragedy."
Here are some pictures from the Geismar Volunteer Fire Department's Facebook page:
