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<TITLE>FW: Texas Agriboard Plant Destroyed by Grassfire</TITLE>
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Another fire report - this time the Agriboard plant, not a sb building. See news story below. I don't have any further information to share.<BR>
<BR>
Joyce<BR>
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Joyce Coppinger, Managing Editor/Publisher<BR>
The Last Straw, the 40-page international journal<BR>
of strawbale and natural building<BR>
GPFS/TLS, PO Box 22706, Lincoln NE 68542-2706 USA<BR>
402.483.5135, fax 402.483.5161<BR>
<thelaststraw@thelaststraw.org><BR>
www.thelaststraw.org<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
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<U> http://texomashomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=37332<BR>
</U>> <BR>
> Agriboard Plant in Electra Destroyed by Grassfire<BR>
> Reported by: Sara DiMura<BR>
> Friday, Apr 10, 2009 @07:19pm<BR>
> <BR>
> The Agriboard Plant, which makes building material from wheat straw, is<BR>
> listed as a total loss.<BR>
> <BR>
> The company's owners flew into town today to tour the plant.<BR>
> <BR>
> The owner, Ron Ryan, says he and his wife have had the plant for about ten<BR>
> years.<BR>
> <BR>
> He says Agriboard had around 18-million dollars in sales, and everything was<BR>
> going well until now.<BR>
> <BR>
> Electra, Texas has been home to the Agriboard Plant since 2000.<BR>
> <BR>
> Thursday afternoon they got the order to evacuate immediately because fire<BR>
> was headed their way.<BR>
> <BR>
> "We left the property we didn't even close the gate out here because the<BR>
> wind was blowing around fifty miles an hour and there was smoke we couldn't<BR>
> see and we figured we better get out of here,² says Steve Schmidt Vice<BR>
> President of Accounting Agriboard Plant.<BR>
> <BR>
> Agriboard's owner says he's just glad no one was injured.<BR>
> <BR>
> "My first concern and still my concern is that nobody gets hurt or killed or<BR>
> injured and as bad as this is it appears at least thus far no one has gotten<BR>
> hurt killed or injured and that's the most important thing,² says Ron Ryan<BR>
> owner Agriboard Plant.<BR>
> <BR>
> Electra firefighters were back today to fight a small flare up.<BR>
> <BR>
> Small fires were still burning among the debris today.<BR>
> <BR>
> The compacted straw building materials are used in homes and big building<BR>
> such as banks.<BR>
> <BR>
> One of the company's major customers is Wells Fargo.<BR>
> <BR>
> (Sara DiMura, sara@kfdx.com)<BR>
> "This fire in Electra not only caused visible damage to the buildings here<BR>
> on the Agriboard Plant lot it also will have an impact on the economy<BR>
> because now 40 are now without a job."<BR>
> <BR>
> "At least 30 to 31 are plant workers that either live in Electra or Vernon,<BR>
> Texas so they lived here in this geographical area and Agriboard supports<BR>
> the Electra Chamber of Commerce and we pay healthy taxes in Wichita County,²<BR>
> says Schmidt.<BR>
> <BR>
> Ryan says he would like to rebuild and continue the plant's operation.<BR>
> <BR>
> "Obviously Electra, Texas been's good to us and this plant's been here for<BR>
> ten years good to us and we struggled long and hard to try to make it work<BR>
> and it was just finally turning itself around to what we thought it could be<BR>
> and we think it can be again so it's not my intention to give up on it,²<BR>
> says Schmidt.<BR>
> <BR>
> Ryan says employee's will receive at least a weeks pay while they try to<BR>
> figure out what they're going to do.<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> ------ End of Forwarded Message<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
> ------ End of Forwarded Message<BR>
> <BR>
> <BR>
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