Dr Pepper bottling plant catches fire in Texas

Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) says a fire at a Texas bottling plant for carbonates such as Dr Pepper and 7UP is under investigation and insists production will restart shortly.

Chris Barnes, director, corporate communications, DPS, told BeverageDaily.com this afternoon that the fire occurred at the site in Irving, Texas yesterday morning.

"Employees from our Irving bottling plant were all safely and immediately evacuated after the fire was discovered and contained on the roof of the building. No employees were hurt," he said.

Cause under investigation

Explaining that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation, Barnes said: "It occurred above our pilot plant, where we test products to ensure readiness for full production."

"The plant’s actual bottling and canning lines, warehouse and offices are located in other areas of the facility," he added.

Production at the plant would resume shortly if it hadn´t already, Barnes said.

"The plant produces mainly carbonated soft drinks, but we also have lines that run some non-carbonated products," he said.

Propane torch to blame?

Texas-based news outlet NBC 5 broke the news of the fire in the 2300 block of Century Center Boulevard yesterday and said Irving Fire Department Marshal Derek Austin had blamed the fire on a propane torch used during roof replacement.

The department also told then news channel that 14 pieces of fire equipment and 30 firefighters worked to tackle the blaze.